HMS Bittern (1897)

	A close-up of HMS Bittern alongside a pier
History
United Kingdom
Name	Bittern
Ordered	1896 – 1897 Naval Estimates
Builder	Barrow Shipbuilding Company and Vickers, Sons and Maxim, Barrow-in-Furness
Laid down	18 February 1896
Launched	1 February 1897
Commissioned	April 1899
Fate	4 April 1918 sunk by collision with merchant ship SS Kenilworth in the English Channel
General characteristics
Class & type	Vickers three-funnel, 30-knot destroyer
Displacement	355 long tons (361 t) standard; 405 long tons (411 t) full load;
Length	214 ft 3 in (65.30 m) o/a
Beam	20 ft (6.1 m)
Draught	8 ft 5 in (2.57 m)
Propulsion	4 × Thornycroft water tube boiler; 2 × vertical triple expansion (VTE) steam engines driving 2 shafts producing 6,300 shp (4,700 kW);
Speed	30 knots (56 km/h)
Range	70 tons coal; 1,440 nmi (2,670 km) at 11 kn (20 km/h; 13 mph);
Complement	63
Armament	1 × QF 12-pounder 12 cwt Mark I L/40 naval gun on a P Mark I Low angle mount; 5 × QF 6-pounder 8 cwt naval gun L/40 Naval gun on a Mark I* low angle mount; 2 × single tubes for 18-inch (450mm) torpedoes;

HMS Bittern was a Vickers three-funnel, 30-knot destroyer ordered by the Royal Navy under the 1895 – 1896 Naval Estimates. She was the fourth ship to carry this name since it was introduced in 1796 for an 18-gun sloop, sold in 1833.

History
A close-up of HMS Bittern alongside a pier
United Kingdom
Name	Bittern
Ordered	1896 – 1897 Naval Estimates
Builder	Barrow Shipbuilding Company and Vickers, Sons and Maxim, Barrow-in-Furness
Laid down	18 February 1896
Launched	1 February 1897
Commissioned	April 1899
Fate	4 April 1918 sunk by collision with merchant ship SS Kenilworth in the English Channel
General characteristics
Class & type	Vickers three-funnel, 30-knot destroyer
Displacement	355 long tons (361 t) standard 405 long tons (411 t) full load
Length	214 ft 3 in (65.30 m) o/a
Beam	20 ft (6.1 m)
Draught	8 ft 5 in (2.57 m)
Propulsion	4 × Thornycroft water tube boiler 2 × vertical triple expansion (VTE) steam engines driving 2 shafts producing 6,300 shp (4,700 kW)
Speed	30 knots (56 km/h)
Range	70 tons coal 1,440 nmi (2,670 km) at 11 kn (20 km/h; 13 mph)
Complement	63
Armament	1 × QF 12-pounder 12 cwt Mark I L/40 naval gun on a P Mark I Low angle mount 5 × QF 6-pounder 8 cwt naval gun L/40 Naval gun on a Mark I* low angle mount 2 × single tubes for 18-inch (450mm) torpedoes