HMS Rosalind (1916)

For other ships with the same name, see HMS Rosalind.

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 ordered from the yard. The design was used as the basis for five subsequent ships of the S-class also built by the company. Rosalind served as part of the Grand Fleet during the First World War, operating as an escort to other warships and in anti-submarine patrols alongside other destroyers. The vessel was sold to be broken up on 13 July 1926.

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 and development

Main article: R-class destroyer

Rosalind was the first 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.^[1] 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.^[2]

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).^[3] Displacement was 1,037 long tons (1,054 t) normal and 1,208 long tons (1,227 t) full load.^[4] 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.^[2] Three funnels were fitted. A total of 296 long tons (301 t) of fuel oil was carried, giving a design range of 3,450 nautical miles (6,390 km; 3,970 mi) at 20 knots (37 km/h; 23 mph).^[5]

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.^[2] 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.^[4] The vessel had a complement of 82 officers and ratings.^[5]

Construction and career

Rosalind was laid down in October 1915 and launched on 14 October 1916.^[4] 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] Between 15 and 24 June 1917, the flotilla took part in anti-submarine patrols east of the Shetland Islands. Rosalind did not sight any submarines, but out of the 117 ships that sailed the route to and from Scandinavia, four were sunk during the operation.^[8] On 2 August, the destroyer escorted the armoured cruisers Duke of Edinburgh and HMS Shannon off the coast of Scotland.^[9] Rosalind was transferred to form part of the defence of the Irish Coast during December, serving in that capacity into 1918.^[3]

Having been paid off earlier in the year, the vessel was re-commissioned on 15 December 1919, with a reduced complement.^[10][11] Rosalind subsequently formed part of the local defence flotilla for Portsmouth under the cruiser Dido.^[12] However, in 1923, the Navy decided to systematically scrap many of the older destroyers in preparation for the introduction of newer and larger vessels.^[13] Rosalind was one of those deemed to have reached the end of life and so was sold to King of Garston, Liverpool, to be broken up on 13 July 1926.^[14]

Legacy

Rosalind was the prototype for not only three similar R class destroyers built by Thornycroft, but also the five S-class destroyers built by the same yard, including two that served with the Royal Canadian Navy.^[15] These were termed Modified Rosalinds.^[16] The name Rosalind was reused by the Shakespearian-class trawler HMT Rosalind that was a founding member of the Royal East African Navy.^[17]

Pennant numbers

Pennant Number	Date
G95	January 1917[18]
G89	January 1918[18]
D87	January 1919[19]
H77	January 1922[20]
G64	August 1925[21]

References

Citations

1. Friedman 2009, p. 157.
2. Parkes & Prendegast 1919, p. 106.
3. Forward 2008.
4. Gardiner & Gray 1985, p. 81.
5. Friedman 2009, p. 310.
6. "Destroyer Flotillas of the Grand Fleet", The Navy List: 12, December 1916 – via National Library of Scotland
7. "Destroyer Flotillas of the Grand Fleet", The Navy List: 12, January 1917 – via National Library of Scotland
8. Naval Staff Monograph No. 35 1939, pp. 167–168.
9. Stagg 2015.
10. "Ships Paid Off", The Navy List: 711, October 1919 – via National Library of Scotland
11. "Rosalind", The Navy List: 867, January 1921 – via National Library of Scotland
12. "Local Defence and Training Establishments, Patrol Flotillas, Etc", The Navy List: 704, January 1920 – via National Library of Scotland
13. Friedman 2009, p. 187.
14. Colledge & Warlow 2006, p. 345.
15. March 1966, p. 217.
16. Friedman 2009, p. 399.
17. Gardiner & Chesneau 1980, p. 66.
18. Dittmar & Colledge 1972, p. 71.
19. Bush & Warlow 2021, p. 41.
20. Bush & Warlow 2021, p. 75.
21. Bush & Warlow 2021, p. 66.

Bibliography

• Bush, Steve; Warlow, Ben (2021). Pendant Numbers of the Royal Navy: A Complete History of the Allocation of Pendant Numbers to Royal Navy Warships & Auxiliaries. Barnsley: Seaforth Publishing. ISBN 978-1-526793-78-2.
• 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 978-1-86176-281-8.
• Dittmar, F.J.; Colledge, J.J. (1972). British Warships 1914–1919. Shepperton: Ian Allan. ISBN 978-0-71100-380-4.
• Forward, Raymond (2008). "12th December 1917 Royal Navy Ships". The Acorn Archive. Retrieved 11 February 2017.
• Friedman, Norman (2009). British Destroyers: From Earliest Days to the First World War. Barnsley: Seaforth Publishing. ISBN 978-1-84832-049-9.
• Gardiner, Robert; Chesneau, Roger, eds. (1980). Conway's All The World's Fighting Ships 1922–1946. London: Conway Maritime Press. ISBN 978-0-85177-146-5.
• Gardiner, Robert; Gray, Randal, eds. (1985). Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships 1906–1921. London: Conway Maritime Press. ISBN 978-0-85177-245-5.
• March, Edgar J. (1966). British Destroyers: A History of Development 1892–1953. London: Seeley Service & Co. OCLC 1894771.
• Monograph No. 35: Home Waters Part IX: 1st May 1917 to 31st July 1917. Naval Staff Monographs (Historical). Vol. XIX. Naval Staff, Training and Staff Duties Division. 1939.
• Parkes, Oscar; Prendegast, Maurice (1919). Jane's Fighting Ships. London: Sampson Low, Marston & Co. Ltd.
• 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.