# HMS Ouse

> Mediated Wiki article. Canonical URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/HMS_Ouse
> Markdown URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/HMS_Ouse.md
> Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HMS_Ouse
> Source revision: 1345230381
> License: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/)

**HMS *Ouse*** was a [Laird](/source/Cammell_Laird) type [River-class destroyer](/source/River-class_destroyer_(1903)) ordered by the Royal Navy under the 1903 – 1904 Naval Estimates. Named after the [River Ouse](/source/River_Ouse,_Yorkshire) in north east England near the city of York[citation needed], she was the first ship to carry this name in the Royal Navy.

## Design and construction

*Ouse* was one of three River-class destroyers ordered from [Cammel Laird](/source/Cammel_Laird) as part of the 1903–04 construction programme,[a] with 16 River-class ships ordered in total under that programme.[3] The destroyers ordered from Lairds under the 1903–04 programme were repeats of those built by Lairds under the 1901–02 programme[b] and the 1902–03 programme[c].[4]

*Ouse* was 226 ft 9 in (69.11 m) [long overall](/source/Length_overall) (o/a) and 220 ft 0 in (67.06 m) [between perpendiculars](/source/Length_between_perpendiculars) (pp), with a [beam](/source/Beam_(nautical)) of 23 ft 9 in (7.24 m) and a [draught](/source/Draft_(ship)) of 9 ft 6 in (2.90 m).[4] [Displacement](/source/Displacement_(ship)) was 550 long tons (560 t) light and 625 long tons (635 t) full load.[4] *Ouse* was powered by two [Vertical Triple-Expansion steam engines](/source/Compound_steam_engine#Multiple_expansion_engines),[5] rated at 7,000 hp (5,200 kW) to meet the contract speed of 25.5 kn (29.3 mph; 47.2 km/h). Two funnels were fitted.[4] The ship had a crew of 70 officers and other ranks.[6] As built, *Ouse**s armament was the same as the turtleback destroyers that preceded the*****Rivers*, i.e. a gun armament of a single 12-pounder gun and five 6-pounder guns, and two 18-in torpedo tubes. Unlike some of the early*River*-class destroyers,*Ouse**s forward two six-pounders were mounted on the forecastle along with the 12-pounder, rather than on sponsons projecting over the ship's sides, which kept them out of spray and made them easier to operate.[7][8] In 1906, as a result of Japanese experience during the [Russo-Japanese War](/source/Russo-Japanese_War), the Admiralty decided to upgrade the armament of the *Rivers* by replacing the five 6-pounder naval guns with three lightweight 12-pounder 8 hundredweight (cwt) guns. Two would be mounted abeam at the [forecastle](/source/Forecastle) break and the third gun would be mounted on the quarterdeck. The class was refitted with the new armament during 1908.[7][9]

*Ouse* was laid down on 22 March 1904 at the [Cammell Laird](/source/Cammell_Laird) shipyard at [Birkenhead](/source/Birkenhead) and launched on 7 January 1905.[10] The ship reached a speed of 25.56 kn (29.41 mph; 47.34 km/h) over a four-hour run during official [sea trials](/source/Sea_trials),[11] and was completed in September 1905.[10]

## Pre-War

On 18 September 1905, *Ouse* was commissioned at [Devonport](/source/HMNB_Devonport) with a nucleus crew into the Devonport Reserve Flotilla.[12] After commissioning she was assigned to the East Coast Destroyer Flotilla of the 1st Fleet and based at Harwich.[citation needed]

On 27 April 1908 the Eastern Flotilla departed Harwich for live fire and night manoeuvres. During these exercises [HMS *Attentive*](/source/HMS_Attentive_(1904)) rammed and sank [HMS *Gala*](/source/HMS_Gala_(1905)) then damaged [HMS *Ribble*](/source/HMS_Ribble_(1904)).[citation needed]

In December 1910, *Ouse*, formerly a member of the [2nd Destroyer Flotilla](/source/2nd_Destroyer_Flotilla), recommissioned with a nucleus crew at [Chatham](/source/Chatham_Dockyard) as a member of the [3rd Destroyer Flotilla](/source/3rd_Destroyer_Flotilla) based at [the Nore](/source/The_Nore).[13] She remained until displaced by a [Basilisk-class](/source/Beagle_class_destroyer) destroyer by May 1912. She went into reserve assigned to the [5th Destroyer Flotilla](/source/5th_Destroyer_Flotilla) of the 2nd Fleet with a nucleus crew.

