View source for HMS Bullfinch (1898)

{{short description|Destroyer of the Royal Navy}}
{{other ships|HMS Bullfinch}}

{{Use dmy dates|date=January 2018}}
{{Use British English|date=January 2018}}
{|{{Infobox ship begin}}
{{Infobox ship image
|Ship image=[[File:HMS Bullfinch (1898) IWM Q 021050.jpg|300px|HMS Bullfinch]]
|Ship caption= HMS ''Bullfinch''
}}
{{Infobox ship career
| Hide header=
| Ship country=United Kingdom
| Ship flag= {{shipboxflag|United Kingdom|naval}}
| Ship name=HMS ''Bullfinch''
| Ship ordered=1896 – 1897 Naval Estimates
| Ship builder= [[Earle's Shipbuilding|Earl's Shipbuilding and Engineering Company Limited]], Hull, Yorkshire
| Ship laid down=17 September 1896
| Ship launched=10 February 1898
| Ship acquired=
| Ship commissioned=June 1901
| Ship decommissioned=
| Ship in service=
| Ship out of service=Laid up in reserve 1919
| Ship struck=
| Ship reinstated=
| Ship fate= 10 June 1919 to Young of Sunderland for breaking
| Ship honours=
| Ship badge=
| Ship motto=
| Ship identification=
| Ship notes=
}}
{{Infobox ship characteristics
|Hide header=no
|Header caption=
|Ship class=[[C-class destroyer (1913)|Three-funnel, 30-knot]] [[destroyer]]<ref>{{cite book |last=Jane |first=Fred T. |title= Jane's Fighting Ships 1905 |orig-year=1905 |year=1969 |publisher= first published by Sampson Low Marston, London 1905, reprinted ARCO Publishing Company |location= New York |page=77}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last=Jane |first=Fred T. |title= Jane's Fighting Ships of World War I |year=1990 |orig-year= 1919, reprinted |publisher= Jane’s Publishing © 1919 |isbn=1-85170-378-0 |page=77}}</ref>
|Ship displacement=*{{cvt|345|LT|t|0}} standard
*{{cvt|390|LT|t|0}} full load
*{{cvt|214|ft|6|in|m}} [[Length overall|o/a]]
*{{cvt|20|ft|6|in|m}} Beam
*{{cvt|7|ft|10|in|m}} Draught
|Ship propulsion=*4 × Thornycroft [[water tube boiler]]
*2 × Vertical Triple Expansion (VTE) [[steam engines]] driving 2 shafts producing {{Convert|6000|SHP|kW|abbr=on}}
|Ship speed= {{convert|30|kn|km/h|abbr=on}}
|Ship range=*80&nbsp;tons coal
*{{cvt|1,490|nmi|km}} at {{cvt|11|kn}}
| Ship complement= 60 officers and men
| Ship sensors=
| Ship EW=
| Ship armament=
*1 × [[QF 12 pounder 12 cwt naval gun|QF 12-pounder 12 cwt Mark I]] L/40 naval gun on a P Mark I Low angle mount
*5 × [[QF 6-pdr 8 cwt naval gun]] L/40 Naval gun on a Mark I* low angle mount
*2 × single [[Torpedo tube|tube]]s for [[British 18 inch torpedo|18-inch (450mm) torpedoes]]
| Ship aircraft=
| Ship aircraft facilities=
| Ship notes=
}}{{Infobox service record
|is_ship=yes
|is_multi=
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|partof=
|codes=
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|operations=[[World War I]] 1914 - 1918
|victories=
|awards=
}}
|}
'''HMS ''Bullfinch''''' was a [[C-class destroyer (1913)|three-funnel, 30-knot]] [[destroyer]] ordered by the Royal Navy under the 1896–1897 Naval Estimates. She was the third ship to carry this name since it was introduced in 1857 for a 4-gun wooden-screw [[gunboat]].<ref>{{cite book |last=Jane |first=Fred T. |title= Jane's All the World's Fighting Ships 1898 |orig-year=1898 |year=1969 |publisher= first published by Sampson Low Marston, London 1898, Reprinted ARCO Publishing Company |location=New York |pages=84 to 85}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last=Jane |first= Fred T. |title= Jane's Fighting Ships of World War I |year=1990 |orig-year= 1919, reprinted |publisher= Jane’s Publishing © 1919 |isbn=1-85170-378-0 |page=76}}</ref>

==Construction==
''Bullfinch'' was [[Keel laying|laid down]] on 17 September 1896, at the Earle's Shipbuilding and Engineering Company Limited shipyard at Hull, Yorkshire, and [[Ceremonial ship launching|launched]] on 10 February 1898.  During her [[Sea trial|trials]] while steaming at {{convert|30|kn|lk=in}} she suffered a major accident in which the connecting rod to the high-pressure cylinder broke and released steam into the forward engine room. Eight individuals were killed and six were injured. The broken connecting rod punctured the hull, and Lieutenant F.G. Dineley (in command during trials) ordered the use of collision mats to stem the intake of water and she was able to make port. The destroyer was completed and accepted by the Royal Navy in June 1901.<ref>{{cite book |last=Jane |first= Fred T. |title= Jane's All the World's Fighting Ships 1898 |orig-year=1898 |year=1969 |publisher= first published by Sampson Low Marston, London 1898, reprinted ARCO Publishing Company |location= New York |pages=84 to 85}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last=Jane |first=Fred T. |title= Jane's Fighting Ships of World War I |year=1990 |publisher=Jane’s Publishing © 1919 |isbn=1-85170-378-0 |page=76}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|last=Brown  |first=David K|title=Warrior to Dreadnought |orig-year=1997 |year=2010 |publisher= Chatham |isbn=978-1-84832-086-4 |page=141}}</ref>

