HMS Scout (1918)

HMS Scout was an S-class destroyer that served with the Royal Navy from the end of the First World War to the end of the Second World War. On retirement, the vessel was the oldest destroyer in the Royal Navy. The S class was a development of the previous R class, with minor differences, constructed as a cheaper and faster alternative to the V and W class. Launched in 1918, Scout joined the Grand Fleet for the last few months of the First World War before sailing in 1919 under the command of Rear-admiral Walter Cowan to participate in the British campaign in the Baltic. Scout was part of a flotilla attacked by four Russian destroyers, led by Avtroil, but sustained no damage and, on returning to the UK, was placed in reserve. The vessel participated in coastal artillery training exercises near the River Tees in 1934 and ran aground in 1938 but returned to service in the China Station before the start of the Second World War. Scout assisted in the defence of northern Sumatra after the United Kingdom declaration of war on Japan and evacuated naval personnel from Singapore after the fall of the island before being transferred to Trincomalee, Ceylon, in 1942, serving as an escort for the remainder of the war. With peace, Scout was retired and, in 1946, sold to be broken up.