HMS Seawolf (1918)

HMS Seawolf was an S-class destroyer (1917) destroyer that served with the Royal Navy and, in 1922, was commanded by the future Admiral of the Fleet, John Tovey. Launched in 1918 just before the end of the First World War, the warship initially joined the torpedo school at Devonport before, in 1919, serving briefly in the Latvian War of Independence. Subsequently deployed to Ireland, the vessel carried some of the bodies of the victims of Bloody Sunday to their funerals in 1920 and, in 1924, rescued the passengers and crew of the steamship Asian that had sunk in a storm near Queenstown. After the London Naval Treaty of 1930 restricted the tonnage of destroyers operated by the Navy, Seawolf was retired and, in 1931, was sold to be broken up.

Design and development
Seawolf was one of 33 Admiralty S-class destroyer (1917) destroyers ordered by the British Admiralty in June 1917 as part of the Twelfth War Construction Programme. The design was a development of the R-class destroyer (1916) introduced as a cheaper and faster alternative to the V and W-class destroyer. Differences with the R class were minor, such as having the searchlight further aft.

Seawolf had an overall length of 276 ft and a length of 265 ft between perpendiculars. The beam was 26 ft and draught 9 ft. Displacement was 1075 LT normal and 1221 LT deep load. Three Yarrow boilers fed steam to two sets of Brown-Curtis geared steam turbines rated at 27000 shp and driving two shafts, giving a design speed of 36 kn at normal loading and 32.5 kn at deep load. Two funnels were fitted. A full load of 301 LT of fuel oil was carried, which gave a design range of 2750 nmi at 15 kn.

Armament consisted of three QF 4 in Mk IV guns on the ship's centreline. One was mounted raised on the forecastle, one on a platform between the funnels and one aft. The ship also mounted a single 2-pounder 40 mm "pom-pom" anti-aircraft gun for air defence. Four 21 in torpedo tubes were carried in two twin rotating mounts aft. Four depth charge chutes were also fitted aft. Typically ten depth charges were carried. The ship was designed to mount two additional 18 in torpedo tubes either side of the superstructure but this required the forecastle plating to be cut away, causing excess water to come aboard at sea, so they were removed. The weight saved enabled the heavier Mark V 21-inch torpedo to be carried. Fire control included a training-only director, single Dumaresq and a Vickers range clock. The ship had a complement of 90 officers and ratings.

Construction and career
One of nine of the class to be built by the shipyard,Seawolf was laid down on 30 April 1918 by John Brown & Company in Clydebank with the yard number 480, launched on 2 November shortly before the Armistice that ended the First World War and completed on 28 January the following year. The vessel was the first that served in the Royal Navy to be named Seawolf. Completed on 28 January the following year, Seawolf was commissioned and joined the torpedo school at Devonport. The vessel did not receive a full crew until 20 October.

The destroyer joined the Fourth Destroyer Flotilla of the Atlantic Fleet. Although the war had finished, the escalating civil war in Russia continued. The United Kingdom decided to send units of the Royal Navy into the Baltic Sea to monitor the situation. Soon into the campaign, it became clear that the Russians were planning to liberate the Baltic State of Latvia by integrating it into the new Soviet Union. The fleet was therefore tasked with not simply helping to help organise the evacuation of German forces from the country but also support their War of independence. This was achieved on 14 November. On 28 December, the destroyer, along with sister ships HMS Sardonyx (1919) and HMS Tenedos (H04), left the capital of Tallinn and sailed home, arriving in Rosyth on 4 January the following year.

On 13 February 1920, the ship started a tour of Germany, initially visiting Flensburg, leaving the following day for Wilhelmshaven and arriving in Hamburg four days later, returning to the UK on 20 February. On 16 June, the destroyer visited Copenhagen. The vessel was subsequently deployed in Ireland. On 26 November, the warship carried the bodies of some of the victims of Bloody Sunday to their funerals. On 1 August 1922, the future Admiral of the Fleet, John Tovey took command of the destroyer. On 17 September 1924, while based at Queenstown, Seawolf rescued the passengers and crew of the Leyland Line steamship Asian that went down in a storm. On 22 April 1930, the London Naval Treaty was signed, which limited total destroyer tonnage in the Royal Navy. The force was looking to introduce more modern destroyers and so needed to retire some of the older vessels. Seawolf was retired and, on 23 February 1931, sold to John Cashmore Ltd to be broken up at Newport, Wales.