==Service history==
===Early service===
After [[Ship commissioning|commissioning]] ''Bullfinch'' was assigned to the Channel Fleet. Commander [[Brian Barttelot (Royal Navy officer)|Brian Barttelot]] was appointed in command on 24 February 1902,<ref>{{Cite newspaper The Times |title=Naval & Military intelligence|date=14 February 1902 |page=9 |issue=36691}}</ref> and she was assigned to the [[Portsmouth]] instructional flotilla. In May 1902 she towed her [[sister ship]] {{HMS|Dove|1898|6}} to [[Cobh|Queenstown]], after the latter had struck a rock off Kildorney.<ref>{{Cite newspaper The Times |title=Naval & Military intelligence|date=22 May 1902 |page=8 |issue=36774}}</ref>

She spent her operational career mainly in Home Waters operating with the Channel Fleet as part of the Devonport Flotilla.

On 30 August 1912 the [[British Admiralty|Admiralty]] directed all destroyer classes were to be designated by alpha characters starting with the letter 'A'. Since her design speed was 30 knots and she had three [[Funnel (ship)|funnels]], she was assigned to the {{nobr|C class}}. After 30 September 1913, she was known as a C-class destroyer and had the letter 'C' painted on the hull below the [[Bridge (nautical)|bridge]] area and on either the fore or aft funnel.<ref>{{cite book |title= Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships 1906 to 1922 |year=2006 |orig-year=1985, reprinted 1997, 2002, 2006 |publisher= Conway Maritime Press |isbn=0-85177-245-5 |pages=17–19}}</ref>

===World War I===
In July 1914 ''Bullfinch'' was in active commission in the [[7th Destroyer Flotilla]] based at Devonport tendered to {{HMS|Leander|1882|2}}, destroyer depot ship to the 7th Flotilla. In September 1914 the 7th Flotilla was redeployed to the [[Humber]] River. She remained in this deployment until the cessation of hostilities. Her employment within the Humber Patrol included anti-submarine and counter-mining patrols. On 15 August 1914, she was involved in a collision in British waters, with the loss of four stokers.

In 1919 ''Bullfinch'' was [[paid off]] and laid-up in [[Reserve fleet|reserve]] awaiting disposal. She was sold on 10 June 1919 to Young of Sunderland for [[Ship breaking|breaking]].<ref>{{cite web |title= "Arrowsmith" List – Part 1 Destroyer Prototypes through "River" Class |url= http://www.gwpda.org/naval/s0420000.htm |access-date= 1 Jun 2013}}</ref>

==Pennant numbers==
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center"
!Pennant Number<ref>{{cite web|title="Arrowsmith" List – Part 1 Destroyer Prototypes through "River" Class|url=http://www.gwpda.org/naval/s0420000.htm|access-date=1 Jun 2013}}</ref> ||From||To
|-
|D17||6 Dec 1914||1 Sep 1915
|-
|D48||1 Sep 1915||1 Jan 1918
|-
|D15||1 Jan 1918||1 Apr 1918
|-
|H04||1 Apr 1918||10 Jun 1919
|}

==References==
NOTE:  All tabular data under General Characteristics only from the listed Jane's Fighting Ships volume unless otherwise specified

{{reflist}}

==Bibliography==
* {{cite book|editor1-last=Chesneau|editor1-first=Roger|editor2-last=Kolesnik|editor2-first=Eugene M.|title=Conway's All The World's Fighting Ships 1860–1905|year=1979 |name-list-style=amp |publisher=Conway Maritime Press|location=London |isbn=0-85177-133-5}}
* {{Cite Colledge2006}}
* {{cite book|last1=Dittmar|first1=F. J.|last2=Colledge|first2=J. J.|title=British Warships 1914–1919|year=1972|publisher=Ian Allan|location=Shepperton, UK|isbn=0-7110-0380-7|name-list-style=amp}}
* {{cite book|last=Friedman|first=Norman|title=British Destroyers: From Earliest Days to the Second World War|year=2009|publisher=Seaforth Publishing|location=Barnsley, UK|isbn=978-1-84832-049-9}}
* {{cite book|editor1-last=Gardiner|editor1-first=Robert|editor2-last=Gray|editor2-first=Randal|title=Conway's All The World's Fighting Ships 1906–1921|year=1985|publisher=Conway Maritime Press|location=London|isbn=0-85177-245-5|name-list-style=amp}}
* {{cite book|last=Lyon|first=David|title=The First Destroyers|year=2001|orig-year=1996|publisher=Caxton Editions|location=London|isbn=1-84067-3648}}
* {{cite book|last=Manning|first=T. D.|title=The British Destroyer|year=1961|publisher=Putnam & Co.|location=London|oclc= 6470051}}
* {{cite book|last=March|first=Edgar J.|title=British Destroyers: A History of Development, 1892–1953; Drawn by Admiralty Permission From Official Records & Returns, Ships' Covers & Building Plans|year=1966|publisher=Seeley Service|location=London |oclc=164893555}}

{{C class destroyer}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bullfinch (1898)}}
[[Category:Ships built on the Humber]]
[[Category:1898 ships]]
[[Category:C-class destroyers (1913)]]
[[Category:World War I destroyers of the United Kingdom]]