On 30 August 1912 the Admiralty directed all destroyers were to be allocated to classes designated by letters starting with the letter 'A'. The ships of the River Class were assigned to the E Class.[14] In 1912, older destroyers were transferred to patrol flotillas,[15] with *Ouse* forming part of the [9th Destroyer Flotilla](/source/9th_Destroyer_Flotilla), based on the Nore, and tendered to the depot ship [*St George*](/source/HMS_St_George_(1892)) by March 1913.[16] The 9th Flotilla was allocated the war station of the [Firth of Forth](/source/Firth_of_Forth).[17]

## World War I

On 30 July 1914, as part of the Royal Navy's mobilisation on the eve of the outbreak of the [First World War](/source/First_World_War), the 9th Flotilla, including *Ouse*, left Harwich for the [River Tyne](/source/River_Tyne),[18][19] with the flotilla being responsible for patrols between [Berwick-upon-Tweed](/source/Berwick-upon-Tweed) and midway between [Scarborough](/source/Scarborough,_North_Yorkshire) and [Spurn Point](/source/Spurn_Point).[20] Duties of the flotilla were to prevent enemy ships from carrying out minelaying or torpedo attacks in the approaches to ports on the East coast, and to prevent raids by enemy ships.[21]

In August 1915 with the amalgamation of the 9th and 7th Flotillas[22] she was deployed to the [7th Destroyer Flotilla](/source/7th_Destroyer_Flotilla) based on the River Humber. She remained employed on the Humber Patrol participating in counter-mining operations and anti-submarine patrols for the remainder of the war.

On 3 May 1917, *Ouse* and the destroyer [HMS *Bat*](/source/HMS_Bat) opened fire on the British submarine [HMS *C10*](/source/HMS_C10) off [Blyth, Northumberland](/source/Blyth,_Northumberland). Although one man was killed and a second was wounded, the submarine survived.[23]

On 28 August 1918 she [depth charged](/source/Depth_charge) the German submarine [*UC-70*](/source/SM_UC-70), which had been spotted and damaged by a [Blackburn Kangaroo](/source/Blackburn_Kangaroo) patrol aircraft of [No. 246 Squadron RAF](/source/No._246_Squadron_RAF) near Runswick Bay off the [Yorkshire](/source/Yorkshire) coast. *UC-70* sank at position 54°32'N, 00°40'W with the loss of 31 officers and men.[24][25]

On 29 September 1918, *Ouse* in conjunction with the destroyer [HMS *Star*](/source/HMS_Star_(1896)) depth charged the German submarine [*UB-115*](/source/German_submarine_UB-115) to destruction off [Sunderland](/source/Sunderland,_Tyne_and_Wear). *UB-115* sank at position 55°13'N 01°22'E with the loss of 39 officers and men.[26]

## Fate

In 1919 *Ouse* was paid off then laid up in reserve awaiting disposal. On 22 October 1919 she was sold to J.H. Lee for breaking at Dover.[27]

## Pennant numbers

Pennant number[27] From To N69 6 Dec 1914 1 Sep 1915 D28 1 Sep 1915 1 Jan 1918 D66 1 Jan 1918 13 Sep 1918 H80 13 Sep 1918 22 Oct 1919

## Notes

1. The other two were [HMS *Liffey*](/source/HMS_Liffey_(1904)) and [HMS *Moy*](/source/HMS_Moy_(1904))[3]

1. [HMS *Foyle*](/source/HMS_Foyle) and [HMS *Itchen*](/source/HMS_Itchen_(1903))[3]

1. [HMS *Arun*](/source/HMS_Arun_(1903)) and [HMS *Blackwater*](/source/HMS_Blackwater_(1903))[3]

## Citations

1. Jane, Fred T. (1969 [1905]). *Jane’s Fighting Ships 1905/6*. New York: first published by Sampson Low Marston, London 1905, Reprinted ARCO Publishing Company. p. 75.

1. Jane, Fred T. (1990 [1919]). *Jane’s Fighting Ships of World War I*. reprint ed. Jane’s Publishing. p. 76. ISBN 1 85170 378 0.

1. Friedman 2009, p. 304

1. Chesneau & Kolesnik 1979, pp. 99–100

1. Dittmar & Colledge 1972, p. 59

1. Friedman 2009, p. 292

1. Manning 1961, p. 49

1. Friedman 2009, pp. 89, 91

1. Friedman 2009, pp. 96–97

1. Chesneau & Kolesnik 1979, p. 100

1. Leyland & Brassey 1906, p. 6

1. "Naval and Military Intelligence". *[The Times](/source/The_Times)*. No. 37815. 18 September 1905. p. 5.

