HMS Munster was an Admiralty M-class destroyer which served in the Royal Navy during the First World War.

In 1916, Munster rescued survivors from the armed merchantman Alcantara and then fought in the Battle of Jutland as part of the Twelfth Destroyer Flotilla.

During the following year, the warship participated in the unsuccessful search for the armoured cruiser Hampshire and the Second Battle of Heligoland Bight.

[1] The M class was an improved version of the earlier L-class, required to reach a higher speed in order to counter rumoured new German fast destroyers.

The remit was to have a maximum speed of 36 knots (67 km/h; 41 mph) and, although ultimately the destroyers fell short of that ambition in service, the extra performance that was achieved was valued by the navy.

[16] The destroyer subsequently rescued 200 survivors and, along with the surgeon from Alcantara, John Berry, returned to port.

[23] A few days later, Munster joined the unsuccessful search for the armoured cruiser Hampshire, sunk by a German mine off the coast of Mainland, Orkney.

[29] After the Armistice that ended the war, the Royal Navy returned to a peacetime level of strength and both the number of ships and personnel needed to be reduced to save money.

[31] However, the harsh conditions of wartime operations, particularly the combination of high speed and the poor weather that is typical of the North Sea, exacerbated by the fact that the hull was not galvanised, meant that the ship was soon worn out.

[32] Munster was declared superfluous to operational requirements, retired, and, on 15 November 1921, was sold to Cashmore of Newport, Wales, and broken up.