HMS Parker (1916)

HMS Parker (originally Frobisher) was a Parker-class flotilla leader of the British Royal Navy, and the lead ship of her class. She was built by Cammell Laird during the First World War, being launched on 16 August 1916 and completing on 13 December that year. Parker served with the Grand Fleet for the rest of the war, which she survived. The ship was sold for scrap in November 1921.

Construction and design
In February 1915, the British Admiralty ordered two Parker-class flotilla leaders (i.e. large destroyers intended to lead flotillas of smaller destroyers in action) under the Fourth Emergency War Construction Programme, Parker (originally to be called Frobisher but renamed before the ship was launched) and HMS Grenville (1916), from the Birkenhead shipyard Cammell Laird. The Parker-class was an improved version of the earlier Marksman-class flotilla leader with the forward two funnels of the Marksman-class merged into one and the ships' bridge moved rearwards, allowing an improved gun layout.

The Parkers were 325 ft long overall and 315 ft between perpendiculars, with a beam of 31 ft and a draught of 12 ft. Displacement was between 1660 LT and 1673 LT normal and about 1900 LT full load. Four Yarrow boilers fed steam to three sets of Parsons steam turbines, rated at 36000 shp and giving a speed of 34 kn. Three funnels were fitted. 515 LT of oil fuel were carried, giving a range of 4290 nmi at 15 kn.

The ship's main gun armament consisted of four QF 4 in Mk IV guns mounted on the ships centreline, with the forward two guns superfiring so that one could fire over the other, with one gun between the second and third funnel and one aft. Two 2-pounder (40 mm) "pom-pom" anti-aircraft guns were fitted, while torpedo armament consisted of two sets of twin 21 inch (533 mm) torpedo tubes. The standard anti-submarine armament for flotilla leaders such as Parker from June 1916 onwards was two Type D depth charges on chutes, although the number of depth charges tended to increased as the war progressed and the importance of anti-submarine operations grew. The ship's complement was 116 officers and men.

Parker, named for Admiral Peter Parker, was laid down on 19 June 1915 and launched on 17 August 1916. She was commissioned on 13 November 1916.

Service
On commissioning, Parker joined the 15th Destroyer Flotilla of the Grand Fleet at Scapa Flow as leader with sister ship Grenville. From 15 June 1917 the destroyers and submarines of the Grand Fleet took part in Operation BB, a large scale operation against German submarines, with 53 destroyers and leaders together with 17 submarines deployed on offensive patrols on the transit route for the Germans from the North Sea and around the Orkney and Shetland Islands to the Western Approaches. Parker led twelve destroyers of the 15th Flotilla on patrol to the east of Shetland. Overall, 61 sightings were made of German submarines were made by the destroyers and submarines of the Grand Fleet until the operation ended on 24 June, of which 12 resulted in attacks on the submarines, but no submarines were sunk or damaged. In July 1917, the 15th Flotilla moved to Rosyth. On 20 August 1917, Parker carried out an attack against a German submarine with depth charges. In October 1917, Parker 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, with Gabriel (along with HMS Rigorous (1916), HMS Rocket (1916), HMS Rowena (1916), HMS Sabrina (1916) and HMS Trenchant (1916)) operating with the 2nd Light Cruiser Squadron. Despite these countermeasures, the two German light cruisers SMS Bremse and SMS Brummer managed to evade the patrols and attacked the regular convoy between Norway and Britain on 17 October, sinking nine merchant ships and two destroyers, HMS Mary Rose (1915) and HMS Strongbow (1916) before returning safely to Germany.

From 31 October to 2 November 1917, the 15th Flotilla, led by Parker and supported by the light cruisers HMS Cardiff (D58), HMS Calypso (D61), HMS Ceres (D59) and HMS Caradoc (D60), made a sortie into the Kattegat, sinking the German Q-ship K (also known as Kronprinz Willhelm) on 2 November together with nine trawlers. Parker, together with the destroyers HMS Sorceress (1916), HMS Ready (1916), Rigorous, Rocket, HMS Rob Roy (1916) and HMS Trenchant (1916), was awarded a bounty for sinking K. Parker remained part of the 15th Flotilla at the end of the war, and on 21 November 1918, helped to escort the German High Seas Fleet to the Firth of Forth prior to its internment at Scapa Flow. She was paid off into reserve in December 1918, her crew joining the newly commissioned HMS Campbell (D60).

By July 1919, Parker was back in commission with the 5th Destroyer Flotilla of the Home Fleet, detached for operations in Irish waters. She remained in Irish waters until August 1919, and was reduced to reserve at Chatham in December 1919.

Fate
Parker was placed on the disposal list in February 1921 and was sold as part of a batch of nine destroyers to the ship breakers John Cashmore Ltd on 15 November 1921. The ship was removed from Chatham on 16 May 1923 for scrapping at Cashmore's Newport works.