HMS Fortune was an Acasta-class destroyer

Acasta class destroyer

The Acasta class was a class of twenty destroyers built for the Royal Navy under the Naval Programme of 1911 - 1912 that saw service during World War I...

, and the twenty-first ship of the Royal Navy to bear the name. She was launched in 1913 and was sunk at the battle of Jutland in 1916.

Pennant Numbers

Pennant Number	From	|To
H30	6 December 1914	31 May 1916

Construction

She was laid down under the 1911–1912 construction programme by Fairfield Shipbuilding and Engineering Company

Fairfield Shipbuilding and Engineering Company

The Fairfield Shipbuilding and Engineering Company, Limited was a British shipbuilding company in the Govan area on the Clyde in Glasgow. Fairfields, as it is often known, was a major warship builder, turning out many vessels for the Royal Navy and other navies through the First World War and the...

 and launched on 17 March 1913. She was temporarily renamed HMS Kismet in October 1913, but this was reverted shortly afterwards.

Career

She joined the 4th Destroyer Flotilla on completion and served with the Grand Fleet on the outbreak of 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...

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Loss

She was sunk on 1 June 1916 at 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...

, under command of Lt Cdr F G Terry. About 11:30pm she came under heavy fire from German battleships, including SMS Westfalen

SMS Westfalen

SMS Westfalen "SMS" stands for "Seiner Majestät Schiff", or "His Majesty's Ship" was one of the s, the first four dreadnoughts built for the German Imperial Navy. Westfalen was laid down at AG Weser in Bremen on 12 August 1907, launched nearly a year later on 1 July 1908, and commissioned into the...

. Hits from the secondary armament of Westfalen caused overwhelming damage and she went down on fire with 67 men. One man was rescued. The wrecksite is designated as a protected place under the Protection of Military Remains Act 1986

Protection of Military Remains Act 1986

The Protection of Military Remains Act 1986 is an Act of Parliament in the United Kingdom which provides protection for the wreckage of military aircraft and designated military vessels. The Act provides for two types of protection: protected places and controlled sites. Military aircraft are...

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