History
United Kingdom
Name	Nymphe
Namesake	An alternative spelling ofnymph, a femalenature deity inAncient Greek folklore
Builder	R. & W. Hawthorn, Leslie and Company,Hebburn
Laid down	8 December 1909
Launched	31 January 1911
Completed	May 1911
Fate	Sold to bebroken up 9 May 1921
General characteristics (as built)
Class & type	Acorn-classdestroyer
Displacement	730long tons (740 t) (normal) 855 long tons (869 t) (full load)
Length	246 ft (75 m) (o.a.) 240 ft (73 m) (p.p.)
Beam	25 ft 5 in (7.7 m)
Draught	8 ft 6 in (2.6 m)
Installed power	4White-Forster boilers 13,500 shp (10,100 kW)
Propulsion	Parsonssteam turbines, 3shafts
Speed	27 kn (50 km/h; 31 mph)
Range	1,540 nmi (2,850 km; 1,770 mi) at 15 kn (28 km/h; 17 mph)
Complement	72
Armament	2 × singleBL 4 in (102 mm) guns 2 × singleQF 12 pdr 3 in (76 mm) gun 2 × single21 in (533 mm)torpedo tubes

HMSNymphe was one of 20Acorn-class (later H-class)destroyers built for theRoyal Navy that served in theFirst World War. TheAcorn class were smaller than the precedingBeagle class butoil-fired and better armed. Launched in 1911, the ship served with the2nd Destroyer Flotilla, joining theGrand Fleet at the start of the war in 1914, and was transferred toPortsmouth in early 1916. She joined the5th Destroyer Flotilla in theMediterranean in 1918. She was placed inreserve in 1919 and was sold in 1921 to bebroken up.

After the preceding coal-burningBeagle class, theAcorn-classdestroyer saw a return tooil-firing. Pioneered by theTribal class of 1905 andHMS Swift of 1907, using oil enabled a more efficient design, leading to a smaller vessel which also had increased deck space available for weaponry.^[1] Unlike previous destroyer designs, where the individual yards had been given discretion within the parameters set by theAdmiralty, theAcorn class were a set, with the propulsion machinery the only major variation between the different ships.^[2] This enabled costs to be reduced.^[3] The class was later renamed H class.^[4]

Nymphe had a length of 240 feet (73 m)between perpendiculars and 246 ft (75 m)overall, with abeam of 25 ft 5 in (7.7 m) and a deepdraught of 8 ft 6 in (2.6 m).Displacement was 730long tons (820short tons; 740tonnes)normal and 855 long tons (869 t)full load.^[5] Power was provided byParsonssteam turbines fed by fourWhite-Forster boilers and driving threeshafts.^[6] Threefunnels were fitted, the foremost tall and thin, the central short and thick and theaft narrow.^[7] The engines were rated at 13,500 shaft horsepower (10,100 kW) which gave a design speed of 27 knots (50 km/h; 31 mph). On trial,Nymphe achieved 28.7 knots (53.2 km/h; 33.0 mph).^[4] The vessel carried 170 long tons (170 t) of fuel oil which gave a range of 1,540nautical miles (2,850 km; 1,770 mi) at a cruising speed of 15 kn (28 km/h; 17 mph).^[5][6]

Armament consisted of two singleBL 4 in (102 mm) Mk VIII guns, one carried on theforecastle and another aft. Two singleQF 12-pounder 3 in (76 mm) guns were mounted between the first two funnels.^[8] Two rotating21-inch (533 mm)torpedo tubes were mounted aft of the funnels, with two reloads carried, and asearchlight fitted between the tubes.^[9] The destroyer was later modified to carry a singleVickersQF 3-pounder 2 in (47 mm)anti-aircraft gun anddepth charges foranti-submarine warfare.^[10] Theship's complement was 72 officers andratings.^[6]

The 20 destroyers of theAcorn class were ordered by the Admiralty under the 1909–1910 Naval Programme. One of three in the class sourced fromR. & W. Hawthorn, Leslie and Company,Nymphe waslaid down at the company'sHebburn shipyard on 8 December 1909 with yard number 1315 andlaunched on 31 January 1911.^[11] The ship was completed in May 1911, the seventh ship inRoyal Navy service to be named for thenymph, and the sixth to use the variant spelling "nymphe."

