HMS Vortigern (D37)

Vortigern in the First World War
History
United Kingdom
Name:	HMS Vortigern
Ordered:	1916-17 Programme Build (9th Order)
Builder:	J. Samuel White, Cowes, Isle of Wight
Laid down:	17 January 1917
Launched:	5 October 1917
Commissioned:	21 January 1918
Identification:	Pennant number: D37
Motto:	Virtus a majoribus : 'Our valour is from our ancestors'
Honours and awards:	Atlantic 1939-40 North Sea 1941-42
Fate:	Sunk by E-boats on 15 March 1942
Badge:	On a Field Red, an ancient British Sword, hilt Gold, blade Silver
General characteristics
Class and type:	V-class destroyer
Displacement:	1,272-1,339 tons
Length:	300 ft (91.4 m) o/a 312 ft (95.1 m) p/p
Beam:	26 ft 9 in (8.2 m)
Draught:	9 ft (2.7 m) standard 11 ft 3 in (3.4 m) deep
Propulsion:	3 White-Forster type Water-tube boilers Brown-Curtis steam turbines 2 shafts 27,000 shp
Speed:	34 kn
Range:	320-370 tons oil 3,500 nmi at 15 kn 900 nmi at 32 kn
Complement:	110
Armament:	4 × QF 4 in Mk.V (102mm L/45), mount P Mk.I 2 × QF 2 pdr Mk.II "pom-pom" (40 mm L/39) or; 1 z QF 12 pdr 20 cwt Mk.I (76 mm), mount HA Mk.II 4 (2x2) tubes for 21 in torpedoes

HMS Vortigern was a V-class destroyer of the Royal Navy. She served in both World Wars, and was sunk in 1942.

Vortigern was ordered from J. Samuel White, of Cowes, Isle of Wight during the First World War under the 1916-17 Programme Build (9th Order), and was laid down on 17 January 1917. She was launched on 5 October 1917 and commissioned on 21 January 1918. She has been the only ship of the Royal Navy so far to be named HMS Vortigern, after Vortigern, an early British ruler.

Vortigern served throughout the remaining months of the war, and was redeployed to the Baltic Sea in 1919, later serving with the 1st Destroyer Flotilla. She was eventually placed in reserve, but was reactivated in 1939 in order to take part in the August Fleet Review of the ships of the reserve by HM King George VI.

With the outbreak of war Vortigern was deployed with the 17th Destroyer Flotilla, based at Plymouth and tasked with escorting convoys and carrying out anti-submarine patrols in the South Western Approaches and the English Channel. She was engaged in these duties for the rest of 1939. In January 1940 Vortigern was nominated to join the 13th Destroyer Flotilla based at Gibraltar. On 13 January, she and Velox escorted the outbound convoy OG-14F to Gibraltar. On their arrival on 15 January, both destroyers were detached to join the flotilla. Vortigern spent the period between February and June escorting convoys between Britain and Gibraltar.