HMS Coquette (1897) facts for kids
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For other ships of this name, see HMS Coquette. HMS Coquettewas a fast warship called a destroyer. It was built for the Royal Navy as part of the 1896 – 1897 Naval Estimates. This ship was the fifth one to be named Coquette. She was launched in 1897 and served in waters around Britain before World War I. During the war, she helped train sailors at a gunnery school. Sadly, she was lost in 1916 when she hit an underwater mine.
Contents
| History | |
|---|---|
 United Kingdom |
|
| Name | Coquette |
| Ordered | 1896 – 1897 Naval Estimates |
| Builder | John I Thornycroft, Chiswick |
| Yard number | 319 |
| Laid down | 8 June 1896 |
| Launched | 25 November 1897 |
| Commissioned | January 1899 |
| Fate | Mined, 7 March 1916 |
| General characteristics | |
| Class and type | Two-funnel, 30-knot destroyer |
| Displacement |
|
| Length | 210 ft (64 m) o/a |
| Beam | 19 ft 9 in (6.02 m) |
| Draught | 7 ft 8 in (2.34 m) |
| Installed power | 5,700 shp (4,300 kW) |
| Propulsion |
|
| Speed | 30 kn (56 km/h) |
| Range |
|
| Complement | 65 officers and men |
| Armament |
|
| Service record | |
| Operations: | World War I 1914 – 1918 |
Building the Coquette
The ship was started on 8 June 1896 at the John I Thornycroft and Company shipyard. This shipyard was located in Chiswick on the River Thames.
Coquette was officially launched into the water on 25 November 1897. During her first tests, she reached a top speed of about 30.3 knots (about 56 kilometers per hour). After these tests, she went to Portsmouth to have her weapons installed.
The Royal Navy officially accepted Coquette in January 1899. During her final tests and preparations for service, her average speed at sea was 25 knots (about 46 kilometers per hour).
Coquette in Service
Early Years of Service
After joining the navy, Coquette was sent to a naval group near Harwich. From 1899, she became part of the Medway Instructional Flotilla. This meant she helped train sailors.
In May 1902, Coquette was serving in the Mediterranean Sea. She was involved in a small accident when she bumped into another destroyer, HMS Thrasher. Her front part, called the bow, was damaged.
After being repaired, Coquette became a "tender" ship. A tender ship is like a support vessel that helps a larger ship or a group of ships. Coquette supported HMS Orion, which was a depot ship for destroyers in the Mediterranean Fleet.
On 30 August 1912, the navy decided to give all destroyer classes a letter name. Because Coquette was designed to go 30 knots and had two funnels, she was put into the D-class. After 30 September 1913, she was known as a D-class destroyer. The letter "D" was painted on her hull and on one of her funnels.
World War I Service
When World War I started in August 1914, Coquette was based at Sheerness. She was still acting as a tender ship for HMS Actaeon, which was a school for training sailors how to use guns.
Coquette stayed in this role for the entire war. She continued to help with gunnery training until she was lost.
The Loss of Coquette
Coquette was lost on 7 March 1916. She was at the entrance to Black Deep, off the East Coast near Harwich. The ship hit an underwater explosive device called a mine. This mine had been placed by a German submarine named UC-10.
Coquette sank in the North Sea, about 10 nautical miles (18.5 kilometers) east of Clacton-on-Sea. Sadly, 22 crew members lost their lives when the ship went down.
Ship Identification Numbers
Ships often have special numbers, called pennant numbers, to identify them. Here are the numbers Coquette used:
| Pennant number | From | To |
|---|---|---|
| N21 | 6 Dec 1914 | 1 Sep 1915 |
| D37 | 1 Sep 1915 | 7 Mar 1916 |
