History | |
---|---|
United Kingdom | |
Name | Ruby |
Builder | J. Samuel White, East Cowes |
Laid down | 15 February 1910 |
Launched | 4 November 1910 |
Completed | 7 April 1911 |
Out of service | 9 May 1921 |
Fate | Sold to be broken up |
General characteristics (as built) | |
Class and type | Acorn-class destroyer |
Displacement | |
Length | |
Beam | 25 ft 5 in (7.7 m) |
Draught | 8 ft 6 in (2.6 m) |
Installed power | 4 White-Forster boilers 13,500 shp (10,100 kW) |
Propulsion | Parsons steam turbines, 3 shafts |
Speed | 27 kn (50 km/h; 31 mph) |
Range | 1,540 nmi (2,850 km; 1,770 mi) at 15 kn (28 km/h; 17 mph) |
Complement | 72 |
Armament |
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HMS Ruby was one of 20 Acorn-class (later H-class) destroyers built for the Royal Navy that served in the First World War. The Acorn class were smaller than the preceding Beagle class but oil-fired and better armed. Launched in 1910, the ship served with the Second Destroyer Flotilla, joining the Grand Fleet at the start of the war. The destroyer served in escort and patrol roles, protecting merchant ships against German submarines. Despite multiple sightings and attacks, no submarine was claimed destroyed. In 1915, escort service in the Irish Sea proved too much for the destroyer's hull, which leaked and needed to be repaired. In 1916, while escorting the ocean liner Calgarian, the destroyer was again damaged attacking what was thought to be a German submarine but transpired to be wreckage from a merchant ship sunk by U-49. In 1917, the vessel was transferred to the Mediterranean Fleet, joining the Fifth Destroyer Flotilla. After the Armistice, the destroyer served in the Black Sea until being placed in reserve in 1919. Ruby was sold to be broken up in 1921.