Oncommissioning in 1911,Nymphe joined the rest of theAcorn-class destroyers in the2nd Destroyer Flotilla, an element of the2nd Division of theHome Fleet.Nymphe and hersister shipsAcorn,Alarm,Larne,Lyra,Nemesis, andRifleman conducted high-speedtrials in the Atlantic Ocean offBerehaven, Ireland, on 1 July 1911 and all achieved 28knots (52 km/h; 32 mph) despite rough weather. All suffered damage, however, and by the time they reachedPortsmouth, England, on 4 July 1911, they all were leaking and had water in theirfuel oilbunkers, requiring repair bydivers.Nymphe suffered the greatest damage, with flooding in hermagazines as well, ruining herammunition.^[11] On 16 October 1911, a 6-pounder gun aboardNymphe burst during night-firing exercises offWeymouth, England, slightly injuring oneofficer.^[11]

The 2nd Destroyer Flotilla was transferred to theFirst Fleet in 1912. In late April 1914,Nymphe and two other destroyers patrolled inDundrum Bay, County Down, on the coast of Ireland to interdict the smuggling of weapons into Ireland.^[11] In July 1914,Nymphe was one of 20 destroyers in the First Fleet's Second Flotilla.^[11]

World War I began on 28 July 1914, and the United Kingdom entered the war on the side of theAllies on 4 August 1914. With the outbreak of war, the First Fleet became theGrand Fleet.^[11]

At 10:30 on 15 October 1914, theImperial German NavysubmarineU-9torpedoed and sank theprotected cruiserHMS Hawke in theNorth Sea offAberdeen, Scotland.Nymphe and the destroyersAlarm,Lyra, andNemesis put to sea that day to patrol in the eastern approaches toScapa Flow. At about 13.30Nymphe sightedU-9′speriscope, alerted the other destroyers, and steered to ramU-9.Nymphe′s ramming attempt failed.U-9 fired a torpedo which missedNymphe′sbow by an only a few feet before passing down herstarboard side, then passed in front ofNemesis and forcedAlarm to take evasive action by making a hard turn to port.^[11]

Nymphe accompanied the Grand Fleet when it put to sea for exercises on 15 March 1915. Operating in heavy seas, she soon collided withNemesis, and the fleet's destroyers received orders to return to port because of the bad weather.^[11]

In February 1916,Nymphe was the lastAcorn-class destroyer operating with the Grand Fleet, and by March 1916 she had left the fleet and was based at Portsmouth. In May 1916 she was serving as a temporarytender to the shore establishmentHMS Vernon, the Royal Navy Torpedo School at Portsmouth. From July to November 1916 she was part of the Portsmouth Local Defence Flotilla, also known as the Port Defence Flotilla. During the night of 7–8 December 1916, she came to the assistance of themerchant shipSS Conch, which had been carrying a cargo ofbenzene when the German submarineUB-23 torpedoed her offSt Alban's Head.Nymphe foundConch engulfed by a massive fire and rescued herchief engineer and some other members of her crew.^[11]

Nymphe served with the Paravane Department at Portsmouth from January 1917 to February 1918, developing theparavane as a weapon for use against submarines andnaval mines. She was listed as part of the Portsmouth Escort Flotilla in January 1917 and the Portsmouth Local Defence Flotilla in June 1917 while performing her paravane work.^[11]

On 17 May 1917,Nymphe came to the defence of the BritishsteamerFlorence Louise. The German submarineUB-40 had stoppedFlorence Louise in theEnglish Channel and ordered her crew to abandon ship so that she could sinkFlorence Louise.Florence Louise′s crew had already taken to thelifeboats whenNymphe arrived and forcedUB-40 to submerge.Florence Louise′s crew returned to their ship and resumed their voyage unescorted. A few hours later,UB-40 again stopped her, ordered her crew to abandon ship again, and sank her with explosive charges.^[11]

