HMS Rosalind (1916)

HMS Rosalind was an R-class destroyer which served with the Royal Navy. The ship was launched by Thornycroft on 14 October 1916 as the first of five similar ships, and served as part of the Grand Fleet during World War I. The design was used as the basis for the subsequent five ships of the S-class also built by the yard. Rosalind served in an escort role in the Grand Fleet until it was disbanded at the end of the War and was sold to be scrapped on 21 April 1928.

Sister ship HMS Taurus
History
United Kingdom
Name:	Rosalind
Ordered:	July 1915
Builder:	Thornycroft, Woolston, Southampton
Yard number:	850
Laid down:	October 1915
Launched:	14 October 1916
Commissioned:	December 1916
Decommissioned:	13 July 1926
Fate:	Broken up at Garston, Liverpool
General characteristics
Class and type:	R-class destroyer
Displacement:	1,037 long tons (1,054 t) standard 1,208 long tons (1,227 t) full
Length:	274 ft (83.5 m)
Beam:	27 ft 6 in (8.4 m)
Draught:	11 ft (3.4 m)
Propulsion:	3 Yarrow boilers 2 geared Brown Curtis steam turbines, 29,000 shp (22,000 kW)
Speed:	35 kn (40 mph; 65 km/h)
Range:	3,450 nmi (6,390 km) at 20 kn (37 km/h)
Complement:	82
Armament:	3 × QF 4 inches (102 mm) Mark IV guns, mounting P Mk. IX 1 × single 2-pounder (40 mm) "pom-pom" Mk. II anti-aircraft gun 4 × 21 in (533 mm) torpedo tubes (2×2)

Design

Rosalind was one of three R-class destroyers ordered by the British Admiralty from John I. Thornycroft & Company in July 1915 as part of the Sixth War Construction Programme. The ships differed from the six preceding Thornycroft M-class built by the yard in having all geared turbines and the aft gun being raised on a bandstand.[1]

Rosalind had a long overall of 274 feet (84 m), with a beam of 27 feet 6 inches (8.38 m) and a draught of 11 feet (3.4 m).[2] Displacement was 1,037 long tons (1,054 t) normal and 1,208 long tons (1,227 t) full load.[3] Three Yarrow boilers fed steam to two sets of Brown-Curtis geared steam turbines rated at 29,000 shp (22,000 kW) and driving two shafts, giving a design speed of 35 knots (65 km/h; 40 mph), although the ship reached 37.09 knots (68.69 km/h; 42.68 mph) during trials.[1] Three funnels were fitted. 296 long tons (301 t) of oil were carried, giving a design range of 3,450 nautical miles (6,390 km; 3,970 mi) at 20 knots (37 km/h; 23 mph).[4]

Armament consisted of three QF 4in Mk IV guns on the ship's centreline, with one on the forecastle, one aft on a raised bandstand and one between the second and third funnels.[1] A single 2-pounder (40 mm) pom-pom anti-aircraft gun was carried, along with four 21 in (533 mm) torpedoes in two twin rotating mounts.[3] Fire control included a single Dumaresq and a Vickers range clock.[5] The vessel had a complement of 82 officers and men.[4]

Service

Rosalind was laid down in October 1915 and launched on 14 October 1916.[3] On commissioning in December 1916, the ship joined the Grand Fleet, initially joining the Thirteenth Destroyer Flotilla.[6] However, within a month, Rosalind had moved and served until the end of the war as part of the Fifteenth Destroyer Flotilla.[7] On 2 August 1917, the destroyer escorted Duke of Edinburgh and HMS Shannon off the coast of Scotland.[8] In December 1917, the destroyer formed part of the defence of the Irish Coast.[2]

Having been paid off earlier in the year, the vessel was re-commissioned on 15 December 1919, with a reduced complement.[9] Rosalind subsequently formed part of the local defence flotilla for Portsmouth under the cruiser Dido.[10] The destroyer was sold to King of Garston, Liverpool for breaking up on 13 July 1926.[11]

Legacy

Rosalind was the prototype for three R class destroyers built by Thornycroft, but also the five modified S-class destroyers built by the same yard, including two that served with the Royal Canadian Navy.[12] The name Rosalind was reused by the Shakespearian-class trawler HMT Rosalind that was a founding member of the Royal East African Navy.[13]

Pennant numbers

Pennant Number	Date
G95	January 1917[14]
G89	January 1918[14]

References

Citations

1. Parkes & Prendegast 1919, p. 106.
2. Forward 2008.
3. Gardiner & Gray 1985, p. 81.
4. Friedman 2009, p. 310.
5. "Fire Control in H.M. Ships". The Technical History and Index: Alteration in Armaments of H.M. Ships during the War. 3 (23): 31. 1919.
6. The Navy List 1916, p. 12.
7. The Navy List 1917, p. 12.
8. Stagg 2015.
9. The Navy List 1919, p. 711; The Navy List 1921, p. 867.
10. The Navy List 1920, p. 704.
11. Colledge & Warlow 2006, p. 345.
12. March 1966, p. 217.
13. Gardiner & Chesneau 1980, p. 66.
14. Dittmar & Colledge 1972, p. 71.

Bibliography

• Colledge, J. J.; Warlow, Ben (2006). Ships of the Royal Navy: A Complete Record of All Fighting Ships of the Royal Navy From the 15th Century to the Present. London: Chatham. ISBN 1-93514-907-5.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
• "Destroyer Flotillas of the Grand Fleet". The Navy List. December 1916.
• "Destroyer Flotillas of the Grand Fleet". The Navy List. January 1917.
• Dittmar, F.J.; Colledge, J.J. (1972). British Warships 1914–1919. Shepperton: Ian Allan. ISBN 0-7110-0380-7.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
• Forward, Raymond (2008). "12th December 1917 Royal Navy Ships". The Acorn Archive. Retrieved 11 February 2017.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
• Friedman, Norman (2009). British Destroyers: From Earliest Days to the First World War. Barnsley: Seaforth Publishing. ISBN 978-1-84832-049-9.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
• Gardiner, Robert; Chesneau, Roger, eds. (1980). Conway's All The World's Fighting Ships 1922–1946. Conway Maritime Press. ISBN 0-85177-146-7.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
• Gardiner, Robert; Gray, Randal, eds. (1985). Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships 1906–1921. London: Conway Maritime Press. ISBN 0-85177-245-5.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
• "Local Defence and Training Establishments, Patrol Flotillas, Etc". The Navy List. January 1920.
• March, Edgar J. (1966). British Destroyers: A History of Development 1892–1953. London: Seeley Service & Co.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
• Parkes, Oscar; Prendegast, Maurice (1919). Jane’s Fighting Ships. London: Sampson Low, Marston & Co. Ltd.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
• "Rosalind". The Navy List: 867. January 1921.
• "Ships Paid Off". The Navy List. October 1919.
• Stagg, Howard, ed. (2015). "HMS COCHRANE – July 1917 to March 1918, North America and West Indies Station, North Atlantic convoys, North Russia". naval-history.net.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)