HMS Peregrine (1916)

HMS Peregrine was a Admiralty M-class destroyer that served with the Royal Navy during the First World War. The M class were an improvement on the preceding L-class destroyer, capable of higher speed. Launched on 29 May 1916, the vessel served with the Grand Fleet, focusing on anti-submarine warfare. In 1917, the destroyer was involved in the search for SMU UC-65 after the submarine had sunk the protected cruiser HMS Ariadne (1898). In 1918, the ship participated in one of the final sorties of the war, although this did not lead to a confrontation with the German High Seas Fleet. After the Armistice that ended the war, the destroyer was placed in reserve and subsequently sold to be broken up on 9 May 1921.

Design and development
Peregrine was one of sixteen Admiralty M-class destroyers ordered by the British Admiralty in May 1915 as part of the Fifth War Construction Programme. The M-class was an improved version of the earlier L-class destroyer destroyers, designed to reach a higher speed in order to counter rumoured German fast destroyers, although it transpired these vessels did not exist. The destroyers did not achieve the speed required. Nonetheless, the additional speed that was possible was appreciated by the navy.

The destroyer was 273 ft long overall, with a beam of 26 ft and a draught of 16 ft. Displacement was 860 LT normal and 1021 LT full load. Power was provided by three Yarrow boilers feeding two Brown-Curtis steam turbines rated at 25000 shp and driving two shafts, to give a design speed of 34 kn. Three funnels were fitted and 296 LT of oil carried, giving a design range of 2530 nmi at 15 kn.

Armament consisted of three 4 in Mk IV QF guns on the ship's 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 and the destroyer was also fitted with racks and storage for depth charges. The ship had a complement of 76 officers and ratings.

Construction and career
Peregrine was laid down by John Brown & Company of Clydebank, alongside sister ship HMS Penn (1916) on 9 June 1915, with the yard number 448, launched on 29 May the following year and completed on 10 June. The ship was named after the Peregrine falcon, a title that dates from 1650. The vessel was deployed as part of the Grand Fleet, joining the newly formed Fourteenth Destroyer Flotilla. On 4 July, the new flotilla was sent from Scapa Flow to the Humber. On 22 November, the flotilla took part in exercises north of the Shetland Islands under the dreadnought HMS Iron Duke (1912) that also involved the majority of the First and Third Battle Squadrons.

Peregrine spent most of the First World War in anti-submarine escorting and patrols. For example, on 15 June 1917, the vessel, along with the rest of the flotilla, was involved in a large sweep of the area west of the Shetland Islands. The destroyer did not succeed in spotting or sinking any submarines. On 26 July, the destroyer was escorting the protected cruiser HMS Ariadne (1898) from Immingham to Plymouth, to lay a deep minefield. Off the coast of Folkestone, the German U-boat SMU UC-65, captained by Korvettenkapitän Otto Steinbrinck, sighted the vessels and launched two torpedoes. The torpedoes hit, sinking Ariadne, while Peregrine unsuccessfully searched for the submarine.

On 15 October, the flotilla 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. 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 two destroyers, HMS Mary Rose (1915) and HMS Strongbow (1916), and nine merchant ships before returning safely to Germany. On 24 April the following year, the flotilla took part in the Royal Navy's response to one of the final sorties of the German High Seas Fleet during the First World War, although the two fleets did not actually meet and the destroyer saw no action.

After the armistice, the Royal Navy returned to a peacetime level of mobilisation and Peregrine was declared superfluous to operational requirements. On 29 November 1919, the destroyer was reduced and placed in reserve. However, this did not last long and, on 5 November 1921, Peregrine was sold to be broken up to Cashmore or Newport, Wales.