HMS Dryad was the name ship of the Dryad-class torpedo gunboats

Dryad class torpedo gunboat

The Dryad-class torpedo gunboat was the last class of torpedo gunboat built for the Royal Navy. This type of vessel was rapidly replaced by the faster torpedo boat destroyer, and all of the class were converted to minesweepers during World War I, with the exception of Hazard, which became a...

. She was launched at Chatham Dockyard

Chatham Dockyard

Chatham Dockyard, located on the River Medway and of which two-thirds is in Gillingham and one third in Chatham, Kent, England, came into existence at the time when, following the Reformation, relations with the Catholic countries of Europe had worsened, leading to a requirement for additional...

 on 22 November 1893, the first of the class to be completed. She served as a minesweeper during World War I and was broken up in 1920.

Design

Ordered under the Naval Defence Act of 1889

Naval Defence Act 1889

The Naval Defence Act 1889 was an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, instituted on May 31, 1889 to increase the United Kingdom's naval strength and formally adopt the country’s "two-power standard." The standard called for the Royal Navy to maintain a number of battleships at least equal...

, which established the "Two-Power Standard", the class was contemporary with the first torpedo boat destroyers. With a length overall of 262 in 6 in (80.01 m), a beam of 30 in 6 in (9.3 m) and a displacement of 1,070 tons, these torpedo gunboats were not small ships by the standard of the time; they were larger than the majority of World War I destroyers. Dryad was engined by Maudslay, Sons & Field with two sets of vertical triple-expansion steam engines, two locomotive-type boilers, and twin screws. This layout produced 3500 ihp, giving her a speed of 18.2 knots (35.7 km/h). She carried between 100 and 160 tons of coal and was manned by 120 sailors and officers.

Armament

The armament when built comprised two QF 4.7 inches (11.9 cm) guns

QF 4.7 inch Gun Mk I - IV

The QF 4.7 inch Gun Mks I, II, III, and IV were a family of United-Kingdom 120-mm naval and coast defence guns of 1888 and 1890s which served with the navies of various countries. They were also mounted on various wheeled carriages to provide the British Army with a long range gun...

, four 6-pdr guns and a single 5-barrelled Nordenfelt machine gun. Her primary weapon was five 18-inch (450-mm) torpedo tubes

British 18 inch torpedo

There have been a number of 18 inch torpedoes in service with the United Kingdom. These have been used on ships of the Royal Navy and aircraft of both the Fleet Air Arm and Royal Air Force...

,British "18 inch" torpedoes were 17.72 inches (45.0 cm) in diameter with two reloads. On conversion to a minesweeper in 1914 two of the five torpedoes were removed.

Mediterranean service

On 14 January 1900 Dryad left Chatham

Chatham Dockyard

Chatham Dockyard, located on the River Medway and of which two-thirds is in Gillingham and one third in Chatham, Kent, England, came into existence at the time when, following the Reformation, relations with the Catholic countries of Europe had worsened, leading to a requirement for additional...

 for the Mediterranean in order to relieve HMS Hussar

HMS Hussar (1894)

HMS Hussar was a Dryad-class torpedo gunboat of the Royal Navy. She was launched in 1894 and served in the Mediterranean between 1896 and 1905 before being used for fishery protection. During the Dardanelles campaign of 1915 her commanding officer and two of her ship's company won the Victoria...

, which returned to Devonport

HMNB Devonport

Her Majesty's Naval Base Devonport , is one of three operating bases in the United Kingdom for the Royal Navy . HMNB Devonport is located in Devonport, in the west of the city of Plymouth in Devon, England...

 to pay off.

Tender to the Navigation School

In 1906 she was chosen as the tender to the Navigation School, conducting navigation training of officers at sea. In due course her name came to be used for the Navigation School itself, and then for HMS Dryad

HMS Dryad (establishment)

HMS Dryad was a stone frigate . It was the home of the Royal Navy's Maritime Warfare School until 2004.Originally the school was based in Portsmouth Dockyard. The establishment took its name from the ship used as its tender, the fourth HMS Dryad. During World War II it was moved to Southwick House...

, the shore establishment at Southwick House

Southwick House

Southwick House is a manor house of the Southwick Estate located just to the north of Portsmouth in Hampshire, England. The house was built in 1800 in the late Georgian style, to replace Southwick Park house. The house is distinct for its two-story foyer lit from a cupola, and a series of...

 in Hampshire

Hampshire

Hampshire is a county on the southern coast of England in the United Kingdom. The county town of Hampshire is Winchester, a historic cathedral city that was once the capital of England. Hampshire is notable for housing the original birthplaces of the Royal Navy, British Army, and Royal Air Force...

.

Wartime service as a minesweeper

By 1914 Dryad had been converted to a minesweeper

Minesweeper (ship)

A minesweeper is a small naval warship designed to counter the threat posed by naval mines. Minesweepers generally detect then neutralize mines in advance of other naval operations.-History:...

 and was operating in the North Sea

North Sea

In the southwest, beyond the Straits of Dover, the North Sea becomes the English Channel connecting to the Atlantic Ocean. In the east, it connects to the Baltic Sea via the Skagerrak and Kattegat, narrow straits that separate Denmark from Norway and Sweden respectively...

 from the port of Lowestoft

Lowestoft

Lowestoft is a town in the English county of Suffolk. The town is on the North Sea coast and is the most easterly point of the United Kingdom. It is north-east of London, north-east of Ipswich and south-east of Norwich...

.

Gunner Ernest Martin Jehan and three other gunners from Dryad were assigned to the Q-ship

Q-ship

Q-ships, also known as Q-boats, Decoy Vessels, Special Service Ships, or Mystery Ships, were heavily armed merchant ships with concealed weaponry, designed to lure submarines into making surface attacks. This gave Q-ships the chance to open fire and sink them...

 Inverlyon

HM Armed Smack Inverlyon

His Majesty's or HM Armed Smack Inverlyon was a fishing smack that was converted to a Q-ship during the First World War. Q-ships served as decoys to lure German submarines near enough so that concealed weapons could be brought to bear and sink the submarines...

, with Jehan in command. On 15 August 1915 they sank the German submarine with gunfire. Jehan was awarded the Distinguished Service Cross

Distinguished Service Cross (United Kingdom)

The Distinguished Service Cross is the third level military decoration awarded to officers, and other ranks, of the British Armed Forces, Royal Fleet Auxiliary and British Merchant Navy and formerly also to officers of other Commonwealth countries.The DSC, which may be awarded posthumously, is...

for his part in the action.

Disposal

She was renamed HMS Hamadryad in 1918 and was sold to H Auten & Co on 24 September 1920 for breaking.

Commanding officers

From	To	Captain
1911?		|Captain Edward Booty