HMS Hornet ( 1911 ) HMS " Hornet " was an " Acheron " - class destroyer of the Royal Navy that served during the First World War and was sold for breaking in 1921 . She was the seventh Royal Navy ship to be named " Hornet " , after the insect of the same name . Construction . She was built under the 1910 - 11 shipbuilding programme by John Brown & Company of Clydebank , Glasgow . She ( and her sister ships and ) differed from the standard Admiralty I - class destroyer in only having two shafts instead of three . They had two Brown - Curtis type steam turbines , and twin boilers . Capable of , she carried two guns , other smaller guns and two torpedo tube s and had a complement of 72 men . She was launched on 20 December 1911 . Career . Pre - War . " Hornet " served with the First Destroyer Flotilla from 1911 and , with her flotilla , joined the British Grand Fleet in 1914 on the outbreak of the First World War . The Battle of Dogger Bank . On 24 January 1915 , the First Destroyer Flotilla — including " Hornet " — were present at the Battle of Dogger Bank , led by the light cruiser . Her crew shared in the prize money for the German armoured cruiser . Grounding of " Argyll " . The light cruiser went aground on Bell Rock near Dundee on 28 October after failing to sight the light due to a failure of communications between the ship and the lighthouse . " Hornet " and were diverted from their patrol to assist and rescued the crew of approximately 650 ; there were no fatalities . Transfer to Third Battle Squadron . " Hornet " was not present with her flotilla at the Battle of Jutland on 31 May 1916 . She was one of seven went with the First Destroyer Flotilla when it was transferred from the Grand Fleet to screen the Third Battle Squadron in November 1916 . Mediterranean Service . In 1917 , the Third Battle Squadron was sent to the Mediterranean , where they took part in the 1918 Naval campaign in the Adriatic , including enforcing the Otranto Barrage . On the night of 22 – 23 April 1918 , the " Tátra " - class destroyers " Triglav " , " Uzsok " , " Dukla " , " Lika " and " Csepel " under Fregattenkapitän Karl Herkner carried out a raid to interrupt Allied shipping between Italy and Albania south of Valona ( now Vlorë , Albania ) . " Hornet " , " Jackal " , , , the Australian destroyer and the French destroyer " Cimeterre " were formed into three groups , with between each group . " Jackal " and " Hornet " encountered the Austro - Hungarian ships and turned towards , making the challenge signal . At a range of the Austro - Hungarian destroyers opened fire , concentrating their fire on " Hornet " . Both British ships turned away , making smoke , with the intention of drawing the enemy south , but " Hornet " took a hit in the forward shell room and magazine , starting fires in both compartments and causing an explosion . The bridge and tiller flat both received further hits , and the rudder jammed hard over to starboard , leaving the ship circling hard under fire . " Jackal " turned to the east , but after approximately 15 minutes of firing , Herkner in " Triglav " broke off the engagement , reasoning that the alarm had certainly been raised . " Jackal " continued the pursuit , but the faster Austro - Hungarians pulled ahead , and she lost sight of them by 00 : 20 . " Alarm " , " Torrens " and " Cimeterre " had caught up with " Jackal " by 00 : 45 , but by 01 : 35 the pursuit was called off . " Hornet " was seriously damaged , and " Jackal " had lost her mainmast , but the appearance of Allied reinforcements had driven the Austrians back to Cattaro ( now Kotor in Montenegro ) . The British lost seven killed ( five of them in " Hornet " ) and 25 wounded , while the Austro - Hungarians suffered no hits . Despite the one - sided casualty figures , two pre - war Royal Navy destroyers had succeeded in driving off five of the latest enemy destroyers . " Hornet " was present at the entry of the Allied Fleet through the Dardanelles on 12 November . The Fleet sighted the minarets of Constantinople at 07 : 00 on 13 November and anchored an hour later . The destroyers maintained an anti - submarine patrol to the west of the anchored fleet . Disposal . Along with most ships of her class , she was laid up after the war , and on 9 May 1921 she was sold to Ward of Rainham for breaking .