Nymphe suffered an internal explosion while operating in the English Channel on 9 July 1917. The explosion killed four members of her crew and injured a fifth man who later died of his injuries.^[11]

Nymphe served another tour as tender for HMSVernon in March and April 1918. She then was assigned to service in theMediterranean, where she rejoined the rest of theAcorn class when she became poart of the5th Destroyer Flotilla in May 1918.^[11]

On the evening of 18 June 1918,Nymphe became the victim of afriendly fire incident while on patrol with the destroyerHMS Defender in theStrait of Otranto. Also in the area was a unit of threeUnited States Navysubmarine chasers —USS SC-94,USS SC-151, andUSS SC-227 — on anantisubmarine patrol. At 21:00, the submarine chasers′hydrophones detected sounds which their crews assumed were coming from a submarine. The submarine chasers followed the sounds until 22:40, when they grew louder and the submarine chaser crews interpreted them as coming from a submarine on the surface. All three submarine chasers headed toward the source of the sound atflank speed and soon sightedNymphe andDefender, identifying them merely as two low-lying objects in the water which the submarine chaser crews believed wereCentral Powers submarines. The submarine chasers challenged the British destroyers with recognition signals flashed several times by blinker light.Nymphe andDefender did not respond, so the submarine chasers opened fire, withSC-94 firing two rounds andSC-151 firing one. One ofSC-94′s shots hitNymphe, severing a steam line and putting one of hersteam engines out of commission.Nymphe andDefender immediately flashed lights at the submarine chasers, which ceased fire, went alongside the destroyers, and discovered their identities. When the submarine chaser crews asked why the destroyers had not answered the recognition signals, the crews ofNymphe andDefender replied that they had orders not to use recognition signals, a restriction unknown to the submarine chaser crews because of a lack of a unified Allied command in the area.Defender tookNymphe intow, and the submarine chasers resumed their antisubmarine patrol. Discussing the incident in a letter to the BritishAdmiralty, the commander ofUnited States Naval Forces Operating in European Waters,Vice AdmiralWilliam Sims, wrote: "While it appears that, under attendant circumstances, thecommanding officers of the submarine chasers were justified in opening fire on the destroyers, I nevertheless wish to express regret that the incident occurred, and that H.M.S.Nymphe should have sustained damage."^[12]

In July and August 1918 the 5th Destroyer Flotilla was based atBrindisi,Italy. On 2 October 1918,Nymphe supported theAllied bombardment ofAustro-Hungarian forces atDurazzo,Albania, protecting the southern flank of the main bombardment force and supporting a force of U.S. Navy submarine chasers. In November 1918, she was one of 14 H-class destroyers in the 5th Destroyer Flotilla, which by then was based atMudros in theAegean Sea. World War I ended with thearmistice with Germany of 11 November 1918.^[11]

From December 1918 to February 1919,Nymphe was part of theBritish Aegean Squadron, as were all other surviving ships of her class exceptLyra. In February 1919, she was listed as part of the destroyer flotilla atMalta. In November 1919, she was not listed as an active ship.^[11] She was sold on 9 May 1921 to bebroken up.

• Brassey, Thomas (1912).The Navy Annual 1912. Portsmouth: J. Griffin & Co.
• Brown, David K. (2010).The Grand Fleet: Warship Design and Development 1906–1922. Barnsley: Seaforth Publishing.ISBN 978-1-84832-085-7.
• 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.
• Friedman, Norman (2009).British Destroyers: From Earliest Days to the First World War. Barnsley: Seaforth Publishing.ISBN 978-1-84832-049-9.
• March, Edgar J. (1966).British Destroyers: A History of Development, 1892–1953. London: Seeley Service.OCLC 164893555.
• 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.

• 1911 ships
• Acorn-class destroyers
• Maritime incidents in 1911
• Maritime incidents in 1915
• Maritime incidents in 1917
• Maritime incidents in 1918
• Friendly fire incidents of World War I
• International maritime incidents
• Ships built by Hawthorn Leslie

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