HMS Nugent was an Admiralty M-class destroyer which served in the Royal Navy during the First World War.
[12] On 20 April, the vessel was on a patrol of the strait leading a division of destroyers including Amazon, Matchless and Morris.
Towards the end of the day, they approached the Dover Barrage, a line of defences, including naval mines and nets set up by the Royal Navy across the strait to deter German ships and submarines.
[18] On 14 February 1918, Nugent was again in service on patrol alongside the scout cruiser Attentive and destroyers Crusader and Murray off the coast of Kent.
[19] Two German destroyers attacked the minesweeper Newbury and three other vessels, but fled before Nugent and the rest of the division arrived.
[20] On 22 May, the destroyer escorted the blockship Vindictive in the Second Ostend Raid, which led to the partial blocking of the channel.
[22] 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.
[24] 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.
[25] Nugent was declared superfluous to operational requirements, retired, and, on 9 May 1921, sold to Ward and broken up at Hayle.