HMS Norseman was a Repeat which served in the Royal Navy during the First World War. The M class were an improvement on the previous , capable of higher speed. The vessel was launched in 1916 and joined the Grand Fleet. Norseman joined the Thirteenth Destroyer Flotilla which, in 1917, participated in a large anti-submarine warfare operation in the North Sea. The sortie led to three German submarines being sunk, although Norseman was not directly involved in these attacks. In 1918, the flotilla was involved in one of the final sorties of the Grand Fleet, but again the destroyer saw no action at the time. After the Armistice that marked the end of the First World War, Norseman was placed in reserve, decommissioned and, in 1921, sold to be broken up.
Design and development Norseman was one of sixteen Repeat destroyers ordered by the British Admiralty in February 1915 as part of the Fourth War Construction Programme. The M-class was an improved version of the earlier destroyers, required to reach a higher speed in order to counter rumoured German fast destroyers. The remit was to have a maximum speed of and, although the eventual design did not achieve this, the greater performance was appreciated by the navy. It transpired that the German ships did not exist. The Repeat M class differed from the prewar vessels in having a raked stem and design improvements based on wartime experience.
The destroyer had a length of between perpendiculars and overall, with a beam of and draught of . Normal displacement was and at full load. Power was provided by three Yarrow boilers feeding Brown-Curtis steam turbines rated at , driving three shafts and exhausting through three funnels. Design speed was . A total of of oil was carried, which gave a design range of at . The ship had a complement of 80 officers and ratings.
Norseman had an armament that included three single QF Mk IV guns on the centreline, with one on the forecastle, one aft on a raised platform and one between the middle and aft funnels. Torpedo armament consisted of two twin torpedo tubes for torpedoes located aft of the funnels. One single 2-pdr "pom-pom" anti-aircraft gun was carried. The destroyer was fitted with racks and storage for depth charges. Initially, only two depth charges were carried but the number increased in service and by 1918, the vessel was carrying between 30 and 50 depth charges.
Construction and career Laid down at their shipyard in Sunderland, Norseman was launched by William Doxford & Sons on 15 August 1916 and completed during November the same year. The destroyer was the first Royal Navy ship to bear the name. On commissioning, Norseman was deployed as part of the Grand Fleet, joining the Thirteenth Destroyer Flotilla based at Rosyth. Between 1 and 10 October 1917, the flotilla took part in a large exercise to detect and trap German submarines in the North Sea. Although Norseman was not directly involved, three enemy boats were sunk in the operation. The flotilla took part in the Royal Navy's engagement with one of the final sorties of the German High Seas Fleet during the First World War, on 24 April 1918, although the two fleets did not actually meet and the destroyer saw no action.
After the Armistice that ended the war on 11 November 1918, the Royal Navy returned to a peacetime level of strength and both the number of ships and personnel needed to be reduced to save money. Norseman was placed in reserve with a reduced company on 15 March 1919. The harsh conditions of wartime service, exacerbated by the fact that the hull was not galvanised and operations often required high speed in high seas, meant that the destroyer was worn out and ready for retirement. Norseman was decommissioned, and sold to Thos. W. Ward at Grays, on 9 May 1921 to be broken up.
Pennant numbers Pennant numberDateG70September 1915F13January 1917F06January 1918G51March 1918H22November 1918F82January 1919
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