HMS Spitfire 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

Destroyer

In naval terminology, a destroyer is a fast and maneuverable yet long-endurance warship intended to escort larger vessels in a fleet, convoy or battle group and defend them against smaller, powerful, short-range attackers. Destroyers, originally called torpedo-boat destroyers in 1892, evolved from...

 of the Royal Navy

Royal Navy

The Royal Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Founded in the 16th century, it is the oldest service branch and is known as the Senior Service...

 which took part in 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...

 in 1916.

Pennant numbers

Pennant Number	From	|To
H41	6 December 1914	|1 January 1918
H1A	1 January 1918	|Early 1919
H85	Early 1919	|9 May 1921

Construction

She was launched on 23 December 1912 from the Wallsend yard of Swan, Hunter & Wigham Richardson and joined the Fourth Destroyer Flotilla.

Service during First World War

From the beginning of the First World War, Spitfire and her flotilla were attached to the Grand Fleet.

Battle of Jutland

Amongst the small engagements which happened during the night of 31 May–1 June 1916 during the Battle of Jutland was one between Spitfire and the German

Germany

Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...

 battleship

Battleship

A battleship is a large armored warship with a main battery consisting of heavy caliber guns. Battleships were larger, better armed and armored than cruisers and destroyers. As the largest armed ships in a fleet, battleships were used to attain command of the sea and represented the apex of a...

 Nassau

SMS Nassau

SMS Nassau"SMS" stands for "Seiner Majestät Schiff", or "His Majesty's Ship" in German. was the first dreadnought battleship built for the Imperial German Navy, a response to the launching of the British battleship HMS Dreadnought in 1906...

. Spitfire evaded an attempt by Nassau to ram her, but the two ships nevertheless collided and Spitfire was seriously damaged, blast from Nassau's guns demolishing much of her upperworks, but she ripped off a 20 ft (6 m) section of the German ship's side plating. Both ships survived to return to port.

Assistance to the hospital ship Rhodesia

Spitfire helped in the rescue of survivors from the hospital/evacuation ship Rhodesia (formerly the Union Castle liner Galway Castle) which was torpedoed 160 miles off Fastnet by the German submarine U-82 on 12 September 1918.