1. "Naval And Military Intelligence.". *The Times*. No. 39455. 14 December 1910. p. 8.

1. Gardiner & Gray 1985, p. 18

1. Manning 1961, p. 25

1. ["Fleets and Squadrons in Commission at Home and Abroad: Patrol Flotillas"](https://digital.nls.uk/british-military-lists/archive/94246554). *The Monthly Naval List*. March 1913. Retrieved 2 July 2022. – via National Museum of Scotland..

1. Corbett 1920, pp. 15–16

1. Naval Staff Monograph No. 7 1921, pp. 77–79

1. ["Admiralty "Pink Lists", 5 August 1915"](http://www.naval-history.net/WW1NavyBritishShips-Locations2PL1408.htm). *Ships of the Royal Navy - Location/Action Data, 1914–1918*. naval-history.net. 23 March 2015. Retrieved 2 July 2022.

1. Naval Staff Monograph No. 7 1921, p. 102

1. Naval Staff Monograph No. 7 1921, pp. 75–76

1. Sir Julian S Corbett (1921), ["Chapter XIII, Loss of Argyl and Natal"](http://www.naval-history.net/WW1Book-RN3a.htm#13), *[History of the Great War](/source/History_of_the_Great_War), Naval Operations*. Vol. III, Spring 1915 to June 1916, London: Longmans, Green, retrieved 1 June 2013

1. Naval Staff Monograph No. 35 1939, p. 115

1. Jackson *Aeroplane Monthly* August 1979, p. 397

1. Helgason, Guðmundur. ["UC 70"](https://uboat.net/wwi/boats/?boat=UC+70). *uboat.net*. Retrieved 2 July 2022.

1. Helgason, Guðmundur. ["UB 115"](https://uboat.net/wwi/boats/?boat=UB+115). *uboat.net*. Retrieved 2 July 2022.

1. Arrowsmith, Jack (27 January 1997). [""Arrowsmith" List – Part 1 Destroyer Prototypes through "River" Class"](http://www.gwpda.org/naval/s0420000.htm). *The World War I Document Archive*. Retrieved 1 Jun 2013.

## Bibliography

- *Conway's All The World's Fighting Ships 1860–1905*. London: Conway Maritime Press. 1979. ISBN 0-85177-133-5.
- Corbett, Julian S. (1920). [*History of the Great War: Naval Operations: Vol. I: To the Battle of the Falklands December 1914*](https://archive.org/details/navaloperations01corb). London: Longmans, Green and Co.
- Dittmar, F.J. & Colledge, J. J. (1972). *British Warships 1914–1919*. Shepperton, UK: Ian Allan. ISBN 0-7110-0380-7.
- Friedman, Norman (2009). *British Destroyers: From Earliest Days to the Second World War*. Barnsley, UK: Seaforth Publishing. ISBN 978-1-84832-049-9.
- *Conway's All The World's Fighting Ships 1906–1921*. London: Conway Maritime Press. 1985. ISBN 0-85177-245-5.
- Jackson, A. J. (August 1979). "Blackburn's Marsupial". *Aeroplane Monthly*. Vol. 7, no. 8. London: IPC. pp. 396–402.
- [*The Naval Annual, 1906*](https://archive.org/details/CASGA_120412). Portsmouth: J. Griffin and Co. 1906.
- Manning, T. D. (1961). *The British Destroyer*. London: Putnam & Co. [OCLC 6470051](https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/6470051)
- March, Edgar J. (1966). *British Destroyers: A History of Development, 1892–1953; Drawn by Admiralty Permission From Official Records & Returns, Ships' Covers & Building Plans*. London: Seeley Service. [OCLC 164893555](https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/164893555)
- [*Monograph No. 7: The Patrol Flotillas at the Commencement of the War*](http://www.navy.gov.au/sites/default/files/documents/Naval-Staff-Monographs-Vol.III_opt.pdf). Vol. III. Naval Staff Monographs (Historical). The Naval Staff, Training and Staff Duties Division. 1921. pp. 71–107.
- [*Monograph No. 35: Home Waters—Part IX: 1st May 1917 to 31st July 1917*](http://www.navy.gov.au/sites/default/files/documents/Naval-Staff-Monographs-Vol.XIX_opt.pdf). Vol. XIX. Naval Staff Monographs (Historical). The Naval Staff, Training and Staff Duties Division. 1939.

---
Adapted from the Wikipedia article [HMS Ouse](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HMS_Ouse) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HMS_Ouse?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.