HMS Thisbe (1917)

HMS Thisbe was an destroyer which served with the Royal Navy. The ship served as part of the Harwich Force during World War I. She was launched on 8 March 1917 and sold to be broken up on 31 August 1936.

Design
Thisbe was 276 ft long overall, with a beam of 26 ft and a draught of 9 ft. Displacement was 991 LT normal and 1052 LT deep load. Power was provided by three Yarrow boilers feeding two Parsons geared steam turbines rated at 27000 shp and driving two shafts, to give a design speed of 36 kn. Three funnels were fitted. 296 LT of oil were carried, giving a design range of 3450 nmi at 15 kn. The ship had a complement of 82 officers and men.

Armament
The ship was armed with three QF 4in Mk IV guns on the ship's centreline. One was mounted on the forecastle, one aft on a raised platform and one between the second and third funnels. A single 2-pounder (40 mm) pom-pom anti-aircraft gun was carried, while torpedo armament consisted of two twin mounts for 21 in torpedoes. Fire control included a single Dumaresq and a Vickers range clock.

Service
Thisbe was one of twelve destroyers ordered by the British Admiralty in March 1916 as part of the Eighth War Construction Programme. The ship was laid down by Hawthorn Leslie and Company in Hebburn during June 1916 with the yard number 492. Launched in March 1917, the destroyer was completed in June 1917.

On commissioning, Thisbe joined the 10th Destroyer Flotilla of the Harwich Force. Thisbe remained part of the 10th Destroyer Flotilla at the end of the war, but was reduced to the Reserve Complement at Nore on 24 February 1920. The destroyer was given to Thos W Ward of Sheffield in 31 August 1936 in exchange for RMS Majestic and was subsequently scrapped.