HMS Viper (1899)
Hawthorn, Leslie & Co., Hebburn,
344 ts
64.1 m (210 ft 3.5 in )
6.4 m ( 21 ft )
2.9 m (9.75 ft)
68 man
4 Yarrow boilers 2 Parsons turbine sets, 4 shafts 10600 ihp ( PSI)
33.8 kn
1 × 76 mm/L40-12pdr-12 cwt Mk I Cannon 5 × 57 mm/L40-6pdr-Kanonen 2 × 45 cm torpedo tubes
Velox ex Python
Cobra
The HMS Viper was a destroyer of the British Royal Navy and the first turbine-powered warship. It was procured as a pilot boat for this new ship propulsion. It was regarded in 1900 as the fastest ocean-going car in the world. After less than a year service, the Viper was lost when she ran onto a rock in fog near Alderney on August 3, 1901.
Architectural History
The 1898 ordered 16 HMS Viper of the Royal Navy was a single boat to test the steam turbine as a possible drive for faster destroyers. The British Admiralty tried in 1896 faster than destroyers to develop the acquired as a standard since 1895, "thirty - Knotters ", which were exceeded with a maximum speed of 30 knots (kn) of boats in other countries. So she ordered the Albatross, Arab and express boats from different manufacturers, which should surpass conventional steam engines that speed. The convincing performance driven by a steam turbine Turbinia at the naval parade in 1897 led already on March 4, 1898 order of a turbine powered destroyer, HMS Viper at the Marine Steam Turbine Company by Charles Parsons in Wallsend before the completion of the said faster boats. Parsons awarded the construction of the hull at the shipyard Hawthorn, Leslie & Co., Hebburn, where the keel laying of the Viper was made before the year 1898. Hawthorn, Leslie had already built since 1895 destroyers for the Royal Navy and most recently built "30- knotter " the so-called Mermaid class.
The supplied by Parsons turbines of the Viper drove in four waves, each of which had two screws. The outer shafts were driven by the high-pressure turbine of the respective turbine set, while the low-pressure turbines acted on the inner shafts. On the inner shafts but also special turbines could be switched for going astern; special turbines for cruising did not exist. Four Yarrow boilers powered the turbines with steam. The exhaust steam was about three chimneys .. The agreed on behalf of a top speed of 31 knots, although Parsons held at least 34 kn possible.
The Viper was armed with a single 76 mm/L40-12pdr-12 cwt gun on a platform above the command position of the craft. In practice, the gun platform was also used as a command bridge of the boat. There were also five 57 mm/L40-6pdr-Kanonen and two single 45 - cm torpedo tubes, the then standard armament of destroyers of the Royal Navy.
The Viper was launched on September 6, 1899 from the stack. In their acceptance they reached the agreed rates. In a test of their fuel consumption on 16 August 1900, she erreicherte 31.017 kn for a longer period and a high-speed test on August 31, 1900 over a mile was 33.57 knots, which she was the fastest destroyer world. Reports indicate that the Viper probably still could achieve higher speeds in tests, as 35.5 kts or even 36.858 kn.
The boat reached very high speeds in experimental runs with low vibration, but the fuel consumption was very high. The turbines were optimized for high speeds and very inefficient at lower speeds. For use with the fleet was the Viper of little value. From its base in Portland she could reach Alderney and perform there monitoring cruises to cancel such use after 24 hours to accept new fuel in the base.
The loss of the Viper '
On August 3, 1901, the Viper ran from Portland to a search operation in the annual fleet exercises from. Around noon she met at a Casquet Rocks near Alderney, the assigned reconnaissance area. The visibility was mostly good, although there were minor fog banks. The Viper discovered that the enemy performing ship.
Destroyer came again free to but immediately on Renonquet Reef 49 ° 44 ' N, 2 ° 16' W49.733333333333 - 2.2666666666667Koordinaten: aground 49 ° 44 '0 " N, 2 ° 16' 0 " W. The commanding officer and the navigator had not carefully tracked their way past courses in the fog. The crew was rescued by a pilot boat. The Royal Navy blew up the wreck abbringbare not to not to disclose the details of construction foreign powers.
Other early turbine destroyer of the Royal Navy
The loss of purchased only in May 1900 compared destroyer HMS Cobra on September 18, 1901 led to the purchase of Hawthorn, Leslie & Co before its final entry into his own account started Python, the 1902, as HMS Velox in service and also long the only turbine destroyer the Navy was. It commanded initially over -expansion engines for cruising, later on march turbines. Both installations not proven itself. When awarding contracts for the 1902 procured the River class destroyer, a boat was ordered with turbine drive with the HMS Eden. It was not until the following coastal destroyers of cricket class and the great destroyers of the Tribal class was the steam turbine 1906/1907 standard drive the torpedo carrier of the Royal Navy. Cammell Laird Shipyards and Palmer had previously been modified for its own account turbine-powered boats from the River class, which were purchased by the Royal Navy in 1909. Of these, however, the Palmer - boats were filed on August 30, 1912 in the B-Class.