Two Mermaid-class destroyers served with 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...

 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...

. They were three-funnelled turtle-backed destroyers with the usual Hawthorn funnel tops. Built in 1896–1898, and were launched by R. & W. Hawthorn, Leslie & Company

Hawthorn Leslie and Company

R. & W. Hawthorn Leslie and Company, Limited, usually referred to as Hawthorn Leslie, was a shipbuilding and locomotive manufacturer. The Company was founded on Tyneside in 1886 and ceased building ships in 1982.-History:...

 from their Hebburn-on-Tyne shipyard.

Their Thornycroft boilers produced 6,100 HP to given them the required 30 knots (58.8 km/h) and they were armed with the standard 12-pounder gun

12-pounder gun

12-pounder gun or 12-pdr, usually denotes a gun which fired a projectile of approximately 12 pounds.Guns of this type include:* A cannon sized for a 12 pound ball, see Naval artillery in the Age of Sail*Canon de 12 de Vallière French canon of 1732...

 and two torpedo tubes. They carried a complement of 63 officers and men. In 1913 the pair - like all other surviving three-funnelled destroyers of the "30-knotter" group - were reclassed as C-class destroyers

C class destroyer

Three classes of destroyer of the Royal Navy have been known as the C class:* The C class of destroyers launched from 1894 and 1901 and reclassified in 1913.* Five ships of the C and D class, all launched in 1931, are known as the "C class"....

. The almost identical ships built subsequently at the same yard differed only by having Yarrow boilers.