HMS Scorpion (1910)

HMS "Scorpion" was one of sixteen "Beagle"-class destroyers in service with the Royal Navy in the First World War. She was built by Fairfield Govan shipyards on the Clyde and was commissioned on August 30 1910. ["The Times (London)", Wednesday, August 31 1910, p.5] She was a coal powered ship and as such was obsolete by the end of the First World War and was scrapped in 1921. [ [http://www.battleships-cruisers.co.uk/beagle_class.htm Beagle Class Destroyer 1909 - 1910 ] ]

The first commander of HMS "Scorpion" was the then Lieutenant-Commander Andrew Cunningham. Early days in "Scorpion" included the Spithead naval review in 1911 that stood out in Cunningham's mind as the zenith of British naval power with twenty-six miles of ships including 42 battleships and 68 destroyers. In 1913 the period in home waters came to an end with Scorpion posted to the Mediterranean. The early part of the war saw her involved in the chase of the German battlecruiser "Goeben" and the Dardanelles Campaign. "Scorpion" was always at the forefront of the action; her role included escorting bombarding ships, covering minesweeping trawlers and, later, acting as a minesweeper herself. [http://www.clydesite.co.uk/clydebuilt/warships/vessel.asp?id=3386]

References