HMS Pheasant

Pheasant was ordered as part of the 5th War Emergency Programme in May 1915. She was built by Fairfield Shipbuilding and Engineering Company at its shipyard in Govan on the Clyde and launched on 23 October 1916. Completed in December, she was assigned to the Grand Fleet, joining the 15th Destroyer Flotilla. On the morning of 1 March 1917 the destroyer, together with a number of armed trawlers, was taking part in a routine patrol of the Western entrance to Scapa Flow, the Grand Fleet's anchorage in Orkney. Pheasant was off Hoy when the trawlers observed a large explosion, due to Partridge striking a mine. The destroyer sank with the loss of 89 lives. The sinking has variously attributed to a…

The Admiralty M class were improved and faster versions of the preceding . They displaced 972 LT. The ships had an overall length of 273 ft, a beam of 26 ft and a draught of 8 ft. Pheasant was powered by a single Brown-Curtis direct-drive steam turbine turning three propeller shafts, using steam provided by three Yarrow boilers. The turbines developed a total of 25000 shp and gave a maximum speed of 34 kn. The ships carried a maximum of 228 LT of fuel oil that gave them a range of 2100 nmi at 15 kn. The ships' complement was 76 officers and ratings. The ships were armed with three single QF 4 in Mark IV guns and a QF 2-pounder () "pom-pom" anti-aircraft gun. They were also fitted with two…