User:Rgdem999/HMS Wanderer (1919)

HMS Wanderer (D74/I74) ...

HMS Wanderer was a Admiralty modified W class destroyer of the Royal Navy. She was ordered from Fairfields in January 1918 with the 13th Order for Destroyers of the War Emergency Program of 1918-19. She was the seventh ship to carry the name, introduced in 1806 for a Sloop and last borne by a paddle mine sweeper renamed in 1918.

Construction
HMS Wanderer’s keel was laid on the 7th of August, 1918 at the Fairfields’ Shipyard at Govan on the River Clyde. She was launched on the 1st of May, 1919. She was 312 feet overall in length with a beam of 29.5 feet. Her mean draught was 9 feet, and would reach 11.25 feet under full load. She had a displacement of 1,140 tons standard and up to 1,550 full load.

She was propelled by three Yarrow type water tube boilers powering Curtis-Brown geared steam turbines developing 27,000 SHP driving two screws for a maximum designed speed of 34 knots. She was oil-fired and had a bunkerage of 320 to 370 tons. This gave a range of between 3500 nautical miles at 15 knots and 900 nautical miles at 32 knots.

She shipped four BL 4.7 in (120-mm) Mk.I guns, mount P Mk.I naval guns in four single center-line turrets. The turrets were disposed as two forward and two aft in super imposed firing positions. She also carried two QF 2 pdr Mk.II "pom-pom" (40 mm L/39) mounted abeam between funnels. Abaft of the 2nd funnel, she carried six 21-inch Torpedo Tubes in two triple mounts on the center-line.

Inter-War Period
HMS Wanderer was commissioned into the Royal Navy on the 18th August, 1919 and was assigned pennant number D71. This ship was assigned to the 4th Destroyer Flotilla of the Atlantic Fleet. In 1925 the 4th Flotilla was transferred to the Mediterranean. In 1931 when replaced by an A Class destroyer, HMS Wanderer was deployed at Chatham in the Nore Local Flotilla and used for training duties. Although allocated to the 15th Destroyer Flotilla at Rosyth prior to the outbreak of war this was changed and she joined the Western Approaches Command.

Disposition
HMS Wanderer remained in reserve until placed on the Disposal List. She was sold to BISCO on 31st of January, 1946 for demolition by Hughes Bolcow at Blyth and towed to the breaker’s yard later that year.