HMS Violet

Seven ships of the Royal Navy have borne the name HMS Violet, after the flower of the genus viola:

HMS Violet (1897)

HMS Violet was a Doxford three funnel - 30 knot destroyer ordered by the Royal Navy under the 1896 – 1897 Naval Estimates. She was the seventh ship to carry this name since it was introduced in 1588 for a 200 ton vessel.

Construction

She was laid down on 13 July 1896 at the William Doxford and Sons shipyard at Pallion, Sunderland and launched on 3 May 1897. During her builder’s trials she made her contracted speed requirement. She was completed and accepted by the Royal Navy in June 1898.

Pre-war

After commissioning she was assigned to the Devonport Flotilla and spent her entire career in home waters.

She underwent repairs to re-tube her boilers in 1902.

On 30 August 1912 the Admiralty directed all destroyer classes were to be designated by alpha characters starting with the letter 'A'. Since her design speed was 30-knots and she had three funnels she was assigned to the C class. After 30 September 1913, she was known as a C-class destroyer and had the letter ‘C’ painted on the hull below the bridge area and on either the fore or aft funnel.