HMS Handy was a which served with the Royal Navy. Built by Fairfield Shipbuilding and Engineering Company in 1895 she spent most of her time on the China Station, and was sold in Hong Kong during the Great War.
Design and construction As part of the 1893–1894 Naval Estimates, the British Admiralty placed orders for 36 torpedo-boat destroyers, all to be capable of , as a follow-on to the six prototype "26-knotters" ordered in the previous 1892–1893 Estimates. Of the 36 destroyers, three ships (Handy, and ) were ordered from Fairfield Shipbuilding and Engineering Company of Govan,Lyon 2001, pp. 19–20. the first torpedo craft to be built by that shipyard.Lyon 2001, p. 87. As typical for torpedo craft at the time, the Admiralty left detailed design to the builders, laying down only broad requirements.Chesneau and Kolesnik 1979, p. 87.Manning 1961, p. 39.
Fairfield's design was long overall and between perpendiculars, with a beam of and a draught of . Displacement was light and full load, while the ship's complement was 53 officers and men.Manning 1961, p. 36. Three Thornycroft boilers fed steam at to two 3-cylinder triple expansion steam engines rated at and driving two propeller shafts. Two funnels were fitted.Friedman 2009, p. 48. Armament consisted of a single QF 12 pounder 12 cwt gun and three 6-pounder guns, with two 18 inch (450 mm) torpedo tubes.Friedman 2009, p. 291. As a gunboat, one of the torpedo tubes could be removed to accommodate a further two six-pounders.Lyon 2001, pp. 98–99.Friedman 2009, p. 40.
Handy was laid down on 7 June 1894 and was launched on 9 March 1895. Handy reached a speed of during sea trials,Brassey 1897, p. 321. and was commissioned in October 1895.
Service Handy was initially based at Portsmouth, her commanding officer, Reginald Tupper, becoming commander of the Portsmouth destroyer flotilla when the destroyers and joined Handy in commission at Portsmouth in November 1895. The Fairfield-built Twenty-seven knotters were considered good sea boats, so suitable for service on overseas stations.Lyon 2001, p. 116. Handy was sent out to Hong Kong in 1897–1898, a year after her sister ship Hart, to serve on the China Station, remaining there for the rest of her career.Lyon 2001, p. 89. The bow structure of Handy required strengthening, which was carried out by April 1901.Lyon 2001, p. 114.
In January 1901, Handy took part in the salvaging of the dredger Canton River, which had sunk in Hong Kong harbour during a Typhoon in November 1900, with Handy being used to pump air into the hull of the stricken vessel.Crowe 1903, pp. 310–312. In November 1911, when the Xinhai Revolution caused Zhang Mingqi, Viceroy of Liangguang to abandon his post, Handy ferried him from Canton to safety in Hong Kong.Chan Lau Kit-Ching 1990, pp. 97–100.
Handy was paid off in 1912, and by March 1913 Handy was placed on the sale list. She was finally sold in Hong Kong in 1916.
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