Although fitted with multipletorpedo tubes, her bow tube proved useless in practice as — while running at high attack speeds — the ship was prone to overtake its own torpedo. The clumsy tube also reduced living quarters and made thebridge very prone to flooding.
Decoy took part in the 1896 British Naval Manoeuvres, attached to theChannel Fleet operation fromBerehaven in southern Ireland.[3] She served as instructionaltender toCambridge, a gunnery school ship, until August 1901.[4] Lieutenant Cyril Asser was appointed in command in February 1902, when she was based atPlymouth as part of theDevonport instructional flotilla,[5] and was succeeded by Lieutenant Henry Ralph Heathcote on 1 July the same year.[6] Heathcote transferred toContest the following month, and was succeeded in command by Lieutenant L. J. I. Hammond on 8 August 1902.[7] She took part in thefleet review held atSpithead on 16 August 1902 for thecoronation of KingEdward VII.[8] She acted temporary as tender toCambridge again from late August, when her crew transferred toHMS Ostrich, which took her place in the flotilla.[9] The following month she was reported to be back in the instructional flotilla.[10]
Decoy was lost in a collision with the destroyerArun off theScilly Islands on 13 August 1904.[11] while taking part in night exercises.[12] One man was killed while the remaining 40 members of the crew were rescued byArun andSturgeon.[12] Courts martial regarding the sinking were subsequently assembled aboard thebattleshipConqueror. The first, on 22 August,[13] attributed blame to the commander ofArun,Reginald Tyrwhitt. The second, an appeal, was held on 30 August,[14] and dismissed the charge of neglect but confirmed the charge of hazarding both vessels.
Dittmar, F. J.; Colledge, J. J. (1972).British Warships 1914–1919. Shepperton, UK: Ian Allan.ISBN0-7110-0380-7.
Friedman, Norman (2009).British Destroyers: From Earliest Days to the Second World War. Barnsley, UK: Seaforth Publishing.ISBN978-1-84832-049-9.
Kemp, Paul (1999).The Admiralty Regrets: British Warship Losses of the 20th Century. Sutton Publishing Ltd.ISBN0-7509-1567-6.
Lyon, David (2001) [1996].The First Destroyers. London: Caxton Editions.ISBN1-84067-364-8.
Manning, Thomas Davys (1961).The British Destroyer. Putnam & Co.OCLC6470051.
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.OCLC164893555.
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