HMS Ulster (1917)

For other ships with the same name, see HMS Ulster.

Sister ship HMS Tristram
History
United Kingdom
Name	HMS Ulster
Namesake	Ulster
Ordered	March 1916
Builder	William Beardmore and Company, Dalmuir
Launched	10 October 1917
Completed	21 November 1917
In service	21 April 1928
Fate	Sold to be Broken up
General characteristics
Class and type	Modified Admiralty R-class destroyer
Displacement	1,035 long tons (1,052 t) (normal)
Length	276 ft (84.1 m) (o.a.)
Beam	27 ft (8.2 m)
Draught	11 ft (3.4 m)
Propulsion	3 Yarrow boilers 2 geared Brown-Curtis steam turbines, 27,000 shp (20,000 kW)
Speed	36 knots (41.4 mph; 66.7 km/h)
Range	3,450 nmi (6,390 km) at 15 kn (28 km/h)
Complement	82
Armament	3 × QF 4-inch (101.6 mm) Mark IV guns, mounting P Mk. IX 1 × single 2-pounder (40-mm) "pom-pom" Mk. II anti-aircraft gun 4 × 21 in (533 mm) torpedo tubes (2×2)

HMS Ulster was a modified Admiralty R-class destroyer that served in the Royal Navy during the First World War. The Modified R class added attributes of the Yarrow Later M class to improve the capability of the ships to operate in bad weather. Launched on 10 October 1917, the vessel served with the Grand Fleet. After the war, the destroyer was placed initially in the Home Fleet, but then moved to the Reserve Fleet before, on 21 April 1928, being sold to be broken up.

Design and development

Main article: R-class destroyer

Ulster was one of eleven Modified R-class destroyers ordered by the British Admiralty in March 1916 as part of the Eighth War Construction Programme.^[1] The design was a development of the existing R class, adding features from the Yarrow Later M class which had been introduced based on wartime experience.^[2] The forward two boilers were transposed and vented through a single funnel, enabling the bridge and forward gun to be placed further aft. Combined with hull-strengthening, this improved the destroyers' ability to operate at high speed in bad weather.^[3]

Ulster was 276 feet (84.1 m) long overall and 265 feet (81 m) long between perpendiculars, with a beam of 27 feet (8.2 m) and a draught of 11 feet (3.4 m).^[2] Displacement was 1,035 long tons (1,052 t) normal and 1,086 long tons (1,103 t) at deep load. Power was provided by three Yarrow boilers feeding two Brown-Curtis geared steam turbines rated at 27,000 shaft horsepower (20,000 kW) and driving two shafts, to give a design speed of 36 knots (67 km/h; 41 mph). Two funnels were fitted. A total of 296 long tons (301 t) of fuel oil were carried, giving a design range of 3,450 nautical miles (6,390 km; 3,970 mi) at 15 knots (28 km/h; 17 mph).^[3][4]

Armament consisted of three single 4-inch (102 mm) Mk V QF guns on the ship's centreline, with one on the forecastle, one aft on a raised platform and one between the funnels. Increased elevation extended the range of the gun by 1,800 metres (2,000 yd) to 11,000 metres (12,000 yd). A single 2-pounder 40 mm (1.6 in) "pom-pom anti-aircraft gun was carried on a platform between two twin mounts for 21 in (533 mm) torpedoes. The ship had a complement of 82 officers and ratings.^[3]

Construction and careers

Laid down by William Beardmore and Company in Dalmuir with the yard number 560, Ulster was launched on 10 October 1917 and completed on 21 November.^[5] The vessel was the first of the name, named after Ulster, one of the traditional provinces of Ireland.^[6]

On commissioning, Ulster joined the Thirteenth Destroyer Flotilla of the Grand Fleet,^[7] and served there until 1919.^[8] The flotilla took part in the Royal Navy's sortie to intercept one of the final sorties of the German High Seas Fleet during the First World War, on 24 April 1918, although the two fleets did not actually meet and the destroyer did not engage the enemy.^[9]

