HMS Valkyrie (1917)

HMS "Valkyrie" was a First World War V-class flotilla leader of the Royal Navy. She was one of two destroyers ordered in July 1916 from William Denny &amp; Bros. Ltd shipyard under the 9th Order for Destroyers of the Emergency War Program of 1916–17. She was originally to be called HMS "Malcolm" but was renamed before being completed. The name "Malcolm" was later assigned to another destroyer leader.
Construction.
In early 1916, the Director of Naval Construction prepared a design for a destroyer leader suitable to lead the new R-class destroyers. The first two ships of the new class, "Malcolm" and "Montrose" were ordered from William Denny and Brothers in April 1916, with three more being ordered from other builders in July that year. "Malcolm"s keel was laid on 25 May 1916 at Denny's shipyard in Dumbarton, Scotland. The five V-class leaders were renamed on 28 September 1916, with "Malcolm" being renamed "Valkyrie" and "Montrose" being renamed . She was launched on 13 March 1917.
"Valkyrie" was long overall with a beam of and a draught of between and depending on load. She had a displacement of standard and up to under full load.
The ship's machinery was based on that of the R-class destroyers which she was designed to lead. Three oil-fed Yarrow boilers raising steam at fed Brown-Curtis geared steam turbines which developed , driving two screws for a maximum designed speed of . "Valkyrie" reached during sea trials, with her engines generating . The ship carried of oil giving a range of at .
She shipped four Mk V QF (quick fire) 4-inch L/45 guns in four single center-line mounts. These were disposed as two forward and two aft in super imposed firing positions. She also carried one QF 3-inch 20 cwt anti-aircraft gun aft of the second funnel. Aft of the 3-inch gun, she carried four 21-inch Torpedo tubes mounted in pairs on the center-line.
History.
HMS "Valkyrie" was completed on 16 June 1917 with the pennant number F.83, the first of the V-class leaders to complete. After commissioning "Valkyrie" joined the 10th Destroyer Flotilla as leader, forming part of the Harwich Force, and carrying out offensive sweeps and convoy escort operations. On 22 December 1917, "Valkyrie" was part of the escort for a convoy to the Netherlands when she struck a mine. Twelve men were killed, with seven more men dying of wounds in the next few days. Three more destroyers of the 10th Flotilla, , and , were sunk by mines on the next day. "Valkyrie" was under repair at Chatham Dockyard until July 1918.
After repair, "Valkyrie" joined the 13th Destroyer Flotilla based at Rosyth Dockyard led by the light cruiser . In November 1918, following the Armistice that ended fighting with Germany, and the surrender of the German High Seas Fleet, the 13th Destroyer Flotilla, including "Valkyrie", was sent to the Baltic sea as part of the British intervention. The 13th Flotilla was relieved in January 1919. In 1919 she was reassigned to the 3rd Destroyer Flotilla.
In 1921, the destroyer force was again reorganised around smaller flotillas comprising eight destroyers and a leader. "Valkyrie" was assigned to the 9th Destroyer Flotilla which were laid up at Rosyth Dockyard with skeleton crews. After a refit at Chatham, "Valkyrie" returned to service in August 1923, operating in British waters with the 9th Flotilla until November 1925, when she, along with the rest of the Flotilla, was transferred to the 7th Destroyer Flotilla and laid up at Port Edgar. She returned to more active duty in June 1926 as the emergency destroyer at Rosyth, before being relieved by and returning to reserve in November that year.
In June 1927, "Valkyrie" joined the 2nd Destroyer Flotilla of the Mediterranean Fleet as a temporary replacement for while "Valentine" was having her boiler tubes replaced. "Valkyrie" then went back to reserve at Sheerness, where she remained until February 1927, when she was transferred to Rosyth, remaining in reserve.
Disposition.
In 1936 she was stricken and sold to the shipbreaking yard Thos. W. Ward's for scrap as part of a deal in which several laid up warships were traded for the old ocean liner , which the Admiralty wanted to convert into a training ship.