HMS Defender 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...

 which was built in 1911, served throughout World War I

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 broken up in 1921. She was the fifth ship of the name

HMS Defender

Seven ships of the Royal Navy have borne the name HMS Defender, and another is currently being built: was a 12-gun Courser-class gun-brig launched in 1797 and on the Navy List until 1802. was a 14-gun Archer-class gun-brig launched in 1804 and wrecked in 1809. was an 8-gun lugger, previously the...

 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

Defender was laid down at William Denny & Brothers in Dumbarton, Scotland on 9 November 1910 and launched on 30 August 1911. Her total cost was £83,000. Capable of 27 knots (52.9 km/h), she carried two 4 inches (102 mm) guns, other smaller guns and 21 inches (533.4 mm) torpedo tubes and had a complement of 70 men.

Pre-World War One

Defender and her sisters formed the First Destroyer Flotilla and were attached to the Grand Fleet in 1914.

Battle of Heligoland Bight

On 28 August 1914 the Royal Navy and the Imperial German Navy met at the Battle of Heligoland Bight. When the German Destroyer V184 was hit by four British destroyers and sank with heavy loss of life, Defender stopped to pick up survivors. The reappearance of the German cruiser SMS Stettin

SMS Stettin

SMS Stettin was a Königsberg class light cruiser of the Kaiserliche Marine. Laid down at AG Vulcan Stettin shipyard in 1906, she was launched on 7 March 1907, and commissioned on 29 July 1907. The ship served in European waters during World War I, participating in the Battle of Heligoland Bight in...

 caused two of her boats to be left behind. Their crews, and the rescued German sailors, were lucky to be rescued by the British Submarine E4

HMS E4

HMS E4 was a British E class submarine built by Vickers, Barrow-in-Furness, costing £101,900. E4 was laid down on 16 May 1911, launched on 5 February 1912 and commissioned on 28 January 1913.-Service history:...

. Short of space, the captain of E4 embarked a few German prisoners and supplied the boats with water, biscuits, a compass, and a course to steer, and they returned safely to base.

Battle of Dogger Bank

Defender was present at 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....

 on 24 January 1915 with the First Destroyer flotilla, led by the light cruiser Aurora

HMS Aurora (1913)

HMS Aurora was an Arethusa-class light cruiser launched on 30 September 1913 at Devonport Dockyard.Construction started in 1912 and she was commissioned into the Royal Navy and saw service as part of the Grand Fleet from 1914 to 1915, as leader of the 1st Destroyer Flotilla...

.

Battle of Jutland

On the night of 31 May - 1 June 1916 Defender took an active 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...

. During the night action she had one man killed by a shell which also reduced her speed to zero, but on restoring propulsion (about 19:15) she took the damaged Onslow

HMS Onslow (1916)

HMS Onslow was an M class destroyer launched on 15 February 1916, completed by 15 April 1916 and sold for breaking up on 26 October 1921. During the First World War, her captain was John Tovey, ....

 in tow and made 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 ....

 the next day. Her captain, 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...

 L R Palmer received the Distinguished Service Order

Distinguished Service Order

The Distinguished Service Order is a military decoration of the United Kingdom, and formerly of other parts of the British Commonwealth and Empire, awarded for meritorious or distinguished service by officers of the armed forces during wartime, typically in actual combat.Instituted on 6 September...

. The event was described in detail by Rudyard Kipling

Rudyard Kipling

Joseph Rudyard Kipling was an English poet, short-story writer, and novelist chiefly remembered for his celebration of British imperialism, tales and poems of British soldiers in India, and his tales for children. Kipling received the 1907 Nobel Prize for Literature...

, in Sea Warfare under the heading Towing Under Difficulties. The Report on the Battle by Admiral Beatty

David Beatty, 1st Earl Beatty

Admiral of the Fleet David Richard Beatty, 1st Earl Beatty, GCB, OM, GCVO, DSO was an admiral in the Royal Navy...

 stated that:
Lieutenant Commander Palmer wrote after the battle that Onslow had signalled Defender with the following message:

Disposal

She was transferred to the 3rd Battle Squadron

3rd Battle Squadron (United Kingdom)

The British Royal Navy 3rd Battle Squadron was a naval squadron consisting of battleships and other vessels, active from at least 1914 to 1945. The 3rd Battle Squadron was initially part of the Royal Navy's Home Fleet. During the First World War, the Home Fleet was renamed the Grand Fleet...

in 1916 and survived the war.

Defender was laid up and sold to Rees of Llanelly for breaking up in November 1921.

Pennant Numbers

Pennant Number	From	|To
H28	6 December 1914	1 January 1918
H29	1 January 1918	Early 1919
H57	Early 1919	|Decommissioning