HMS Scythe (1918)

History
Scythe in 1918
United Kingdom
Name:	HMS Scythe
Ordered:	June 1917
Builder:	John Brown & Company, Clydebank
Laid down:	14 January 1918
Launched:	25 April 1918
Completed:	July 1918
Fate:	Sold for breaking up 28 November 1931
General characteristics
Class and type:	S-class destroyer
Displacement:	1,075 tons
Length:	276 ft (84 m) o/a
Beam:	26 ft 9 in (8.15 m)
Draught:	10 ft 10 in (3.30 m)
Propulsion:	Brown-Curtis, steam turbines, 2 shafts, 27,000 shp
Speed:	36 knots
Range:	250-300 tons of oil
Complement:	90
Armament:	3 × QF 4-inch (101.6 mm) Mark IV guns, mount P Mk. IX 1 × QF 2 pdr Mark II "pom-pom" 4 × Lewis Guns 2 × twin tubes for 21 in torpedoes 2 × fixed 14 in tubes for torpedoes (later removed)
Notes:	Pennant number: G32; H22 (from 1925)

HMS Scythe was an S-class destroyer of the Royal Navy.^[1] She was built by John Brown & Company, Clydebank and was launched on 10 April 1918. She saw service during the First World War and was involved in the Irish Civil War in the interwar period before being discarded in 1931.

Service history

Scythe served in the 12th Destroyer Flotilla of the Grand Fleet 1918-19, moving to the new 7th Destroyer Flotilla at Rosyth in 1919 before going into reserve at Devonport on 12 November 1919. Subsequently, she was re-commissioned on 4 April 1923, as an independent command in Irish waters after the establishment of the Irish Free State. Between October 1923 and January 1925 her first lieutenant was Frederick Bell,^[2] later to earn fame as the captain of HMS Exeter during the Battle of the River Plate. HMS Scythe was involved in a shooting incident at Queenstown (modern day Cobh) on 21 March 1924, when machine gun fire was directed at her.^[3] She continued to serve in Irish waters until she was laid up, before being sold on 28 November 1931 for breaking by John Cashmore Ltd (Newport), arriving December 1931.

Commanding Officers

Lt. Cdr. Evelyn H. B. L. Scrivener (22 June 1918)

(reduced to reserve, Devonport, 12 November 1919)

Cdr. Herbert W. Wyld DSO (9 February 1920)

Lt. Geoffrey S. Grenfell (acting, temporary) (June 1920)

(recommissioned 4 April 1923)

Lt. Cdr. A. Knubley (17 March 1924)

Lt. Cdr. L. T. C. Hill (1 September 1925)

(reduced to 3/5-th complement, 28 December 1925)

Lt. Cdr. J. G. Crossley (31 December 1927)

Lt. Cdr. F. E. Wilmot-Sitwell (21 August 1928)

Lt. Cdr. F. C. Husband-Clutton (20 August 1929)

Commissioned Engineer T. G. Rayleigh (3 March 1931)

(recommissioned in the Reserve Fleet as tender to Comus, Devonport, 26 May 1931)

Notes

References

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. OCLC 67375475.

S-class destroyers

Admiralty S

Royal Navy	Simoom Scimitar Tribune Scotsman Senator Shark Scythe Scout Sikh Sparrowhawk Sepoy Tilbury Success Seabear Sirdar Seraph Splendid Trojan Swallow Tactician Steadfast Tintagel Seafire Shamrock Trinidad Somme Searcher Serapis Truant Sportive Sabre Sterling Tara Tenedos Stalwart Seawolf Thanet Trusty Spear Strenuous Tasmania Serene Swordsman Tattoo Sesame Spindrift Saladin Stonehenge Stronghold Sardonyx Turbulent Stormcloud Sturdy Shikari Thracian Saturn^X Sycamore^X

Royal Australian Navy	Stalwart Success Swordsman Tasmania Tattoo

Thornycroft S

Royal Navy	Torbay Speedy Tobago Toreador Tourmaline

Royal Canadian Navy	Champlain (ex-Torbay) Vancouver (ex-Toreador)

Yarrow S

Royal Navy	Torch Tomahawk Tryphon Tumult Turquoise Tuscan Tyrian

X: Cancelled

Preceded by: R class
Followed by: Talisman class

List of destroyers of the Royal Navy

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