History
United Kingdom
Name	HMSStar
Ordered	1895–1896 Naval Estimates
Builder	Palmers Shipbuilding and Iron Company,Jarrow-on-Tyne
Laid down	23 March 1896
Launched	11 August 1897
Commissioned	September 1898
Out of service	Laid up in reserve 1919
Fate	Sold for breaking 10 June 1919
General characteristics
Class and type	Palmer three-funnel, 30-knotdestroyer
Displacement	390long tons (400 t) light 440 long tons (450 t) deep load
Length	220 ft (67.06 m)o/a
Beam	20 ft 9 in (6.32 m)
Draught	9 ft 9 in (2.97 m)
Installed power	6,200 ihp (4,600 kW)
Propulsion	4 ×Reed water tube boilers 2 × vertical triple-expansionsteam engines 2 shafts
Speed	30 kn (56 km/h)
Range	91 tons coal
Complement	58[1]–63[2]
Armament	1 ×QF 12-pounder 12 cwt Mark I L/40 naval gun on a P Mark  I low angle mount 5 ×QF 6-pdr 8 cwt L/40 naval gun on a Mark I low angle mount 2 × singletubes for18-inch (450 mm) torpedoes
Service record
Operations:	World War I 1914 - 1918

HMSStar was aPalmer three-funnel, 30-knotdestroyer ordered by the Royal Navy under the 1896–1897 Naval Estimates. She was the eleventh ship to carry this name since it was introduced in 1643 for a 19-gun ship sold until 1652.^[3][4]

On 23 December 1895, theAdmiralty ordered two destroyers,Star andWhiting fromPalmers Shipbuilding and Iron Company for theRoyal Navy as part of the 1895–1896 shipbuilding programme, with four more destroyers ordered from Palmers on9 January 1896.^[5]

Star's hull was 220 feet (67.06 m)long overall and 215 feet (65.53 m)between perpendiculars, with abeam of 20 feet 9 inches (6.32 m) and adraught of 9 feet 9 inches (2.97 m). Four Reed boilers fed steam at 250 pounds per square inch (1,700 kPa) totriple expansion steam engines rated at 6,200indicated horsepower (4,600 kW) and driving two propeller shafts.Displacement was 390long tons (400 t) light and 440 long tons (450 t) deep load.^[5] Three funnels were fitted,^[6] and 91 tons of coal carried.^[1]Star was contractually required to maintain a speed of 30 knots (56 km/h; 35 mph) for a continuous run of three hours and over six consecutive measured miles (9.7 km) duringsea trials.^[7]

Armament was specified as a singleQF 12-pounder 12 cwt (3 in calibre or 76 mm) gun on a platform on the ship'sconning tower (in practice the platform was also used as the ship's bridge), backed up by five 6-pounder guns, and two 18-inch (450 mm) torpedo tubes.^[8][9]

Star was laid down on 23 March 1896, at the Palmer'sJarrow-on-Tyne shipyard as Yard Number 710, and launched on 11 August 1896.^[5][6] During her builder’s trials she made her contracted speed requirement,^[3][4] reaching 30.7 knots (56.9 km/h; 35.3 mph).^[1] She was completed and accepted by the Royal Navy in September 1898.^[5][10]

Star was commanded by LieutenantBertram Sutton Evans as part of thePortsmouth instructional flotilla until she paid off at Portsmouth on 31 December 1900, when her crew turned over toHMS Electra.^[11] She was commissioned atPortsmouth on 27 August 1901 by Lieutenant Henry Willcox Osburn and assigned to the Portsmouth Flotilla of theChannel Fleet.^[12] The following year, Lieutenant James W. G. Innes was appointed in command from 1 March 1902,^[13] but the appointment was cancelled almost immediately when he received another posting.^[14]Star was subsequently used for experiments to test the rolling tendency of destroyers with abilge keel.^[15] She was temporarily commissioned at Portsmouth on 12 October 1902 by Lieutenant Robert Wilberforce Myburgh and the crew ofHMS Wizard, which was taken for repairs after a collision,^[16] but they were back onWizard early the following month.

