| History | |
|---|---|
 United Kingdom | |
| Name | HMS Earnest |
| Builder | Laird, Son & Co., Birkenhead |
| Laid down | 2 March 1896 |
| Launched | 7 November 1896 |
| Completed | November 1897 |
| Fate | Scrapped, 1920 |
| General characteristics | |
| Class and type | Earnest-class destroyer |
| Displacement | 395 long tons (401 t) |
| Length | 210 ft (64 m) |
| Beam | 21.5 ft (6.6 m) |
| Draught | 9.75 ft (3.0 m) |
| Propulsion |
|
| Speed | 30 knots (56 km/h; 35 mph) |
| Complement | 63 |
| Armament | |
HMS Earnest was an "thirty-knotter" torpedo boat destroyer of the British Royal Navy. She was built by Laird, Son & Company at their Birkenhead shipyard as one of six Earnest-class destroyers ordered as part of the Royal Navy's 1895–1896 construction programme, which were later classified as members of the B-class. Earnest was launched on 7 November 1896 and was completed in November 1897.
Earnest served in the Mediterranean from 1898 to 1907, before returning to Britain. She remained in service in the First World War, being employed on patrol and convoy escort duties in the North Sea and Irish Sea. Earnest was sold for scrap on 7 January 1920.