HMS Attack was an Acheron-class

Acheron class destroyer

The Acheron class was a class of twenty-three destroyers of the British Royal Navy, all built under the 1910-11 Programme and completed between 1911 and 1912, which served during World War I. A further six ships were built to the same design for the Royal Australian Navy as River-class destroyers...

 destroyer

Destroyer

In naval terminology, a destroyer is a fast and maneuverable yet long-endurance warship intended to escort larger vessels in a fleet, convoy or battle group and defend them against smaller, powerful, short-range attackers. Destroyers, originally called torpedo-boat destroyers in 1892, evolved from...

 built in 1911, which served during the First World War

World War I

World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...

 and was sunk in 1917 in the Mediterranean

Mediterranean Sea

The Mediterranean Sea is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean surrounded by the Mediterranean region and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Anatolia and Europe, on the south by North Africa, and on the east by the Levant...

 by a German

Kaiserliche Marine

The Imperial German Navy was the German Navy created at the time of the formation of the German Empire. It existed between 1871 and 1919, growing out of the small Prussian Navy and Norddeutsche Bundesmarine, which primarily had the mission of coastal defense. Kaiser Wilhelm II greatly expanded...

 U-Boat

U-boat

U-boat is the anglicized version of the German word U-Boot , itself an abbreviation of Unterseeboot , and refers to military submarines operated by Germany, particularly in World War I and World War II...

. She was the third ship of the name to serve in the Royal Navy

Royal Navy

The Royal Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Founded in the 16th century, it is the oldest service branch and is known as the Senior Service...

.

Construction

She was laid down at the Yarrow & Company yard in Scotstoun

Scotstoun

Scotstoun is a historic district of Glasgow, Scotland, west of Glasgow City Centre. It is bounded by Yoker and Knightswood to the west, Victoria Park, Broomhill and Whiteinch to the east, Jordanhill to the north and the River Clyde to the south...

, Glasgow

Glasgow

Glasgow is the largest city in Scotland and third most populous in the United Kingdom. The city is situated on the River Clyde in the country's west central lowlands...

, and was launched on 12 December 1911.

Attack and used steam at higher pressures than the other Acheron-class destroyers and consequently were faster than the standard Admiralty-designed members of their class. Achieving 31 kn (37.8 mph; 60.8 km/h) on trials, she carried two 4 in (101.6 mm) guns, other smaller guns and 21 in (533.4 mm) torpedo tube

Torpedo tube

A torpedo tube is a device for launching torpedoes. There are two main types of torpedo tube: underwater tubes fitted to submarines and some surface ships, and deck-mounted units installed aboard surface vessels...

s and had a complement of 70 men.

Pennant Numbers

Pennant Number	From	|To
H14	6 December 1914	1 September 1915
H86	1 September 1915	Sunk 30 December 1917

Career

As part of the First Destroyer Flotilla, she was attached to the Grand Fleet in August 1914, and then to the Third Battle Squadron from the spring of 1916.

Battle of Heligoland Bight

As part of the Harwich Force

Harwich Force

The Harwich Force was a squadron of the Royal Navy, formed during the First World War, that went on to play a significant role in the war.-History:...

, the First Destroyer Flotilla took part in the Battle of Heligoland Bight on 28 August 1914.

Battle of Dogger Bank

On 24 January 1915, Attack, commanded by Lieutenant Commander

Lieutenant Commander

Lieutenant Commander is a commissioned officer rank in many navies. The rank is superior to a lieutenant and subordinate to a commander...

 Cyril Callaghan, took part in the Battle of Dogger Bank

Battle of Dogger Bank (1915)

The Battle of Dogger Bank was a naval battle fought near the Dogger Bank in the North Sea on 24 January 1915, during the First World War, between squadrons of the British Grand Fleet and the German High Seas Fleet....

 as part of the First Destroyer Flotilla. In the final stages of the battle, at 11:20, with his flagship

Flagship

A flagship is a vessel used by the commanding officer of a group of naval ships, reflecting the custom of its commander, characteristically a flag officer, flying a distinguishing flag...

