HMS Marne was an Admiralty M-class destroyer which served with the Royal Navy during the First World War. The M class was an improvement on the preceding L class, capable of higher speed. The ship, the first Royal Navy vessel to be named after the River Marne, was launched in 1915. For much of the war, the destroyer escorted merchant ships in convoys and Royal Navy warships, but was also involved in the rescue of crew from the battleship HMS King Edward VII in 1916. The destroyer also took part in the Battle of Jutland as part of the shield for the British battleships and engaged with the German light cruiser force with torpedoes, although all missed. In 1918, the destroyer, along with sister ships Milbrook and Pigeon, sank the German submarine UB-124. After the armistice, Marne was placed in reserve before being decommissioned and, in 1921, sold to be broken up.
Sister ship HMS Marmion
Admiralty M-class destroyer
The M class, more properly known as the Admiralty M class, were a class of 85 destroyers built for the Royal Navy of United Kingdom that saw service during World War I. All ships were built to an identical – Admiralty – design, hence the class name. 18 other vessels which were officially included within the 'M' class were built to variant designs by three specialist builders – 10 by Yarrow, 6 by Thornycroft, and 2 by Hawthorn Leslie; these are covered in other articles.
HMS Pasley