H.M.S. Cobra (1899)
| H.M.S. Cobra (1899) | |
|---|---|
| Builder: | Armstrong[1] |
| Ordered: | Purchased 1900[2] |
| Launched: | 28 Jun, 1899[3] |
| Commissioned: | 1901[4] |
| Foundered: | 19 Sep, 1901[5] |
H.M.S. Cobra was one of twenty-four "B" class destroyers built for the Royal Navy — a "30 knotter".
Service
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, 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]
Captains
Dates of appointment are provided when known.
- Lieutenant & Commander Alan W. Bosworth Smith, September, 1901[8] – 19 September, 1901 (killed when vessel broke up in storm)
See Also
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.
- ↑ Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships 1860–1905. p. 98.
- ↑ Friedman. British Destroyers. p. 304.
- ↑ Smith. Hard Lying. p. 71.
- ↑ Hepper. British Warship Losses in the Ironclad Era: 1860-1919. p. 16.
- ↑ 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.
