HMS Opossum (1895)
HMS Opossum was a Royal Navy destroyer built by Hawthorn Leslie at Hebburn, part of the 1893–1894 Naval Estimates. Ordered on 7 February 1894, she was laid down on 17 September 1894, launched on 9 August 1895 and completed in February 1896. She was one of three Hawthorn Leslie destroyers designed to reach a contract speed of 27 knots.
Opossum was a “twenty-seven knotter” with a displacement of about 310 tons light and 340 tons full load. She measured 204 feet 0 inches in length, with a beam of 19 feet 0 inches and a draught of 8 feet 7 inches. Her propulsion used eight Yarrow boilers feeding two triple-expansion steam engines, delivering 4,000 indicated horsepower to two shafts. She achieved a contract speed of 27 knots (her sea trials reached about 28.24 knots).
Armament consisted of one QF 12-pounder gun, three 6-pounder guns, and two 18-inch torpedo tubes (one torpedo tube could be removed to fit two extra 6-pounders). The crew numbered 53. Her range was 1,175 nautical miles at 11 knots.
Service history:
- Based at Devonport, Opossum took part in the 26 June 1897 Spithead naval review for Queen Victoria’s Golden Jubilee and in the 1901 Royal Navy Naval Manoeuvres.
- In 1905 she was described as worn out, and in November 1907 she began refitting at Chatham Dockyard, which continued until June 1908.
- In 1912 destroyers were classified by Admiralty; as a 27-knotter she became part of the A class. By 1913 she was not in an active flotilla and served as a tender to the shore establishment Vivid at Devonport, remaining there into 1914. By January 1915 she was allocated to the Devonport Local Defence Flotilla.
- On 1 April 1917 she helped salvage the merchant ship SS Valacia.
- On the night of 20 December 1917 she took part in a Lyme Bay patrol to search for a German submarine, which had already left the area.
- On 8 August 1918, while on routine patrol near Start Point, Devon, Opossum helped pursue German submarine UC-49 after it struck a mine. The submarine surfaced near Opossum and was destroyed by depth charges; the wreck was confirmed the next day.
- After the war, Opossum remained with the Devonport Local Defence Flotilla and was laid up in reserve by March 1919. She was sold for breaking up on 29 July 1920.
Key specifications:
- Class/type: Hawthorn Leslie "Twenty-seven knotter" destroyer
- Displacement: 310 tons light, 340 tons full load
- Length: 204 ft 0 in; Beam: 19 ft 0 in; Draught: 8 ft 7 in
- Propulsion: 8 × Yarrow boilers, 2 × triple-expansion steam engines, 2 shafts
- Power: 4,000 ihp
- Speed: 27 knots contract (trial ~28.2 knots)
- Range: 1,175 nmi at 11 knots
- Crew: 53
- Armament: 1 × 12-pounder gun; 3 × 6-pounder guns; 2 × 18-inch torpedo tubes (one tube removable for two extra 6-pounders)
This page was last edited on 2 February 2026, at 18:10 (CET).