HMS Racoon

HMS Racoon was a Beagle-class destroyer of the British Royal Navy. The Beagles were coal-fuelled ships, designed for a speed of 27 kn and armed with a 4 in (102 mm) gun and two torpedo tubes. Built by Harland & Wolff and launched in 1910, Racoon was transferred to the Mediterranean Fleet in 1913. In the run up to the First World War, the destroyer was deployed to Durazzo to observe the situation in Albania, but was swiftly redeployed back to Malta. The vessel was sent to protect shipping in the Suez Canal and Red Sea. In 1915, the destroyer served in the Dardanelles Campaign, escorting pre-dreadnought battleships attacking Ottoman defences and minesweepers that were attempting to clear the Dardanelles straits. During these operations, Racoon was damaged while assisting the stricken battleship Irresistible, which subsequently sank. Racoon also supported the Battle of Gully Ravine and landing at Suvla Bay. In 1917, the destroyer was transferred to Buncrana in the north of Ireland and served as a convoy escort against German submarines. Racoon was wrecked during a snowstorm off the Irish coast in 1918.

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Wikidata
Beagle-class destroyer, destroyer, Royal Navy,