HMS Thisbe (1917)

HMS Thisbe was an R-class destroyer (1916) destroyer which served in the Royal Navy during World War I. The R class were an improvement on the previous M class with geared steam turbines to improve efficiency. Built by Hawthorn Leslie and launched on 8 March 1917, the destroyer served as part of the Harwich Force. In 1918, the destroyer towed a flying boat on a lighter to take part in operations off the coast of Heligoland, although the aircraft failed to take off. After the war, the destroyer was placed in reserve, and participated in trials with the Compass Department in 1925. The ship was sold to be broken up on 31 August 1936.

Design
Thisbe was one of twelve R-class destroyer (1916) destroyers ordered by the British Admiralty in March 1916 as part of the Eighth War Construction Programme. The R class were a development of the preceding M-class destroyer (1913), but differed in having geared turbines to improve fuel consumption, the central gun mounted on a bandstand and minor changes to improve seakeeping.

The destroyer was 265 ft long between perpendiculars, with a beam of 26 ft and a draught of 9 ft. Displacement was 975 LT normal and 1035 LT deep load. Power was provided by three Yarrow boilers feeding two Parsons geared steam turbines rated at 27000 shp and driving two shafts, to give a design speed of 36 kn. Three funnels were fitted. A total of 296 LT of oil was carried, giving a design range of 3450 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 second and third funnels. A single 2-pounder 40 mm "pom-pom" anti-aircraft gun was carried, while torpedo armament consisted of two rotating twin mounts for 21 in torpedoes. The ship had a complement of 82 officers and ratings.

Service
The ship was laid down by Hawthorn Leslie and Company in Hebburn on 13 June 1916 with the yard number 492. Launched on 8 March 1917, the destroyer was completed on 6 June 1917. The vessel was the third to be named after Thisbe, a woman of Babylon from Greek mythology.

On commissioning, Thisbe joined the Tenth Destroyer Flotilla of the Harwich Force. The deployment was part of a wider expansion of the destroyer force in the navy. Towards the end of the war, the Navy looked to alternative ways of attacking the Germans, particularly the fast but short range Thornycroft Coastal Motor Boats and Curtis Large American flying boats. A lighter was developed that could be towed by destroyers, taking the faster craft close to the enemy. On 10 August 1918, Thisbe, towing a flying boat on a lighter and accompanied by six Coastal Motor Boats, joined a fleet of four light cruisers and thirteen destroyers to sail for Heligoland and attack German shipping. Initially, the assignment was not a success as the aircraft failed to take off and the boats were all sunk or interned, but subsequently one of the aircraft launched by one of the other destroyers shot down the Zeppelin LZ 100.

Thisbe remained part of the Tenth Destroyer Flotilla at the end of the war, but was placed in reserve at Nore on 24 February 1920. On 17 November 1924, the vessel completed a refit. The destroyer was attached to the Compass Department the following year, and took part of a trial of six different compasses, including a gunnery compass. On 31 August 1936, Thisbe was given to Thos. W. Ward of Sheffield in exchange for RMS Majestic and was subsequently broken up at Pembroke Dock.