 Medway at anchor | |
| History | |
|---|---|
 United Kingdom | |
| Name | HMSMedway |
| Namesake | River Medway |
| Ordered | 14 September 1926 |
| Builder | Vickers Armstrong,Barrow-in-Furness |
| Laid down | April 1927 |
| Launched | 19 July 1928 |
| Completed | 3 July 1929 |
| Identification | Pennant number: 25 |
| Fate | Sunk, 30 June 1942 |
| General characteristics | |
| Type | Submarine depot ship |
| Displacement | |
| Length | 580 ft (176.8 m) (o/a) |
| Beam | 85 ft (25.9 m) |
| Draught | 21 ft 3 in (6.5 m) |
| Installed power | 8,000 bhp (6,000 kW) |
| Propulsion | 2 shafts,MANdiesel engines |
| Speed | 15knots (28 km/h; 17 mph) |
| Complement | 400 + 1,335 (spare) |
| Armament |
|
| Armour | |
HMSMedway (Pennant F25) was the first purpose-builtsubmarine depot ship constructed for theRoyal Navy. She was built byVickers Armstrong atBarrow-in-Furness during the late 1920s. The ship served on theChina Station before the Second World War and was transferred to Egypt in early 1940. Ordered to evacuateAlexandria in the face of the German advance after theBattle of Gazala in May 1942,Medway sailed forLebanon at the end of June, escorted by alight cruiser and sevendestroyers. Her strong escort could not protect her; on 30 June a German submarine torpedoed and sank her.
Medway was designed to support up to 18Odin andParthian-classsubmarines in peacetime and an additional three submarines during wartime. She carried threeQF 4-inch Mk IV deck guns as spares together with 144 21-inch (533 mm)torpedoes to resupply her submarines.[1] The ship proved to be less top-heavy than anticipated and had the enormously highmetacentric height of 13 feet (4.0 m) at full load. Built withbilge keels only 12 inches (305 mm) deep,Medway once rolled 42° each way with a period of nine seconds, losing her maintopmast. Her bilge keels were subsequently increased in depth to 36 inches (914 mm).[2]
She was 580 feet (176.8 m)long overall and had abeam of 85 feet 1 inch (25.9 m) and adraft of 21 feet 3 inches (6.5 m).[3] The ship displaced 14,650 long tons (14,890 t) atstandard load and up to 18,362 long tons (18,657 t) at (full load).[1] Her crew numbered 400 officers and ratings; she could also accommodate up to 1,335 additional men.[3]
The ship was powered byMANdiesel engines rated at 8,000brake horsepower (6,000 kW), driving two shafts, and had a top speed of about 15knots (28 km/h; 17 mph).Medway carried 810 long tons (820 t) of diesel fuel for herself and an additional 1,880 long tons (1,910 t) for her submarines. Figures for her range are not available. The ship had five 560-kilowatt (750 hp) dieselgenerators for electrical power and special provisions to recharge submarinebatteries.[3]
She was armed with two low-angle 4-inch (102 mm) guns in single mounts[4] and fourquick-firingMk V 4-inchanti-aircraft guns, also in single mounts. The latter guns were controlled by aHigh-Angle Control System mounted above thebridge.Medway was protected by an internalanti-torpedo bulge which incorporated awater jacket of 1,374 long tons (1,396 t).Amidships a 1.5-inch (38 mm)torpedo bulkhead was located 13 feet inboard that inclined outwards above thewaterline.[1] The main deck was 1.5 inches thick amidships.[3]
Medway was ordered on 14 September 1926 as part of the 1925/26 Naval Estimates.[5] The ship waslaid down in April 1927 by the Vickers Armstrong shipyard in Barrow-in-Furness. The ship waslaunched on 19 July 1928. Captain Colin Cantlie was appointed as the first commander of the new ship on 1 January 1929. The ship was completed on 3 July 1929.[2]
After completion, HMSMedway began Harbour Acceptance Trials andSea Acceptance Trials, known in the Royal Navy as HATs and SATs. A report inThe Singapore Free Press and Mercantile Advertiser on 27 July 1929 notes thatMedway was undergoing trials.[6]
Medway served on the China Station before the start of the Second World War. She had taken over fromHMS Titania in 1929/30 as the submarine depot ship for the 4th Submarine Flotilla. HMSMedway took her place inHong Kong as the depot ship for the 4th Submarine Flotilla.[7] Under the command of Capt. Colin Cantlie HMSMedway sailed toHong Kong with six O-class submarines of theOdin group. They were;HMS Odin,HMS Olympus,HMS Osiris,HMS Orpheus,HMS Oswald, andHMS Otus. The submarine flotilla was enlarged in 1930.[8]
Medway was under refit atSingapore from September 1939 through February 1940. Upon completion of the refit,Medway sailed for Hong Kong where she remained until she departed forAlexandria on 2 April. She arrived there on 3 May and thereafter supported the1st Submarine Flotilla, which operated in the Eastern Mediterranean.[9]
Two years later,Vice-AdmiralHenry Harwood,Commander-in-Chief,Mediterranean Fleet, ordered all non-essential ships to leave Alexandria in June 1942 as he was preparing to demolish the port facilities there to prevent their capture by the advancingPanzer Army Africa.Medway loaded stores and 1,135 personnel on 29 June to establish a new base atBeirut, Lebanon and sailed later that day for Beirut.[4] Accompanied by the Greek shipSS Corinthia,Medway was escorted by the light cruiserDido and the destroyersSikh,Zulu,Hero,Exmoor,Aldenham,Croome, andTetcott. The next day, offPort Said, theGerman submarine U-372 fired two torpedoes that sankMedway; 30 men were lost in the sinking.[4][10] 47 of the 90 spare torpedoes aboard floated free of the wreck and were salvaged.[4]
31°3′N30°35′E / 31.050°N 30.583°E /31.050; 30.583
