HMS Pylades (1916)

History
United Kingdom
NamePylades
NamesakePylades
OrderedMay 1915
BuilderStephens, Linthouse
Laid down27 July 1915
Launched28 September 1916
Completed30 December 1916
Out of service9 May 1921
FateSold to be broken up
General characteristics
Class and typeAdmiralty M-class destroyer
Displacement1,026 long tons (1,042 t) (normal)
Length
  • 273 ft 4 in (83.3 m) (o/a)
  • 265 feet (80.8 m) (p.p.)
Beam26 ft 8 in (8.1 m)
Draught8 ft 11 in (2.7 m)
Installed power3 Yarrow boilers, 27,800 shp (20,700 kW)
PropulsionBrown-Curtiss steam turbines, 3 shafts
Speed34 knots (63 km/h; 39 mph)
Range2,530 nmi (4,690 km; 2,910 mi) at 15 kn (28 km/h; 17 mph)
Complement80
Armament

HMS Pylades was a Repeat Admiralty M-class destroyer that served in the Royal Navy during the First World War. The M class was an improvement on those of the preceding L class, capable of higher speed. Launched in 1916, Pylades joined the Thirteenth Destroyer Flotilla of the Grand Fleet. During the following year, the vessel defended the light cruisers Dublin and Sydney from the Zeppelin L 43 and participated in an extensive but unsuccessful search for German ships in the North Sea with the Sixth Light Cruiser Squadron. However, much of the remainder of the war was taken up in escort work, particularly as the British Admiralty increasingly used convoy as a weapon against German submarines, although the destroyer was not successful in destroying any German adversaries, After the Armistice that ended the war, Pylades was initially put in reserve and then sold in 1921 to be broken up.