H.M.S. Mermaid (1898)

H.M.S. Mermaid (1898)
Pendant Number:	P.35 (1914) D.63 (Sep 1915) D.56 (Jan 1918) H.85 (Sep 1918)
Builder:	Hawthorn Leslie & Company
Ordered:	1896-97 Programme
Laid down:	7 Sep, 1896
Launched:	22 Feb, 1898
Commissioned:	Jun, 1899
Broken up:	1919

H.M.S. Mermaid was one of forty "C" class destroyers built for the Royal Navy — a "30 knotter".

Service

In late 1905, she was one of eight destroyers in the Second Division of the Channel Fleet's Destroyer Flotilla.

In December 1907, Mermaid and Express collided at night. Her captain, Lt. Thynne was castigated for allowing the ships to converge, unlit, on a rendezvous at such a high speed.

In March, 1910, Mermaid was with the Fifth Destroyer Flotilla, which was attached to Third Division, Home Fleet.

By mid-1913, she was with the Sixth Destroyer Flotilla. She remained with that formation, operating out of Dover, until leaving in June 1918 to join the Seventh Destroyer Flotilla, which was part of the East Coast Forces, based in the Humber.

Mermaid left the flotilla in February, 1919 when it was re-invented for the post-war navy with very modern destroyers.

By May 1919, Mermaid was among 33 obsolete ships awaiting sale.

Captains

Dates of appointment are provided when known.

• Commander John M. de Robeck, ? – 28 November, 1899
• Commander Mark E. F. Kerr, 28 November, 1899 – 13 June, 1901
• Commander Frederic W. Dean, August, 1900 – 13 October, 1900  (moved to Albatross)
• Commander John F. E. Green, 13 June, 1901 – May, 1902  (and as Commander (D) of Medway Instructional Flotilla, possibly in command at the Annual Manoeuvres of 1901)
• Lieutenant Kenneth G. B. Dewar, 21 April, 1903 – 19 August, 1903  (lent for Annual Manoeuvres of 1903, paid off at end)
• Lieutenant Kenneth G. B. Dewar, 14 July, 1904 – 1 September, 1904  (lent for Annual Manoeuvres of 1904)
• Lieutenant & Commander Mark G. Newton, 2 February, 1905 – 7 March, 1905
• Lieutenant & Commander Richard F. White, 7 March, 1905 – 12 February, 1906
• Lieutenant & Commander Hugh R. Tickell, 12 February, 1906 – 11 September, 1906
• Lieutenant & Commander Harold V. Dundas, 28 May, 1906 – c. 11 September, 1906^[Inference]
• Lieutenant & Commander Denis G. Thynne, 11 September, 1906 – 14 January, 1908
• Lieutenant in Command Loftus W. Jones, 22 January, 1907 – 27 February, 1907  (lent)
• Commander Charles J. Wintour, 14 January, 1908 – 4 January, 1910
• Lieutenant & Commander Herbert E. W. C. Whyte, 4 January, 1910 – 29 June, 1910
• Lieutenant & Commander Frederic B. Coppin, December, 1910 – January, 1911  (for voyage home from Gibraltar)
• Lieutenant & Commander Alan F. W. Howard, 23 January, 1911 – 26 March, 1912
• Lieutenant in Command Alfred G. Peace, 26 March, 1912 – 21 April, 1914
• Lieutenant George C. Dillon, 2 July, 1912  (for manoeuvres)
• Lieutenant in Command Percy R. P. Percival, 21 April, 1914 – 8 December, 1915
• Lieutenant in Command Richard Harter, 4 February, 1916 – 19 March, 1916  (superseded on account of measles)
• Lieutenant in Command Denis Q. Fildes, 19 March, 1916 – 24 March, 1917
• Lieutenant in Command Gordon F. Hannay, 24 March, 1917 – 11 December, 1917
• Lieutenant R.N.R. in Command Eric L. M. Shepherd, 17 September, 1918 – 19197 March, 1919

See Also

• Wikipedia