She spent her operational career mainly in Home Waters, although she did visitGibraltar in 1905.^[5] In 1910,Star was a member of the4th Destroyer Flotilla, based at Portsmouth, and was still a member of the 4th Flotilla in 1912, while in 1913 she was a member of the6th Destroyer Flotilla, a local patrol flotilla also based at Portsmouth.^[17][18]

On 30 August 1912 the Admiralty directed all destroyers were to be grouped into classes designated by letters based on contract speed and appearance. As a three-funneled destroyer with a contract speed of 30 knots,Star was assigned to theC class.^[19][20] The class letters were painted on the hull below the bridge area and on a funnel.^[21]

For the test mobilization in July 1914 she was assigned to the8th Destroyer Flotilla based at Chatham. HereStar provided local anti-submarine and counter-mining patrols.

In November 1916 she was redeployed to the7th Destroyer Flotilla based at the Humber River. During her deployment there she was involved in anti-submarine and counter-mining patrols.

On 4 July 1918, the NorwegianbarqueMentor was torpedoed by the German submarineSM UB-21 nearHartlepool.Star andOstrich took part in the rescue ofMentor, which was towed to port, although too heavily damaged to be repaired.^[22][23] On 29 September 1918, theairshipR29 spotted an oil slick, presumed to be from a German submarine, while escorting a convoy, and directedStar,Ouse and two armed trawlers to the site of the slick. The ships then proceeded todepth charge the submarine,UB-115.UB-115 sank 4.5 miles (7.2 km) North East from Beacon Point,Newton-by-the-Sea, with the loss of 39 officers and men.^[24][25][26]

In 1919Star was paid off and laid-up in reserve awaiting disposal. The destroyer was sold on 23 July 1919 toThos. W. Ward of Sheffield for breaking atNew Holland,Lincolnshire, on theHumber Estuary.^[27][28]

• Brassey, T. A. (1902).The Naval Annual 1902. Portsmouth, UK: J. Griffin and Co.
• Chesneau, Roger & Kolesnik, Eugene M., eds. (1979).Conway's All The World's Fighting Ships 1860–1905. London: Conway Maritime Press.ISBN 0-85177-133-5.
• Colledge, J. J.; Warlow, Ben (2006) [1969].Ships of the Royal Navy: The Complete Record of all Fighting Ships of the Royal Navy (Rev. ed.). London: Chatham Publishing.ISBN 978-1-86176-281-8.
• Dittmar, F. J. & Colledge, J. J. (1972).British Warships 1914–1919. Shepperton, UK: Ian Allan.ISBN 0-7110-0380-7.
• Friedman, Norman (2009).British Destroyers: From Earliest Days to the Second World War. Barnsley, UK: Seaforth Publishing.ISBN 978-1-84832-049-9.
• Gardiner, Robert & Gray, Randal, eds. (1985).Conway's All The World's Fighting Ships 1906–1921. London: Conway Maritime Press.ISBN 0-85177-245-5.
• Grant, Robert M. (1964).U-Boats Destroyed. London: Putnam.
• Jane, Fred T. (1969) [1st published by Sampson Low & Marston: London, 1905].Jane’s Fighting Ships 1905. New York: ARCO Publishing Company.
• Lyon, David (2001) [1996].The First Destroyers. London: Caxton Editions.ISBN 1-84067-3648.
• Manning, T. D. (1961).The British Destroyer. London: Putnam & Co.OCLC 6470051.
• March, Edgar J. (1966).British Destroyers: A History of Development, 1892–1953; Drawn by Admiralty Permission From Official Records & Returns, Ships' Covers & Building Plans. London: Seeley Service.OCLC 164893555.
• Moore, John (1990).Jane's Fighting Ships of World War I. London: Studio Editions.ISBN 1-85170-378-0.

• Ships built on the River Tyne
• 1896 ships
• C-class destroyers (1913)
• World War I destroyers of the United Kingdom

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• Use dmy dates from March 2017
• Use British English from March 2017
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