{{short description|Destroyer of the Royal Navy}} {{other ships|HMS Archer}} {{Use dmy dates|date=February 2018}} {{Use British English|date=February 2018}} {{Infobox ship |section1={{Infobox ship/image |image=HMS Archer, Acheron-class destroyer - IWM Q 75114.jpg |image_caption=''Archer'' }}

|section2={{Infobox ship/career |hide_header= |country=United Kingdom |flag={{shipboxflag|United Kingdom|naval}} |name=''Archer'' |ordered= |awarded= |builder=Yarrow & Company, Scotstoun |original_cost= |yard_number=1296<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.clydesite.co.uk/clydebuilt/viewship.asp?id=1348|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110526061640/http://www.clydesite.co.uk/clydebuilt/viewship.asp?id=1348|url-status=usurped|archive-date=2011-05-26|title=HMS ''Archer'' - Clydebuilt ships database|accessdate=2008-11-03}}</ref> |laid_down=1 September 1910 |launched=21 October 1911 |christened= |commissioned=March 1912 |fate=Sold for scrap, May 1921 }}

|section3={{Infobox ship/characteristics |hide_header= |header_caption= |class={{sclass|Acheron|destroyer}} |displacement={{convert|775|LT|t|lk=on}} |length= {{convert|246|ft|2|in|m|0|abbr=on}} |beam={{convert|25|ft|8|in|m|1|abbr=on}} |draught={{convert|8|ft|9|in|m|1|abbr=on}} |propulsion=2 shafts; 1 steam turbine |speed= {{convert|28|kn|lk=in}} |range={{cvt|1620|nmi|lk=in}} at {{convert|15|kn}} |power=*3 Yarrow boilers *{{cvt|16000|shp|lk=on}} |complement=70 |armament=*2 × single {{cvt|4|in|mm|0}} guns *2 × single 12 pdr ({{cvt|3|in|0}} gun *2 × single 21 in (533 mm) torpedo tubes |notes= }} }}

'''HMS ''Archer''''' was one of 20 ''Acheron''-class destroyers built for the Royal Navy in the 1910s. She was one of the two Yarrow Specials with which the builder was given more freedom in an effort to increase speeds beyond the rest of the class. Completed in 1912 the ship served during the First World War and was sold in 1921.

==Design and description== The ''Acheron'' class was a repeat of the preceding {{sclass|Acorn|destroyer|4}}, although the Admiralty allowed three builders, including Yarrow, more freedom to modify the design of two of their ships apiece in hopes that they might be able to improve upon the speeds previously attained.<ref name=gg4>Gardiner & Gray, p. 75</ref> The Yarrow Specials had an overall length of {{convert|246|ft|2|in|m|0}}, a beam of {{convert|25|ft|8|in|m|1}}, and a deep draught of {{convert|8|ft|9|in|m|1}}. The ships displaced {{convert|775|LT|t|lk=on}} at deep load and their crew numbered 70 officers and ratings.<ref name=f5>Friedman, p. 295</ref>

''Archer'' was powered by a single Brown-Curtis steam turbine that drove two propeller shafts using steam provided by three Yarrow boilers. The engines developed a total of {{convert|16000|shp|kW|lk=on}} and were designed for a speed of {{convert|28|kn|lk=in}}. The ship reached a speed of {{convert|30.3|kn}} from {{cvt|18537|shp}} during her sea trials.<ref>March, pp. 116–117</ref> The ''Acheron''s had a range of {{convert|1620|nmi|lk=in}} at a cruising speed of {{convert|15|kn}}.<ref name=f5/>

The primary armament of the ships consisted of a pair of BL {{convert|4|in|mm|adj=on|0}} Mk VIII guns in single, unprotected pivot mounts fore and aft of the superstructure. They were also armed with two single QF 12-pounder ({{convert|3|in|adj=on|0}}) guns, one on each broadside abreast the bridge. The destroyers were equipped with a pair of single rotating mounts for 21-inch (533 mm) torpedo tubes amidships and carried two reload torpedoes.<ref>Friedman, pp. 119, 295</ref>

==Construction and career== [[File:Harwich Force destroyers.jpg|thumb|right|Destroyers of the Harwich Force]] ''Archer'', the fourth ship of the name to serve in the Royal Navy,<ref>Colledge, p. 18</ref> was ordered under the 1910&ndash;1911 Naval Programme from Yarrow & Company. She was laid down at the company's shipyard in Scotstoun on 1 September 1910, launched on 21 October 1911 and commissioned in March 1912.<ref>Friedman, p. 306</ref>

From 1917 the Third Battle Squadron was deployed to the Mediterranean. ''Archer'' was present at the entry of the Allied fleet through the Dardanelles on 12 November 1918.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.oucs.ox.ac.uk/ww1lit/db/download.php?CISOROOT=/gwa&CISOPTR=5751|title=The Entry of the Allied Fleet through the Dardanelles|publisher=Oxford University|author=S E Brooks|accessdate=2009-11-11|archive-date=8 June 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110608185445/http://www.oucs.ox.ac.uk/ww1lit/db/download.php?CISOROOT=/gwa&CISOPTR=5751|url-status=dead}}</ref> She was sold to Thos. W. Ward for scrap on 9 May 1921.<ref name=AS/>

==Pennant numbers== {| class="wikitable" style="text-align:left" !Pennant Number<ref name=AS>{{cite web|url=http://www.gwpda.org/naval/s0440000.htm|title=''"Arrowsmith" List'': Royal Navy WWI Destroyer Pendant Numbers|accessdate=2008-11-03}}</ref>||From|||To |- |H10||6 December 1914&nbsp;&nbsp;||1 September 1915 |- |H29||1 September 1915||1 January 1918 |- |H06||1 January 1918||Sold 9 May 1921 |}

==References== {{reflist}}

==Bibliography== * {{Colledge: Ships RN|year=2006}} * {{cite book|last=Friedman|first=Norman|title=British Destroyers: From Earliest Days to the Second World War|year=2009|publisher=Seaforth Publishing|location=Barnsley, UK|isbn=978-1-84832-049-9}} * {{cite book|editor1-last=Gardiner|editor1-first=Robert|editor2-last=Gray |editor2-first=Randal |title=Conway's All The World's Fighting Ships 1906–1921 |year=1985 |publisher=Conway Maritime Press |location=London |isbn=0-85177-245-5|name-list-style=amp}} * {{cite book|last=March|first=Edgar J.|title=British Destroyers: A History of Development, 1892–1953; Drawn by Admiralty Permission From Official Records & Returns, Ships' Covers & Building Plans|year=1966|publisher=Seeley Service|location=London |oclc=164893555}}

==External links== * {{Commons category-inline|HMS Archer (ship, 1911)}}

{{Acheron class destroyer}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Archer (1911)}} Category:Acheron-class destroyers of the Royal Navy Category:Ships built in Glasgow Category:1911 ships Category:World War I destroyers of the United Kingdom