HMS Beaver was an Acheron-class destroyer

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...

 of 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...

 that 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 sold for breaking in 1921. She was the ninth 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...

 ship to be named Beaver, after the mammal of the same name

European Beaver

The Eurasian beaver or European beaver is a species of beaver, which was once widespread in Eurasia, where it was hunted to near extinction both for fur and for castoreum, a secretion of its scent gland believed to have medicinal properties...

.

Construction

She was built under the 1910-11 shipbuilding programme by William Denny & Brothers of Dumbarton and was launched on 6 October 1911. She and her sister-ship Badger were completed with geared steam turbines for evaluation purposes and were known as "Parsons Specials".

Pennant numbers

Pennant Number	From	|To
H17	6 December 1914	22 February 1915
H77	22 February 1915	1 September 1915
H66	1 September 1915	1 January 1918
H20	1 January 1918	Early 1919
H07	Early 1919	9 May 1921

Pre-war

Beaver served with the First Destroyer Flotilla from 1911. She was stranded at Great Yarmouth

Great Yarmouth

Great Yarmouth, often known to locals as Yarmouth, is a coastal town in Norfolk, England. It is at the mouth of the River Yare, east of Norwich.It has been a seaside resort since 1760, and is the gateway from the Norfolk Broads to the sea...

 in December 1912, but was not badly damaged. With her flotilla, she joined the British Grand Fleet

British Grand Fleet

The Grand Fleet was the main fleet of the British Royal Navy during the First World War.-History:It was formed in 1914 by the British Atlantic Fleet combined with the Home Fleet and it included 35-40 state-of-the-art capital ships. It was initially commanded by Admiral Sir John Jellicoe...

 in 1914 on the outbreak of the First World War.

The Battle of Heligoland Bight

She was present on 28 August 1914 at the Battle of Heligoland Bight, detached from the First Destroyer Flotilla along with Jackal, Beaver and Sandfly. She shared in the prize money for the engagement.

Home Waters service

During the War, the Canadian John Moreau Grant

John Moreau Grant

Captain John Moreau Grant CBE was the first Commanding Officer of HMCS Royal Roads in Esquimalt, British Columbia. The Grant Building at Royal Roads University was named in his honour.-Education:...

 (later the first commanding officer of HMCS Royal Roads) served in Beaver, eventually becoming her first lieutenant. Beaver was employed in patrolling the English Channel as far as the Hook of Holland, and escorted hospital ships to and from France. Grant's oral testimony reports an action against an unknown submarine during this period.

Mediterranean service

In April 1918 she was ordered to the Mediterranean, where she was employed in convoy and anti-submarine work. Based at Brindisi

Brindisi

Brindisi is a city in the Apulia region of Italy, the capital of the province of Brindisi, off the coast of the Adriatic Sea.Historically, the city has played an important role in commerce and culture, due to its position on the Italian Peninsula and its natural port on the Adriatic Sea. The city...

, Italy, she participated in the attempted blockade of Austro-Hungarian submarines in the Adriatic. In October 1918 she took part in the bombardment of Durazzo (now Durrës

Durrës

Durrës is the second largest city of Albania located on the central Albanian coast, about west of the capital Tirana. It is one of the most ancient and economically important cities of Albania. Durres is situated at one of the narrower points of the Adriatic Sea, opposite the Italian ports of Bari...

, Albania). When the Ottoman Empire

Ottoman Empire

The Ottoman EmpireIt was usually referred to as the "Ottoman Empire", the "Turkish Empire", the "Ottoman Caliphate" or more commonly "Turkey" by its contemporaries...

 signed the Armistice of Mudros

Armistice of Mudros

The Armistice of Moudros , concluded on 30 October 1918, ended the hostilities in the Middle Eastern theatre between the Ottoman Empire and the Allies of World War I...

 on 30 October 1918, Beaver ferried troops to the Dardanelles and entered the Sea of Marmara

Sea of Marmara

The Sea of Marmara , also known as the Sea of Marmora or the Marmara Sea, and in the context of classical antiquity as the Propontis , is the inland sea that connects the Black Sea to the Aegean Sea, thus separating Turkey's Asian and European parts. The Bosphorus strait connects it to the Black...

 before proceeding to Constantinople. From Constantinople, she sailed to Odessa

Odessa

Odessa or Odesa is the administrative center of the Odessa Oblast located in southern Ukraine. The city is a major seaport located on the northwest shore of the Black Sea and the fourth largest city in Ukraine with a population of 1,029,000 .The predecessor of Odessa, a small Tatar settlement,...

, where civil order was breaking down amidst occupation by both the Imperial German army and the White Russian Army. She sailed up the Danube

Danube

The Danube is a river in the Central Europe and the Europe's second longest river after the Volga. It is classified as an international waterway....

 and in December 1918 visited Sevastopol

Sevastopol

Sevastopol is a city on rights of administrative division of Ukraine, located on the Black Sea coast of the Crimea peninsula. It has a population of 342,451 . Sevastopol is the second largest port in Ukraine, after the Port of Odessa....

, where the Russian Black Sea Fleet lay abandoned and in a poor state of repair. Some political refugees were rescued from Odessa.

Decommissioning and fate

In common with most of her class, she was laid up after the First World War and, in May 1921, she was sold for breaking

Ship breaking

Ship breaking or ship demolition is a type of ship disposal involving the breaking up of ships for scrap recycling. Most ships have a lifespan of a few decades before there is so much wear that refitting and repair becomes uneconomical. Ship breaking allows materials from the ship, especially...

.