HMAS Success (H02)

For other ships with the same name, see HMAS Success.

HMAS Success
History
Australia
Name:	Success
Builder:	William Doxford and Sons Limited
Laid down:	1917
Launched:	29 June 1918
Completed:	15 April 1919
Commissioned:	Royal Navy: April 1919 RAN: 27 January 1920
Decommissioned:	21 May 1930
Fate:	Sold for scrap on 4 June 1937
General characteristics
Class & type:	Admiralty S-class destroyer
Displacement:	1,075 tons
Length:	276 ft 2.25 in (84.1820 m) length overall 265 ft (81 m) between perpendiculars
Beam:	26 ft 8.25 in (8.1344 m)
Draught:	14 ft 2.75 in (4.3371 m)
Propulsion:	3 × Yarrow boilers, Brown-Curtis turbines, 27,000 shp (20,000 kW), 2 shafts
Speed:	31 knots (57 km/h; 36 mph)
Range:	2,990 nautical miles (5,540 km; 3,440 mi) at 11.5 knots (21.3 km/h; 13.2 mph)
Complement:	6 officers, 93 sailors
Armament:	3 × QF 4-inch Mk IV guns 1 × 2-pounder pom-pom 2 × 9.5-inch howitzers 5 × .303-inch machine guns 2 × twin 21-inch torpedo tube sets 2 depth charge throwers 4 depth charge chutes

HMAS Success was an Admiralty S-class destroyer of the Royal Australian Navy (RAN). Built for the Royal Navy during World War I, the ship was not completed until 1919, and spent less than eight months in British service before being transferred to the RAN at the start of 1920. The destroyer's career was uneventful, with almost all of it spent in Australian waters. Success was decommissioned in 1930, and was sold for ship breaking in 1937.

Design and construction

Main article: S-class destroyer (1916)

Success was built to the Admiralty design of the S-class destroyer, which was designed and built as part of the British emergency war programme. The destroyer had a displacement of 1,075 tons, a length of 276 feet 2.25 inches (84.1820 m) overall and 265 feet (81 m) between perpendiculars, and a beam of 26 feet 8.25 inches (8.1344 m). The propulsion machiney consisted of three Yarrow boilers feeding Brown-Curtis turbines, which supplied 27,000 shaft horsepower (20,000 kW) to the ship's two propeller shafts. Success had a maximum speed of 31 knots (57 km/h; 36 mph), and a range of 2,990 nautical miles (5,540 km; 3,440 mi) at 11.5 knots (21.3 km/h; 13.2 mph). The ship's company was made up of 6 officers and 93 sailors.

The destroyer's primary armament consisted of three QF 4-inch Mark IV guns. These were supplemented by a 2-pounder pom-pom, two 9.5-inch howitzer bomb throwers, five .303 inch machine guns (a mix of Lewis and Maxim guns), two twin 21-inch torpedo tube sets, two depth charge throwers, and two depth charge chutes.

Success was laid down by William Doxford and Sons Limited at their Sunderland shipyard in 1917. The destroyer was launched on 29 June 1918, and completed on 15 April 1919. The ship was briefly commissioned into the Royal Navy in April 1919, but was quickly marked for transfer to the RAN, along with four sister ships. Success was commissioned into the RAN on 27 January 1920.

Operational history

Success and three of her sister ships sailed for Australia on 20 February, visiting ports in the Mediterranean, India, Singapore, and the Netherlands East Indies before reaching Sydney on 29 April. Success operated in Australian waters until 6 October 1921, when she was placed in reserve. The destroyer was reactivated on 1 December 1925. In late May 1926, Success visited Port Moresby; the only time the ship left Australian waters.

Decommissioning and fate

Success paid off on 21 May 1930. She was sold to Penguins Limited for ship breaking in 1937.