 — the battlecruiser

Battlecruiser

Battlecruisers were large capital ships built in the first half of the 20th century. They were developed in the first decade of the century as the successor to the armoured cruiser, but their evolution was more closely linked to that of the dreadnought battleship...

  — seriously damaged, Vice Admiral

Vice Admiral

Vice admiral is a senior naval rank of a three-star flag officer, which is equivalent to lieutenant general in the other uniformed services. A vice admiral is typically senior to a rear admiral and junior to an admiral...

 Beatty called Attack to come alongside. He shifted his flag into her at 11:34, and used her to rejoin the rest of the battlecruisers, shifting again into at 12:20.

Sinking of U-12

On 10 March 1915, in company with her sisters and , Attack was searching for a German submarine reported by the trawler Man Island near Aberdeen

Aberdeen

Aberdeen is Scotland's third most populous city, one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas and the United Kingdom's 25th most populous city, with an official population estimate of ....

. At 10:10, Attack sighted U-12 and opened fire. Ariel sighted the submarine at 10:12 at about 2 nmi (2.3 mi; 3.7 km) and all three destroyers turned towards it. U-12 dived and raised her periscope, which Ariel sighted at a distance of 200 yd (182.9 m). She turned to ram, sighting the conning tower

Conning tower

A conning tower is a raised platform on a ship or submarine, often armored, from which an officer can con the vessel; i.e., give directions to the helmsman. It is usually located as high on the ship as practical, to give the conning team good visibility....

 under the water in the final moments before she struck the submarine at a fine angle. Within two minutes, the submarine had returned to the surface so that the crew could escape, but they found the conning tower hatch jammed, and most of the survivors managed their escape via the other hatches. The destroyers opened fire as the submarine lay on the surface, killing and injuring some of the escaping sailors. At 10:30, U-12 sank approximately in position 56°15′N 1°56′W, and the destroyers picked up 10 survivors; 19 lives had been lost. The damage to Ariels bows was so serious that she had to be towed into port.

Transfer to Third Battle Squadron

The First Destroyer Flotilla was transferred to the Third Battle Squadron in the Spring of 1916 to act as an anti-submarine screen for the battlecruisers.

Battle of Jutland

Attack took part in the Battle of Jutland

Battle of Jutland

The Battle of Jutland was a naval battle between the British Royal Navy's Grand Fleet and the Imperial German Navy's High Seas Fleet during the First World War. The battle was fought on 31 May and 1 June 1916 in the North Sea near Jutland, Denmark. It was the largest naval battle and the only...

 on 31 May 1916. Commanded by Lt Cdr C H N James, she formed part of the First Destroyer Flotilla, led by .

HMS Dunraven

On 8 August 1917, Attack went to the aid of , a Royal Navy Q-ship

Q-ship

Q-ships, also known as Q-boats, Decoy Vessels, Special Service Ships, or Mystery Ships, were heavily armed merchant ships with concealed weaponry, designed to lure submarines into making surface attacks. This gave Q-ships the chance to open fire and sink them...

 which had been seriously damaged in a battle with . Despite the aid of several Royal Navy and US Navy ships, Dunraven sank at 01:30 early on 10 August 1917.

Loss

On 30 December 1917, torpedoed the troopship Aragon off Alexandria

Alexandria

Alexandria is the second-largest city of Egypt, with a population of 4.1 million, extending about along the coast of the Mediterranean Sea in the north central part of the country; it is also the largest city lying directly on the Mediterranean coast. It is Egypt's largest seaport, serving...

. Both Attack and the armed trawler Points Castle rescued soldiers from the sinking troopship, but Attack either struck a mine or received another torpedo as she pulled men from the water. While 10 sailors from Attack died, 600 lives were lost in Aragon. The wrecks of both ships now lie in an approximate position of 31°18′N 29°49′E.