When the Grand Fleet was disbanded after the Armistice of 11 November 1918 that ended the war, Ulster was transferred to the Home Fleet under the Flag of King George V,^[10] but was reduced to the Reserve Fleet by April 1920.^[11] On 5 July that year, the destroyer left Chatham to take part in exercises for the Reserve Fleet. These happened annually.^[12] In 1923, the Navy decided to retire many of the older destroyers in preparation for the introduction of newer and larger vessels.^[13] The ship was one of those chosen to be removed from the service and was sold to Thos. W. Ward of Pembroke Dock on 21 April 1928 and broken up.^[14]

Pennant numbers

Pennant Number	Date
F91	January 1917[15]
F17	January 1918[16]
F01	January 1919[17]
H09	January 1922[18]

References

Citations

1. Friedman 2009, p. 310.
2. Parkes & Prendergast 1969, p. 107.
3. Preston 1985, p. 82.
4. Friedman 2009, p. 296.
5. Johnston 1993, p. 166.
6. Manning & Walker 1959, p. 456.
7. "Destroyer Flotillas of the Grand Fleet". Supplement to the Monthly Navy List: 12. October 1917. Retrieved 26 March 2018.
8. "Destroyer Flotillas of the Grand Fleet". Supplement to the Monthly Navy List: 12. January 1919. Retrieved 26 March 2018.
9. Newbolt 1931, p. 287.
10. "II. Home Fleet". Supplement to the Monthly Navy List: 12. July 1919. Retrieved 26 March 2018.
11. "IV. Vessels Under the V.A.C. Reserve Fleet". The Navy List: 707. April 1920. Retrieved 26 March 2018.
12. "Naval Intelligence: Reserve Fleet Destroyers". The Times. No. 42446. 25 June 1920. p. 4.
13. Friedman 2009, p. 180.
14. Colledge & Warlow 2006, p. 364.
15. Dittmar & Colledge 1972, p. 70.
16. Bush & Warlow 2021, p. 46.
17. Bush & Warlow 2021, p. 45.
18. Bush & Warlow 2021, p. 70.

Bibliography

• Bush, Steve; Warlow, Ben (2021). Pendant Numbers of the Royal Navy: A Complete History of the Allocation of Pendant Numbers to Royal Navy Warships & Auxiliaries. Barnsley: Seaforth Publishing. ISBN 978-1-526793-78-2.
• Colledge, J. J.; Warlow, Ben (2006). Ships of the Royal Navy: a Complete Record of all Fighting Ships of the Royal Navy from the 15th Century to the Present. London: Chatham. ISBN 978-1-85367-566-9.
• Dittmar, F.J.; Colledge, J.J. (1972). British Warships 1914–1919. Shepperton: Ian Allan. ISBN 0-7110-0380-7.
• Friedman, Norman (2009). British Destroyers: From Earliest Days to the First World War. Barnsley: Seaforth Publishing. ISBN 978-1-84832-049-9.
• Johnston, Ian (1993). Beardmore Built: the rise and fall of a Clydeside shipyard. Clydebank: Clydebank District Libraries & Museums Department. ISBN 978-0-90693-805-8.
• Manning, Thomas Davys; Walker, Charles Frederick (1959). British Warship Names. London: Putnam. OCLC 780274698.
• Newbolt, Henry (1931). Naval Operations: Volume V. History of the Great War. London: Longmans, Green and Co. OCLC 220475309.
• Parkes, Oscar; Prendergast, Maurice (1969). Jane's Fighting Ships 1919. Newton Abbott: David & Charles. OCLC 907574860.
• Preston, Antony (1985). "Great Britain and Empire Forces". In Gardiner, Robert; Gray, Randal (eds.). Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships 1906–1921. London: Conway Maritime Press. pp. 1–104. ISBN 978-0-85177-245-5.