HMS Racoon (1910)

History
United Kingdom
NameRacoon
NamesakeRacoon
BuilderCammell Laird, Birkenhead
Laid down1 May 1909
Launched15 February 1910
CompletedOctober 1910
Out of service9 January 1918
FateWrecked off the coast of Ireland
General characteristics
Class and typeBeagle-class destroyer
Displacement913 long tons (928 t) (normal)
Length266 ft 2 in (81.1 m)
Beam28 ft 2 in (8.6 m)
Draught16 ft 6 in (5.0 m)
Installed power5 x coal-fired Yarrow boilers, 12,000 shp (8,900 kW)
Propulsion3 x Parsons steam turbines driving 3 shafts
Speed27 kn (50 km/h; 31 mph)
Range2,000 nmi (3,700 km; 2,300 mi) at 15 knots (28 km/h; 17 mph)
Complement96
Armament

HMS Racoon was a Beagle-class (or G-class) destroyer of the British Royal Navy. The Beagles were coal-fuelled ships, designed for a speed of 27 kn (31 mph; 50 km/h) and armed with a 4 in (102 mm) gun and two torpedo tubes. Built by Harland & Wolff and launched in 1910, Racoon was transferred to the Mediterranean Fleet in 1913. In the run up to the First World War, the destroyer was deployed to Durazzo to observe the situation in Albania, but was swiftly redeployed back to Malta. The vessel was sent to protect shipping in the Suez Canal and Red Sea. In 1915, the destroyer served in the Dardanelles Campaign, escorting pre-dreadnought battleships attacking Ottoman defences and minesweepers that were attempting to clear the Dardanelles straits. During these operations, Racoon was damaged while assisting the stricken battleship Irresistible, which subsequently sank. Racoon also supported the Battle of Gully Ravine and landing at Suvla Bay. In 1917, the destroyer was transferred to Buncrana in the north of Ireland and served as a convoy escort against German submarines. Racoon was wrecked during a snowstorm off the Irish coast in 1918.