HMS Shark, was an Acasta-class

Acasta class destroyer

The Acasta class was a class of twenty destroyers built for the Royal Navy under the Naval Programme of 1911 - 1912 that saw service during World War I...

 destroyer built in 1912 and sunk during the Battle of Jutland on the evening of 31 May 1916.

Construction

She was built at the Wallsend yard of Swan, Hunter & Wigham Richardson and launched on 30 July 1912. She joined the 4th Destroyer Flotilla on completion.

Service during World War I

Shark served with the Grand Fleet from the outbreak of World War I

World War I

World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...

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The Battle of Jutland

During the Battle of Jutland

Battle of Jutland

The Battle of Jutland was a naval battle between the British Royal Navy's Grand Fleet and the Imperial German Navy's High Seas Fleet during the First World War. The battle was fought on 31 May and 1 June 1916 in the North Sea near Jutland, Denmark. It was the largest naval battle and the only...

, the 4th Flotilla was attached to Admiral David Beatty

David Beatty, 1st Earl Beatty

Admiral of the Fleet David Richard Beatty, 1st Earl Beatty, GCB, OM, GCVO, DSO was an admiral in the Royal Navy...

's Battlecruiser Fleet based at Rosyth

Rosyth

Rosyth is a town located on the Firth of Forth, three miles south of the centre of Dunfermline. According to an estimate taken in 2008, the town has a population of 12,790....

, and assigned to cover the 3rd Battlecruiser Squadron. During the battle, at around 6 pm, Shark led an unsuccessful torpedo attack by the flotilla on the German 2nd Scouting Group. The other three destroyers escaped with little damage, but Shark was crippled by gunfire. The forecastle gun was completely blown away with most of its gun crew shortly before the captain, Commander Loftus Jones

Loftus William Jones

Commander Loftus William Jones VC was an English recipient of the Victoria Cross, the highest and most prestigious award for gallantry in the face of the enemy that can be awarded to British and Commonwealth forces....

, declined an offer of assistance from the destroyer Acasta.

Soon afterwards the aft 4 inch gun was also destroyed and the bridge wrecked. Jones and three seamen continued working the midship gun, engaging nearby German destroyers and leading to the sinking of V48

SMS V48

SMS V48 was a Großes Torpedoboot 1913 class torpedo boat of the Deutschen Kaiserliche Marine during World War I, and the 24th ship of her class.-Construction:Built by AG Vulcan Stettin shipyard, Germany, she was launched in August 1915...

. The German destroyers closed on the ship and returned heavy fire, during which Jones lost a leg. Shortly before 7 pm he ordered the ship to be abandoned and around thirty of the crew managed to get onto the rafts. Seven were picked up six hours later by a Danish ship, but one died soon afterwards. Jones went down with the ship.

Loss

At 7 pm the destroyer was sunk by a torpedo launched by the German torpedo boat S54 and which hit her abreast of the aft funnel. In March 1917 Jones was gazetted with a posthumous Victoria Cross

Victoria Cross

The Victoria Cross is the highest military decoration awarded for valour "in the face of the enemy" to members of the armed forces of various Commonwealth countries, and previous British Empire territories....

. The wrecksite is designated as a protected place under the Protection of Military Remains Act 1986

Protection of Military Remains Act 1986

The Protection of Military Remains Act 1986 is an Act of Parliament in the United Kingdom which provides protection for the wreckage of military aircraft and designated military vessels. The Act provides for two types of protection: protected places and controlled sites. Military aircraft are...

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