H.M.S. Cobra (1899)

H.M.S. Cobra (1899)
Builder:	Armstrong, Whitworth & Company^[1]
Ordered:	Purchased 1900^[2]
Launched:	28 Jun, 1899^[3]
Completed:	mid Sep, 1901^[4]
Foundered:	19 Sep, 1901

H.M.S. Cobra was one of twenty-four "B" class destroyers built for the Royal Navy — a "30 knotter".

Service

The Cobra was delivered on 18 September, 1901 and was to undertake trials with Albatross, as Viper had not safely come through the recent manoeuvres.^[5]

However, Cobra foundered on her delivery voyage from Newcastle to Portsmouth at a position near Cromer. After sailing from the Tyne on 17 September, the new destroyer had taken to rolling so badly that speed was reduced to 10 knots and the stokeholds could barely be manned. She broke up at 7 a.m. on the 19th, breaking at her third funnel two hours after sailing, within sight of Outer Dowsing Lightship. Having been lost at just five weeks after Viper's unfortunate grounding and loss, her destruction inspired a distrust of snake-based ship names.^[6]

Sixty-seven men died, and twelve survivors were picked up by the P. & O. steamer Harlington.^[7]

A Swedish diver of the Neptune Salvage Company found the wreck at 15 fathoms depth, 37 nautical miles from Spurn, broken and bottom up. The aft section was not found anywhere within 10 fathoms of the fore part.^[8]

A Court Martial was convened on 10 October aboard H.M.S. Victory, presided over by Rear-Admiral Pelham Aldrich.^[9]

The ships in Portsmouth Harbour collected £283 toward the Cobra Relief Fund,^[10] to which Armstrong, Whitworth & Company added £1,000, which brought the amount to £4,000.^[11]

Captains

Dates of appointment are provided when known.

Lieutenant & Commander Alan W. Bosworth Smith, September, 1901^[12] – 19 September, 1901 (killed when vessel broke up in storm)

Footnotes

↑ Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships 1860–1905. p. 98.
↑ Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships 1860–1905. p. 98.
↑ Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships 1860–1905. p. 98.
↑ "Naval & Military Intelligence." The Times (London, England), Tuesday, Sep 10, 1901; pg. 8; Issue 36556.
↑ "Naval & Military Intelligence." The Times (London, England), Tuesday, Sep 10, 1901; pg. 8; Issue 36556.
↑ Smith. Hard Lying. p. 71.
↑ Hepper. British Warship Losses in the Ironclad Era: 1860-1919. p. 16.
↑ "The Loss of the Cobra" The Times (London, England), Friday, Oct 04, 1901; pg. 8; Issue 36577.
↑ "Naval & Military Intelligence." The Times (London, England), Wednesday, Oct 09, 1901; pg. 8; Issue 36581.
↑ "Naval & Military Intelligence." The Times (London, England), Thursday, Oct 10, 1901; pg. 8; Issue 36582.
↑ "The Cobra Disaster." The Times (London, England), Friday, Oct 18, 1901; pg. 8; Issue 36589.
↑ Weaver and Mayo, p. 180.

Bibliography

Weaver, Frederic William, M.A., F.S.A. and Mayo, Charles Herbert, M.A., R.D. (1907). Notes & Queries for Somerset and Dorset. Volume X. Sherborne: J. C. and A. T. Sawtell.