HMS Truant was an S-class destroyer constructed for the Royal Navy, representing a development of the earlier R class with minor design modifications, such as repositioned searchlights. Laid down by J. Samuel White at East Cowes on the Isle of Wight on 14 February 1918, she was launched on 18 September 1918 and completed by 17 March 1919. The vessel measured approximately 276 feet (84 meters) in overall length and 265 feet (81 meters) between perpendiculars, with a beam of 26 feet 8 inches (8.13 meters) and a draught of 9 feet 10 inches (3.00 meters). Displacing about 1,075 long tons (1,092 metric tons) normally and 1,220 long tons (1,240 metric tons) at deep load, Truant was powered by three White-Forster boilers feeding two Brown-Curtis geared steam turbines rated at 27,000 shaft horsepower, capable of exceeding the design speed of 36 knots, with speeds of up to 37 knots recorded, making her the fastest destroyer in the Royal Navy at the time. Her armament included three QF 4-inch (102 mm) Mk IV guns on the centerline, a single 40 mm 2-pounder pom-pom anti-aircraft gun, and four 21-inch (533 mm) torpedo tubes in twin mounts aft, along with two 18-inch (457 mm) torpedo tubes operated by the commanding officer. She carried a crew of around 90 officers and ratings, and had a fuel capacity of 301 long tons, enabling a range of approximately 2,750 nautical miles at 15 knots. Although she was initially intended to join the Grand Fleet’s Fourteenth Destroyer Flotilla, the end of World War I prevented her from active wartime service. Instead, HMS Truant served as a tender to HMS Victory at Portsmouth. Notably, she gained a reputation as the fastest destroyer in the fleet. In 1921, she was converted into a control ship for the radio-controlled target ship Agamemnon and later served as a Signals School trials vessel and worked with Coastal Motor Boats. Her service concluded after the signing of the London Naval Treaty in 1930, which limited destroyer tonnage; Truant was retired on 28 November 1931 and subsequently broken up. Her career reflects the transitional period of naval design and the shifting priorities of the Royal Navy in the post-World War I era.

This description has been generated using GPT-4.1-NANO based on the Vessel's wikidata information and then modified by ShipIndex.org staff.