Name HMS Scythe Laid down 14 January 1918 Class and type S-class destroyer Launched 25 April 1918 Draft 3.3 m | Ordered June 1917 Completed July 1918 Construction started 14 January 1918 Weight 1,092 tons Builder John Brown & Company | |
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Fate Sold for breaking up 28 November 1931 | ||
HMS Scythe was an S-class destroyer of the Royal Navy. She was built by John Brown & Company, Clydebank and was launched on 10 April 1918. She saw service during the First World War and was involved in the Irish Civil War in the interwar period before being discarded in 1931.
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Service history
Scythe served in the 12th Destroyer Flotilla of the Grand Fleet 1918-19, moving to the new 7th Destroyer Flotilla at Rosyth in 1919 before going into reserve at Devonport on 12 November 1919. Subsequently, she was re-commissioned on 4 April 1923, as an independent command in Irish waters after the establishment of the Irish Free State. Between October 1923 and January 1925 her first lieutenant was Frederick Bell, later to earn fame as the captain of HMS Exeter during the Battle of the River Plate. HMS Scythe was involved in a shooting incident at Queenstown (modern day Cobh) on 21 March 1924, when machine gun fire was directed at her. She continued to serve in Irish waters until she was laid up, before being sold on 28 November 1931 for breaking by John Cashmore Ltd (Newport), arriving December 1931.