HMS Menace (1915)

HMS Menace was an Admiralty M-class destroyer which served in the Royal Navy during the First World War. The M class was an improvement on those of the preceding L-class destroyer, capable of higher speed. Menace was launched in 1915 and joined the Twelfth Destroyer Flotilla of the Grand Fleet. During the Battle of Jutland in 1916, the destroyer attacked battleships and light cruisers of the German High Seas Fleet but recorded no hits. The vessel subsequently participated in the unsuccessful search for the armoured cruiser HMS Hampshire (1903), lost along with the Secretary of State for War, Field Marshal Lord Kitchener. The destroyer ended the war with the Third Destroyer Flotilla. After the Armistice that ended the war, Menace was initially put in reserve until being sold in 1921 to be broken up.

Design and development
Menace was one of the sixteen Admiralty M-class destroyers ordered by the British Admiralty in September 1914 as part of the First War Programme at the start of the First World War. The M class was an improved version of the earlier L-class destroyer (1913), required to reach a higher speed in order to counter rumoured new German fast destroyers. The remit was to have a maximum speed of 36 kn although ultimately the destroyers fell short of that ambition in service. It transpired that the German warships did not exist, but the extra performance that Menace achieved was valued by the navy.

The destroyer had a length of 265 ft between perpendiculars and 273 ft overall, with a beam of 26 ft and draught of 8 ft. Displacement was 971 LT normal. Power was provided by three Yarrow boilers feeding steam to Brown-Curtiss geared steam turbines rated at 23000 shp, driving three shafts and exhausting through three funnels. Design speed was 34 kn. A total of 228 LT of oil was carried. Design range was 2530 nmi at 15 kn, but actual endurance in service was less; sister ship HMS Murray (1914) had a range of 2240 nmi at 15 kn.

Menace had a main armament consisting of three single QF 4 in Mk IV guns on the centreline, with one on the forecastle, one aft on a raised platform and one between the middle and aft funnels. Torpedo armament consisted of two twin torpedo tubes for 21 in torpedoes located aft of the funnels. Two single 1-pounder 37 mm "pom-pom" anti-aircraft guns were carried. The anti-aircraft guns were later replaced by 2-pdr 40 mm "pom-pom" guns. The ship had a complement of 80 officers and ratings.

Construction and career
Laid down by Swan Hunter & Wigham Richardson on 17 November 1914 at Wallsend, Menace was launched on 9 November the following year and completed six months later in April 1916. The vessel was the first of the name in service with the Royal Navy and was deployed as part of the Grand Fleet, joining the Twelfth Destroyer Flotilla based at Scapa Flow.

On 30 May, the destroyer sailed with the Grand Fleet to confront the German High Seas Fleet in what would be the Battle of Jutland, forming part of the Second Division of the Flotilla that included sister ship HMS Nonsuch (1915). The vessel was deployed in action against the German light cruisers. However, as the destroyers approached, the first division, already being attacked by enemy gunfire, turned into their path and so Menace had to manoeuvre out of the way. The cruisers then pounced on Menace and Nonsuch, which were at the rear of the flotilla. The attack was so close that Menace narrowly avoided being rammed but escaped unharmed. The flotilla then redeployed and, observing the battleships of the High Seas Fleet ahead, sped into action. In the ensuing fight, Menace made a series of unsuccessful attacks, although the pre-dreadnought SMS Pommern was sunk by HMS Onslaught (1915). It proved to be the final engagement of the battle.

The flotilla returned to Scapa Flow on 2 June. A few days later, Menace joined the unsuccessful search for the armoured cruiser HMS Hampshire (1903), sunk by a German mine off the coast of Mainland, Orkney. Hampshire had been sailing to Russia without escort with the Secretary of State for War, Field Marshal Lord Kitchener, but had sunk after hitting a mine and only 13 individuals, which did not include the Secretary of State, survived. The destroyer remained part of the Twelfth Destroyer Flotilla on 19 August. The flotilla subsequently took part in a large exercise with other flotillas and fleets of the Grand Fleet, led by the dreadnought battleship HMS Iron Duke (1912), between 22 and 24 November.

On 15 October 1917, Menace formed part of a large-scale operation, involving 30 cruisers and 54 destroyers deployed in eight groups across the North Sea in an attempt to stop a suspected sortie by German naval forces. The vessel, along with fellow destroyer HMS Noble (1915), was despatched from the flotilla to operate with the Third Light Cruiser Squadron. Despite these measures, the German light cruisers SMS Bremse and SMS Brummer managed to attack the regular convoy between Norway and Britain two days later, sinking nine merchant ships and two destroyers, HMS Mary Rose (1915) and HMS Strongbow (1916), before returning safely to Germany. At the end of the war, Menace was part of the Third Destroyer Flotilla.

After the Armistice that ended the war, the Royal Navy returned to a peacetime level of strength and both the number of ships and the amount of personnel needed to be reduced to save money. The destroyer was transferred to reserve at Nore However, the harsh conditions of wartime operations, exacerbated by the fact that the hull was not galvanised, meant that the ship was worn out. Menace was retired, and, on 9 April 1921, was sold to Ward of Grays, and broken up from 8 February 1924.