HMS Wolverine (1910)
HMS "Wolverine" was a of the Royal Navy launched on 15 January 1910. She was built by Cammell Laird at Birkenhead. Design and construction. "Wolverine" was one of three s ordered from the shipbuilder Cammell Laird as part of the 1908–1909 shipbuilding programme. The "Beagle"s were not built to a standard design, with detailed design being left to the builders of individual ships in accordance with a loose specification. "Wolverine", like the other two Laird-built ships, was long, with a beam of and a draught of . Displacement was normal. Five Yarrow boilers fed direct-drive Parsons  steam turbines driving three propeller shafts. The machinery was rated at to meet the design speed of . Gun armament consisted of one BL 4 inch naval gun Mk VIII and three QF 12-pounder 12 cwt guns. Torpedo armament consisted of two 21 inch (533 mm) torpedo tubes. Two spare torpedoes were carried. "Wolverine" was laid down at Laird's Birkenhead shipyard on 26 April 1904 and was launched on 15 January 1910. She reached a speed of on her sea trials, meeting the contract requirement of 27 knots, and was completed in September 1910. Service history. On commissioning, "Wolverine  joined the First Destroyer Flotilla, part of the Home Fleet. In 1912, the Royal Navy's destroyer flotillas were re-organized, with the Beagle"s joining the Third Destroyer Flotilla. "Wolverine" remained part of the Third Flotilla until August 1913, but had transferred to the Fifth Destroyer Flotilla, part of the Royal Navy's Mediterranean Fleet by November that year. At the outbreak of the First World War, "Wolverine" was still in the Mediterranean, as a member of the 5th Destroyer Flotilla. The flotilla, including "Wolverine", was involved in the pursuit of the German battlecruiser . "Wolverine" was one of eight destroyers  deployed by Rear Admiral Ernest Troubridge to assist his squadron of Armoured cruisers in stopping the German ships escaping to Austrian waters. When it was realised that "Goeben" and "Breslau" were not heading to Austria, Troubridge left these destroyers behind as they did not have sufficient coal left for a high speed pursuit, and set off southwards on the night of 6/7 August 1914 with his four Armoured cruisers. He called off his pursuit later that night because he could not intercept the German squadron until daylight, when "Goeben"s superior speed and armament would give the Germans a significant advantage . On 1 November 1914 she and the destroyer sank a Turkish armed yacht, believed to be involved in minelaying operations, in the Gulf of Smyrna. In 1915, along with numerous other "Beagle", and destroyers, she took part in the naval operations in the Dardanelles Campaign. Early operations involved escorting trawlers when they attempted to sweep Turkish minefields in the narrows of the Dardanelles. During the initial landings at ANZAC Cove and at Cape Helles, "Wolverine" joined several other destroyers in minesweeping operations in the Dardanelles straits to allow Allied battleships to bombard Turkish positions. On 28 April, "Wolverine" was sweeping  in conjunction with sister ship (the sweep wire was run between the two ships) when she was hit on the ship's bridge by a Turkish shell, which killed Commander Osmond J. Prentis, "Wolverine" s captain and two more men. On the night of 12/13 May, the pre-dreadnought battleships and were anchored in Morto Bay, supporting French troops. To protect the two battleships, "Beagle" and "Bulldog" patrolled the north side of the straits, with "Scorpion" and "Wolverine" patrolling the southern side and in the centre of the straits. Despite these patrols, the Turkish destroyer managed to sneak past "Beagle  and Bulldog" on the northern side of the straits and torpedoed and sunk "Goliath" before successfully escaping. On releasing that "Goliath" had been torpedoed, "Wolverine" and "Scorpion" attempted to cut off the Turkish destroyer, but "Muavenet-i Milliye" evaded them. Work included naval artillery support, particular at the Cape Helles beachhead. On 28 June "Wolverine" provided support for the advancing forces at the Battle of Gully Ravine, helping to break up a Turkish counter attack. She provided cover for the final evacuation from Cape Helles on the night of 8/9 January 1916. From March 1916, "Wolverine" operated in the Aegean , patrolling the Dodecanese, Sporades and Cyclades and the Turkish coast, carrying raiding parties of Greek and Cretan irregular troops commanded by the classical scholar John Myres which carried out cattle raids on the Turkish coast. "Wolverine" was recalled to home waters and assigned to the 2nd Destroyer Flotilla now based at Buncrana, near Lough Swilly in the north of Ireland in October 1917. On 12 December 1917, "Wolverine" sank following a collision with the fleet sweeping sloop "Rosemary" off the northwest coast of Ireland. Two of "Wolverine"s crew were killed.