 HMSAlarm | |
| History | |
|---|---|
 United Kingdom | |
| Name | HMSAlarm |
| Builder | John Brown and Company,Clydebank |
| Laid down | 7 February 1910 |
| Launched | 28 August 1910 |
| Completed | March 1911 |
| Fate | Sold for scrapping May 1921 |
| General characteristics | |
| Class & type | Acorn-classdestroyer |
| Displacement | 760 long tons (770 t) normal |
| Length | 246 ft 0 in (74.98 m)oa |
| Beam | 25 ft 3 in (7.70 m) |
| Draught | 8 ft 10 in (2.69 m) |
| Propulsion | 4 Yarrow boilers,Parsons turbines, 13,500 shp (10,100 kW) |
| Speed | 27 kn (50 km/h; 31 mph) |
| Complement | 72 |
| Armament |
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HMSAlarm was aAcorn-classdestroyer of the BritishRoyal Navy. She was built byJohn Brown and Company at theirClydebank shipyard, being built between 1910 and 1911, completing in March 1911.Alarm had oil-fuelledsteam turbine machinery that was designed to give a speed of 27 knots (31 mph; 50 km/h). Armament consisted of two 4-inch (102 mm) guns, two 12-pounder (3-inch, 76 mm) guns and two 21-inch (533 mm)torpedo tubes.
Alarm served through theFirst World War, both in the North Sea as part of theGrand Fleet and later in theMediterranean Sea. She was sold for scrap in 1921.
TheBritish Admiralty ordered 20Acorn-class destroyers as part of the 1909–1910 shipbuilding programme for theRoyal Navy.[1] Three of the class,Alarm,Acorn andBrisk, were to be built by theClydebank shipbuilderJohn Brown and Company.Alarm waslaid down on 7 February 1910 andlaunched on 28 August 1910.[2]Alarm reached a speed of 27.2 kn (31.3 mph; 50.4 km/h) duringsea trials[3] and was completed in March 1911.[2]
Alarm was 240 ft 0 in (73.15 m)long between perpendiculars and 246 ft 0 in (74.98 m)overall, with abeam of 25 ft 3 in (7.70 m) and adraught of between 7 ft4+1⁄2 in (2.248 m) and 8 ft 10 in (2.69 m) depending on load.Displacement was 760 long tons (770 t) normal and 855 long tons (869 t) full load.[4] The ship's machinery consisted of fourYarrow boilers feeding steam toParsonssteam turbines which drove threepropeller shafts. The machinery was rated at 13,500 shaft horsepower (10,100 kW) giving a design speed of 27 knots (50 km/h; 31 mph).[1][5] The ship had a crew of 72 officers and enlisted.[5]
Gun armament consisted of two4-inch (102 mm) BL Mk VIII guns,[a] one on the ship'sforecastle and one aft, and two12-pounder (76 mm) QF 12 cwt guns[b] carried in the waist position between the first two funnels. Torpedo armament consisted of two21-inch (533 mm)torpedo tubes, with two reloadtorpedoes carried. The torpedo tubes were aft of the funnels, mounted singly with a searchlight position between them.[1][5] By 1918, a 3-pounder (47 mm) anti aircraft gun was fitted, anddepth charges were carried.[5]
On commissioning,Alarm joined the2nd Destroyer Flotilla of the Royal Navy'sHome Fleet, and was joined by her sister ships as they commissioned.[5] She was one of seven destroyers that suffered problems when steaming at full speed off the coast of Ireland during the 1911 Naval Manoeuvres, with serious leaks of water through hull rivets into the ships' oil tanks, requiring that they put intoPortland Harbour for repairs.[6] On 26 January 1912,Alarm was one of seven destroyers and one torpedo boat that was ordered to be fitted with anti-submarine sweeps. These were explosive charges that were carried on cables that were towed behind the ship. When the cable caught on a submerged submarine, the explosive charge would be drawn down the cable onto the submarine.[7]Alarm was still part of the 2nd Flotilla in August 1914, on the eve of the outbreak of the First World War.[8]
On the outbreak of theFirst World War, the 2nd Destroyer Flotilla, includingAlarm joined the newly establishedGrand Fleet atScapa Flow.[9][10] On 16 October 1914, four destroyers of the 2nd Flotilla,Lyra,Nymphe,Nemesis andAlarm were patrolling at the eastern end of thePentland Firth betweenOrkney and mainland Scotland. At about 1:15 pm that day,Nymphe spotted aperiscope. It was the German submarineU-9, which had sunk the British cruiserHawke the previous day.U-9 launched a torpedo which narrowly missed bothNymphe andAlarm, and whileNymphe attempted to ram the submarine,U-9 escaped.[11]
The 2nd Flotilla remained at Scapa Flow until March 1916, but by April the flotilla, includingAlarm, had moved toDevonport naval base inPlymouth.[12][13] On 13 November 1916,Alarm was ordered to rendezvous with the transportIdaho, bound forPortland from New York with a load of explosives, but fog delayedAlarm's departure from Devonport, so thatIdaho was unescorted when the German submarineU-49 attacked.Idaho's crew abandoned ship, but the destroyerTigress had heardIdaho's SOS radio signals, and arrived in time to drive offU-49 and saveIdaho.[14] On 22 March 1917,Alarm andTigress were employed in escorting the battleshipDuncan.[15] On 24 March 1917,Alarm picked up 11 survivors from the merchant shipAchille Adam, sunk the previous day by the submarineUB-39 when bound forNewhaven fromSaint-Valery-sur-Somme.[16]
In July 1917, the 2nd Flotilla, includingAlarm, moved toBuncrana in the north of Ireland.[17][18] By December 1917,Alarm had moved to theMediterranean Fleet, joining the5th Destroyer Flotilla.[19]
On the night of 22/23 April 1918,Alarm was one of six destroyers patrolling in theOtranto Straits to protect thedrifters of theOtranto Barrage from attack by Austro-Hungarian naval forces.Alarm and the French destroyerCimeterre patrolled the Eastern side of the straits, withComet and the Australian destroyerTorrens on station at the centre of the straits andJackal andHornet at the Western side of the straits, with the three groups of destroyers separate by 10 mi (16 km).[20] At about 21:10hr, five unknown ships were spotted byHornet, which challenged them. In response, the unknown ships, which were actually the Austro-Hungarian destroyersTriglav,Uzsok,Dukla,Lika andCsepel, opened fire. BothHornet andJackal were damaged in the exchange of fire, but the Austro-Hungarian ships abandoned their raid as the alarm had been raised.Alarm,Cimeterre,Comet andTorrens responded to the gunfire, and joining up withJackal chased after the Austro-Hungarian ships, but broke off the pursuit as they approached the enemy coast, owing to the risk frommines.[21][22]Alarm was still a member of the 5th Destroyer Flotilla at the end of the war on 11 November 1918.[23]
Following the end of the war, pre-war destroyers like theAcorns were quickly laid up into reserve.[24]Alarm was laid up at Portsmouth by March 1919.[25] She was sold on 9 May 1921 to Ward for scrapping at theirHayle,Cornwall yard.[26]
| Pennant Number[26] | Date |
|---|---|
| H05 | 1914 |
| H04 | January 1918 |
 Royal Navy | |
|---|---|
 Imperial Japanese Navy | |
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