RN Destroyers: Admiralty M Class

[jbryce1437]

Admiralty M-Class Destroyers, HMS Opal, Ophelia, Opportune and Oracle pictured in the fitting out basin at William Doxford & Sons Shipyard at Sunderland near Newcastle-upon Tyne in 1915.

Lovely photo Brian. I worked at the shipyard on the opposite bank of the river Wear, at Austin and Pickersgill, immediately before joining the Royal Navy.
I can remember the shipbuilding berths with the overhead gantries, which were all later cleared and an under cover ship factory built in its place, as seen in the background of this photo with the old ferry "Manxman" in the distance. The shipbuilding facility has remained unused for many years now. It was last used to refit some cross channel ferries but an attempt is being made to bring it back to life. The main problem being its distance up the river, which has not been dredged that far up since the late 1980's.

Jim

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[Brian James]

Thanks Jim, what a shame it can't be used...Brian

[Brian James]

Admiralty M-Class Destroyer HMS Opal pictured at the fitting quay at William Doxford & Sons Shipyard at Sunderland near Newcastle-upon Tyne in 1915.

[jbryce1437]

This is an aerial view of the Doxford shipyard, bottom right with the gantry cranes above the shipbuilding berths. The William Pickersgill (later Austin and Pickersgill) shipyard is on the opposite side of the river. The two ships at the bottom are at William Doxfords fitting out quay. Photo from 1930

Jim

aerial view of pickersgills and southwick 1930.jpg

[Brian James]

Original colour Admiralty blueprints for Admiralty M Class Destroyer HMS Marvel date stamped February 8th 1916 from William Denny & Brothers Shipyard at Dumbarton on the Clyde...Marvel was laid down at William Denny and Brothers at Dumbarton on January 11th 1915 with the yard number 1031, launched on October 7th and completed on December 28th 1915. This was the first time the name had been used in the RN. The vessel was deployed as part of the Grand Fleet, joining the Twelfth Destroyer Flotilla..The harsh conditions of wartime operations, particularly the combination of high speed and the poor weather that is typical of the North Sea, exacerbated by the fact that the hull was not galvanised, meant that the Destroyer was soon worn out. After the Armistice, the RN returned to a peacetime level of operation and it was decided that Marvel was to be withdrawn from active service. Initially, the Destroyer was placed in reserve at Devonport. However, this did not last long as the navy needed to reduce both the number of ships and the amount of staff to save money. On May 9th 1921, the vessel was sold to Thos. W. Ward of Hayle and broken up.