HMS Sceptre was an destroyer of the Royal Navy, built by Alexander Stephen and Sons, at Linthouse (in Glasgow) and launched on 18 April 1917. In total 51 ships were in this class and saw service in World War I, entering service from 1916 to 1917 and suffering comparatively light losses. Sceptre saw action as part of the Harwich Force, operating mainly in the North Sea. She survived the war and was sold for disposal in 1926.
Design and construction
The R-class was a further development of the M-class destroyer, which had been the last class of destroyers ordered for the Royal Navy before the start of the First World War, and had therefore been built in large numbers during the early years of the war. The R-class differed by having geared rather than direct drive steam turbines, giving greater fuel efficiency while also carrying more fuel, having a higher forecastle for better seakeeping and a larger and more robust bridge structure.
The standard Admiralty R-class ships were long overall and between perpendiculars, with a beam of and a draught of . Displacement was normal and deep load. Three Yarrow water-tube boilers fed steam to Brown-Curtis geared steam turbines which drove two propeller shafts. The machinery was rated at giving a speed of .