HMS Ranger (1895)

HMS Ranger was a "twenty-seven knotter" torpedo boat destroyer of the British Royal Navy. Built by the Tyneside shipbuilder Hawthorn Leslie, Opossum was one of three destroyers built by Hawthorns that were ordered in 1894. She was launched in 1895 and completed in 1896. She remained in service during the First World War, where she was used for local patrol duties. She was sold for scrap in 1920.

Design and construction
HMS Ranger, along with sister ships HMS Sunfish (1895) and HMS Opossum (1895), was one of three destroyers ordered for the Royal Navy from Hawthorn Leslie on 7 February 1894 as part of the 1893–1894 Naval Estimates. A total of 36 destroyers were ordered from 14 shipbuilders as part of the 1893–1894 Naval Estimates, all of which were required to reach a contract speed of 27 kn. The Admiralty laid down broad requirements for the destroyers, including speed, the use of an arched turtleback forecastle and armament, with the detailed design left to the builders, resulting in each of the builders producing different designs.

Ranger was 204 ft long overall and 200 ft between perpendiculars, with a beam of 19 ft and a draught of 8 ft. Displacement was 310 LT light and 340 LT full load. Eight Yarrow boilers, with their uptakes trunked together to three funnels, fed steam at 185 psi to two triple-expansion steam engines, rated at 4000 ihp. Armament consisted of a single QF 12-pounder 12 cwt gun and three 6-pounder guns, with two 18-inch (450 mm) torpedo tubes. One of the torpedo tubes could be removed to accommodate a further two six-pounders. The ship's crew was 53 officers and men.

On 17 September 1895, Ranger was laid down as Yard Number 327 at Hawthorn Leslie's Hebburn, Tyneside shipyard, and was launched on 4 October 1895. The ship reached a speed of 27.13 kn during sea trials, and was completed in June 1896.

Service
In July 1896 Ranger was in reserve at Chatham. On 26 June 1897, Ranger took part in the naval review at Spithead to celebrate the Golden Jubilee of Queen Victoria. In 1901, Ranger was based at Portsmouth. Lieutenant Spencer Reginald Strettell Richards was appointed in command on 29 November 1902. In 1905, Ranger was one of a number of old destroyers which the Rear Admiral (Destroyers) condemned as being "..all worn out", with "every shilling spent on these old 27-knotters is a waste of money". He recommended that they be withdrawn from flotilla use and used either as tenders to training schools, or as local defence torpedo boats, or disposed of.

On 2 July 1908, during the annual Naval Manoeuvres, Ranger was steaming in company with the cruiser HMS Topaze (1903) in thick fog near the Outer Dowsing lightvessel, when the destroyer HMS Haughty (1895) collided with her. While Haughty's bow was only slightly twisted, the damage to Ranger was more severe, with her hull holed close to the waterline. The hole was patched with canvas, and Ranger made it to Chatham Dockyard under her own steam. She returned to her flotilla after repair on 14 July. In August 1910, Ranger, now part of the Nore Destroyer Flotilla, was repaired at Sheerness dockyard after being damaged by colliding with a pier head at Yarmouth. On 5 November that year, Ranger, now part of the 6th Destroyer Flotilla, ran aground off Selsey Bill, damaging her propellers, so she had to be towed into Portsmouth harbour. In June 1911, Ranger collided with the pleasure steamer King Edward at the entrance to Torquay harbour. Ranger was holed below the waterline and was brought into Devonport Dockyard for repair by the battleship HMS Victorious (1895).

On 30 August 1912 the Admiralty directed all destroyers were to be grouped into classes designated by letters based on contract speed and appearance. After 30 September 1913, as a 27-knotter, Ranger was assigned to the A-class destroyer (1913).

By March 1913, Ranger was not part of an active flotilla, but was attached as a tender to the shore establishment HMS Vivid (shore establishment 1890) at Devonport, with a nucleus crew, but by May that year was listed as for sale at Devonport.

The outbreak of the First World War stopped the sale of the ship, and by March 1915, Ranger was listed as part of the Seventh Destroyer Flotilla, a patrol flotilla based on the East coast of Britain. By April, however, she was part of the Local Defence Flotilla at Portsmouth. Ranger was still part of the Portsmouth Local Defence Flotilla in January 1917, but by March that year, was no longer listed as being part of that unit.

Ranger was sold for scrap on 20 May 1920.