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The Great War (1914-1918) Forum

Remembered Today:

WW1 Destroyer?


jbw541

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Hello,

I`ve found this photo of, what I think is, a WW1 Destroyer. Can anyone help in identifying this ship and what message do the flags convey?

Thanks. Joe.post-90748-0-91103900-1457222048_thumb.j

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Is it an Acheron Class Destroyer? I canto find the nclass number but that looks like a post WW1 number. The flags are being used as decorative bunting for some ceremonial event. They have not meaning.

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Yes, the ship is 'dressed overall' for a fleet review, monarch's accession day / birthday, Empire Day or some such.

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Can anyone tell me whether the number on a ship's side at this time related to the number of the ship's listing in the Navy List?

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There is no connection between pennant numbers and Navy List numbers (which are in alpha-order of ship names).

I'm inclining more towards an early, two-funnelled 'L' Class destroyer.

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Thanks Horatio2.

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HMS Hornet was carrying that pennant no. in 1918. However, her bridge looks slightly different in Wikipedia's tiny photo, as well as possibly her fore funnel. She'd been damaged in a scrap with Austro-Hungarian destroyers in the Adriatic, so may have been refitted?

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It might be an Acheron (I) class, but looks more like an L class, as suggested by horatio2.

Source: Warships of World War 1 (combined volume) by H M le Fleming - which I happened to buy on Amazon last week!

Ron

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The image in lead post is HMS Acheron herself and lead ship of the 20 strong I (capital letter I) or Acheron class.

Her pendant 42 is a Mediterranean number issued from 1917 to all British, Australian, Japanese destroyers operating in this theatre and its environs and through to 1919.

There are no officially published pendants for these destroyers in any form, even Dittmar & Colledge don't list any.

All were either 2 numerals, like Acheron 42, or 1 numeral followed by flag inferior A, which is possibly for Adriatic.There were duplications.

These pendants are nothing to do with any destroyer pendants in any of the Home based ships, where once in the Med, they were all changed to the format i have mentioned.

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