page_title: HMS Laforey (1913)
section_title: Construction and design
hierarchical_section_title: HMS Laforey (1913) / Construction and design
caption_attribution_description: Crewmen with dog on board HMS 'Laforey'.
context_page_description: HMS Laforey was the lead ship of her class of destroyer built for the Royal Navy. Launched a year before the First World War began, she was attached to the Dover Patrol. Laforey saw action in several engagements with German torpedo boats, including the Battle off Noordhinder Bank and the Action of 17 March 1917. Laforey was sunk in 1917 by a British mine after escorting several freighters to France. She was named for Francis Laforey, captain of HMS Spartiate at the Battle of Trafalgar in 1805.
context_section_description: On 29 March 1912, the British Admiralty placed orders for the first 16 destroyers of the L- (later to become the Laforey-class destroyer). Four of these ships were ordered from Fairfield Shipbuilding and Engineering Company, including the lead ship, to be named Florizel. Florizel was laid down at Fairfield's Govan, Glasgow shipyard on 9 September 1912 and launched on 22 August 1913. On 30 September 1913, the Admiralty ordered that the L-class be renamed with names beginning with the letter "L", and Florizel was renamed Laforey. Laforey was completed in February 1914.
  Laforey was 268 feet 10 inches (81.94 m) long overall and 260 feet 0 inches (79.25 m) between perpendiculars, with a beam of 27 feet 6 inches (8.38 m) and a draught of 10 feet 10 inches (3.30 m). Displacement was 962 long tons (977 t) normal and 1,112 long tons (1,130 t) full load. Four Yarrow boilers fed steam at 250 pounds per square inch (1,700 kPa) to two sets of Brown-Curtis direct-drive steam turbine which, in turn, drove two propeller shafts, with a rated power of 24,500 shaft horsepower (18,300 kW), and a design speed of 29 knots (54 km/h; 33 mph) at full load, with a speed of 29.95 knots (55.47 km/h; 34.47 mph) reached during sea trials. Crew was 73 officers and men.
  The ship's main gun armament consisted of three QF 4 in (102 mm) Mk IV guns on the ship's centreline, with 120 rounds per gun. The ship carried two twin  21 inch (533 mm) torpedo tubes, and was fitted with rails to carry four Vickers Elia Mk IV naval mines, although these rails were never used.
caption: Crewmen with dog circa. 1915–1916
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