HMS Handy (1895)

History
United Kingdom
Name:	HMS Handy
Builder:	Fairfields, Govan
Laid down:	7 June 1894
Launched:	9 March 1895
Commissioned:	October 1895
Fate:	Sold Hong Kong, 1916
General characteristics
Class and type:	Handy-class destroyer
Displacement:	275 long tons (279 t) light 310 long tons (310 t) full load
Length:	197 ft (60.05 m) oa
Beam:	19 ft 5 in (5.92 m)
Draught:	7 ft 6 in (2.29 m)
Installed power:	4,000 hp (2,983 kW)
Propulsion:	3 × Thornycroft boilers 2 × vertical triple-expansion steam engines 2 shafts
Speed:	27 knots (50 km/h; 31 mph)
Complement:	53
Armament:	1 × 12 pounder gun 3 × 6 pounder gun 2 × 18 inch torpedo tubes

HMS Handy was a Handy-class destroyer which served with the Royal Navy. Built by Fairfield Shipbuilding and Engineering Company in 1895 she spent most of her time on the China Station, and was sold in Hong Kong during the Great War.

Design and construction

As part of the 1893–1894 Naval Estimates, the British Admiralty placed orders for 36 torpedo-boat destroyers, all to be capable of 27 knots (50 km/h; 31 mph), as a follow-on to the six prototype "26-knotters" ordered in the previous 1892–1893 Estimates. Of the 36 destroyers, three ships (Handy, Hart and Hunter) were ordered from Fairfield Shipbuilding and Engineering Company of Govan,^[1] the first torpedo craft to be built by that shipyard.^[2] As typical for torpedo craft at the time, the Admiralty left detailed design to the builders, laying down only broad requirements.^[3][4]

Fairfield's design was 197 feet (60.05 m) long overall and 194 feet (59.13 m) between perpendiculars, with a beam of 19 feet 5 inches (5.92 m) and a draught of 7 feet 6 inches (2.29 m). Displacement was 275 long tons (279 t) light and 310 long tons (310 t) full load,^[2] while the ship's complement was 53 officers and men.^[5] Three Thornycroft boilers fed steam at 215 pounds per square inch (1,480 kPa) to two 3-cylinder triple expansion steam engines rated at 4,000 indicated horsepower (3,000 kW) and driving two propeller shafts.^[2] Two funnels were fitted.^[6] Armament consisted of a single QF 12 pounder 12 cwt^{[lower-alpha 1]} gun and three 6-pounder guns, with two 18-inch (450 mm) torpedo tubes.^[7] As a gunboat, one of the torpedo tubes could be removed to accommodate a further two six-pounders.^{[8][9][lower-alpha 2]}

Handy was laid down on 7 June 1894 and was launched on 9 March 1895.^[2] Handy reached a speed of 27.04 knots (50.08 km/h; 31.12 mph) during sea trials,^[11] and was commissioned in October 1895.^[2]

Service

The Fairfield-built Twenty-seven knotters were considered good sea boats, so suitable for service on overseas stations.^[12] Handy was sent out to Hong Kong in 1897–1898, a year after her sister ship Hart, to serve on the China Station, remaining there for the rest of her career.^[13] The bow structure of Handy required strengthening,^{[lower-alpha 3]} which was carried out by April 1901.^[15]

In January 1901, Handy took part in the salvaging of the dredger Canton River, which had sunk in Hong Kong harbour during a Typhoon in November 1900, with Handy being used to pump air into the hull of the stricken vessel.^[16] In November 1911, when the Xinhai Revolution caused Chang Ming-Ch'i, Governor-General of Kwangtung province to abandon his post, Handy ferried him from Canton to safety in Hong Kong.^[17]

Handy was paid up in 1912,^[18] and by March 1913 Handy was placed on the sale list.^[19] She was finally sold in Hong Kong in 1916.^[13]

References

Notes

1. "Cwt" is the abbreviation for hundredweight, 12cwt referring to the weight of the gun.
2. While many of the 27-knotters later carried both the two torpedo tubes and all 5 six-pounder guns, stability concerns prevented Handy from following suit.^[10]
3. Handy's commanding officer noted inwards and outwards movement of the bow plating and frames of about 2 inches (51 mm) in heavy seas.^[14]

Citations

1. Lyon 2001, pp. 19–20.
2. Lyon 2001, p. 87.
3. Chesneau and Kolesnik 1979, p. 87.
4. Manning 1961, p. 39.
5. Manning 1961, p. 36.
6. Friedman 2009, p. 48.
7. Friedman 2009, p. 291.
8. Lyon 2001, pp. 98–99.
9. Friedman 2009, p. 40.
10. Lyon 2003, p. 100.
11. Brassey 1897, p. 321.
12. Lyon 2001, p. 116.
13. Lyon 2001, p. 89.
14. Brown 2003, p. 140.
15. Lyon 2001, p. 114.
16. Crowe 1903, pp. 310–312.
17. Chan Lau Kit-Ching 1990, pp. 97–100.
18. "NMM, vessel ID 368123" (PDF). Warship Histories, vol i. National Maritime Museum. Retrieved 24 October 2014.
19. "List of Vessels Available for Subsidiary Services, Hulks and Vessels for Sale". The Navy List: 409. April 1913. Retrieved 24 October 2014.

Bibliography

• Brassey, T.A. (1897). The Naval Annual 1897. Portsmouth, UK: J. Griffin and Co.
• Brown, D.K. (2003). Warrior to Dreadnought: Warship Development 1860–1905. London: Caxton Editions. ISBN 1-84067-5292.
• Chan Lau Kit-Ching (1990). China, Britain & Hong Kong 1895–1945. Hong Kong: The Chinese University Press. ISBN 962-201-409-7.
• Chesneau, Roger; Kolesnik, Eugene M, eds. (1979). Conway's All The World's Fighting Ships 1860–1905. London: Conway Maritime Press. ISBN 0-85177-133-5.
• Crowe, George (1903). The Commission of H.M.S. Terrible: 1898–1902. London: George Newnes.
• Friedman, Norman (2009). British Destroyers: From Earliest Days to the Second World War. Barnsley, UK: Seaforth Publishing. ISBN 978-1-84832-049-9.
• Gardiner, Robert; Gray, Randal, eds. (1985). Conway's All The World's Fighting Ships 1906–1921. London: Conway Maritime Press. ISBN 0-85177-245-5.
• Lyon, David (2001). The First Destroyers. London: Caxton Editions. ISBN 1-84067-3648.
• Manning, T. D. (1961). The British Destroyer. London: Putnam & Co. Ltd.
• Manning, T.D (1979) [1961]. The British Destroyer. Godfrey Cave Associates. ISBN 0-906223-13-X.