HMS TB 11, originally named HMS Mayfly, was a Cricket-class coastal destroyer built for the British Royal Navy between 1905 and 1907 by the shipbuilder Yarrow. The vessel measured approximately 175 feet 9 inches (53.57 meters) in overall length, with a beam of 18 feet (5.49 meters) and a draught of 5 feet 8 inches (1.73 meters). Her design featured turtleback forecastles and two funnels, characteristic of early 20th-century coastal destroyers. Powered by two oil-fuelled Yarrow water-tube boilers and three-stage Parsons steam turbines, TB 11 was capable of reaching speeds up to 27.16 knots during sea trials, slightly exceeding her designed speed of 26 knots. Armament comprised two 12-pounder (76 mm) guns and three 18-inch (450 mm) torpedo tubes, mounted singly, with a crew complement of 39 officers and men. Laid down as HMS Mayfly at Yarrow’s London shipyard on 23 November 1905, the vessel was launched on 29 January 1907 and completed in July of that year. She was renamed TB 11 in 1906 when the Cricket-class ships were reclassified as torpedo-boats. Throughout her service, TB 11 participated in local patrol duties, including a notable incident in August 1910 when she collided with the sea wall at Dover harbor during a night torpedo exercise, resulting in damage to her stem. She was repaired at Sheerness dockyard and remained based at Chatham in 1913 and 1914, operating with a nucleus crew. During World War I, TB 11 was assigned to the Nore Local Defence Flotilla, tasked with defending the Thames Estuary. Her service was ultimately cut short when she was sunk by a German mine off Longsand Head on 7 March 1916, resulting in the loss of 23 crew members. The minefield had been laid by the German submarine UC-10 on 6 March, and her sinking occurred shortly after the loss of the destroyer Coquette in the same minefield. HMS TB 11 exemplifies the modest but vital role of early 20th-century coastal destroyers in Britain's wartime coastal defense efforts.

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