HMS Attentive (1904)

HMS Attentive

Company type	Scout cruiser
Industry	Naval shipbuilding
Founded	8 January 1904
Headquarters	Elswick , United Kingdom
Products	Warship
Parent	Armstrong Whitworth

HMS Attentive was one of a pair of Adventure-class scout cruiser vessels constructed for the Royal Navy during the early 1900s. After her completion in 1905, she was initially held in reserve before being commissioned in 1907 to serve with the Home Fleet. Over the following seven years, she alternated between active duty and reserve status within British territorial waters. During her service, Attentive was involved in collisions that resulted in the sinking of one destroyer and damage to two others. At the outbreak of the First World War in 1914, she was assigned to coastal defence duties and spent much of the conflict operating with the Dover Patrol. In early 1918, she participated in a limited capacity during the Zeebrugge Raid and subsequently undertook convoy escort missions to Gibraltar. Later that year, she was deployed to the White Sea to support the North Russia intervention amid the Russian Civil War. Attentive was decommissioned at the close of 1918 and ultimately sold for scrapping in 1920.

Design and description

The Adventure-class represented one of four scout cruiser categories commissioned by the Admiralty. These vessels were designed to operate alongside destroyer flotillas by leading torpedo assaults and providing support against enemy destroyers. However, their effectiveness diminished as destroyer speeds increased prior to World War I. The ships measured 374 feet (114.0 m) between perpendiculars, had a beam of 38 feet 3 inches (11.7 m), and drew 12 feet 5 inches (3.8 m) of water. Their displacement was 2,670 long tons (2,713 t) under normal conditions and increased to 2,893 long tons (2,939 t) at full load. Each vessel accommodated a complement of 289 officers and enlisted personnel.

Propulsion was provided by two three-cylinder triple-expansion steam engines, each connected to a separate shaft, powered by steam from twelve Yarrow boilers. The engines were rated at 16,000 indicated horsepower (12,000 kW), aiming to achieve a top speed of 25 knots (46 km/h; 29 mph). During sea trials, Attentive attained a speed of 25.9 knots (48.0 km/h; 29.8 mph) sustained for eight hours, generating 16,212 ihp (12,089 kW). The coal capacity allowed for an operational range of approximately 2,370 nautical miles (4,390 km; 2,730 mi) at a cruising speed of 10 knots (19 km/h; 12 mph).

Armament for the Adventure class comprised ten quick-firing (QF) 12-pounder 18-cwt guns. Three guns were mounted side-by-side on both the forecastle and the quarterdeck, while four additional guns were positioned amidships on the port and starboard sides. The ships also carried eight QF 3-pounder (47 mm (1.9 in)) Hotchkiss guns and two above-water 18-inch (450 mm) torpedo tubes, one located on each broadside. Protection included deck armour varying from 0.75 to 2 inches (19 to 51 mm) in thickness, with the conning tower shielded by armour measuring 3 inches (76 mm) thick.

Construction and career

Attentive was constructed by Armstrong Whitworth at their Elswick shipyard, with the keel laid on 8 January 1904 as yard number 748. The vessel was launched later that year on 22 November. Following her completion in October 1905, she was initially placed in reserve. Shortly thereafter, modifications were made including the addition of two extra 12-pounder guns and replacement of the original 3-pounder guns with six QF 6-pounder Hotchkiss guns. In March 1907, she entered active service with the Nore Division of the Home Fleet.

On either 6 or 7 August 1907, Attentive collided with the destroyer HMS Quail, causing significant damage to Quail’s bow. The following year, during a nighttime live-fire exercise on 27 April 1908 involving the Eastern Destroyer Flotilla, Attentive was involved in multiple incidents: she accidentally rammed and sank the destroyer Gala, resulting in one fatality among the crew, and subsequently collided with the destroyer Ribble, causing a hull breach.

After undergoing repairs, she was recommissioned at Chatham in July 1909 and took command as leader of the 3rd Destroyer Flotilla. In 1910, she transferred to the 2nd Destroyer Flotilla. Around 1911–1912, her main armament was upgraded to nine 4-inch (102 mm) guns arranged with four on each broadside and one mounted on the quarterdeck. Following a refit at HM Dockyard, Devonport in August 1912, Attentive served with the 3rd Light Cruiser Squadron during the annual manoeuvres of 1913 before assuming leadership of the 9th Destroyer Flotilla based at Portsmouth. Later that same year, she joined the 6th Destroyer Flotilla stationed at Dover. During the Curragh incident in 1914, Attentive was deployed to Ireland alongside HMS Pathfinder. At this time, First Lord of the Admiralty Winston Churchill issued a stern warning threatening to bombard Belfast heavily should the Ulster Volunteers rise against British forces.

Throughout most of World War I, Attentive operated within the Dover Patrol. On 7 September 1915, while supporting naval bombardments against German positions near Ostend, she became one of the early casualties of aerial warfare. The ship sustained eight casualties due to bombing which temporarily dispersed her squadron before it regrouped to continue their mission. During the Zeebrugge Raid on 25 April 1918, Attentive provided screening for the raiding force and assisted in rescuing survivors from the concrete-filled cruiser Sirius after it detonated demolition charges. Later that year, she undertook convoy escort duties to Gibraltar and spent several months off Murmansk in northern Russia supporting British interventions in the Russian Civil War. After hostilities ceased, Attentive was decommissioned in December 1918 and subsequently sold for dismantling in April 1920.

Bibliography

• Bacon, Reginald. The Dover Patrol 1915–1917. London: Hutchinson & Co., n.d. Volume I. ISBN 1-86176-022-1. OCLC 59037180.
• Brook, Peter. Warships for Export: Armstrong Warships 1867–1927. Gravesend, Kent, UK: World Ship Society, 1999. ISBN 0-905617-89-4.
• Chesneau, Roger, and Eugene M. Kolesnik, editors. Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships 1860–1905. Greenwich: Conway Maritime Press, 1979. ISBN 0-8317-0302-4.
• Colledge, J.J., 2006.
• Friedman, Norman. British Destroyers From Earliest Days to the Second World War. Annapolis, Maryland: Naval Institute Press, 2009. ISBN 978-1-59114-081-8.
• Friedman, Norman. Naval Weapons of World War One. Barnsley, South Yorkshire, UK: Seaforth, 2011. ISBN 978-1-84832-100-7.
• Gardiner, Robert, and Randal Gray, editors. Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships 1906–1921. Annapolis, Maryland: Naval Institute Press, 1985. ISBN 0-85177-245-5.
• Lyon, David. The First Destroyers. London: Caxton Editions, 2001. ISBN 1-84067-364-8.
• McBride, K.D. "The Royal Navy 'Scout' Class of 1904–05." Warship International, vol. XXXI, no. 3 (1994), pp. 260–281. ISSN 0043-0374.
• McGreal, Stephen. Zeebrugge and Ostend Raids 1918. Barnsley, UK: Pen & Sword Military, 2007. ISBN 978-1-84415608-5.
• Morris, Douglas. Cruisers of the Royal and Commonwealth Navies Since 1879. Liskeard, UK: Maritime Books, 1987. ISBN 0-907771-35-1.

External links

• Transcribed logbooks from August 1917 to December 1918
• Overview of the Adventure class during World War I
• Detailed history of the Adventure class
• Information on the Adventure class