 HMSLandrail | |
| History | |
|---|---|
 United Kingdom | |
| Name | HMSLandrail |
| Builder | Yarrow,Scotstoun |
| Laid down | 24 July 1912 |
| Launched | 7 February 1914 |
| Completed | June 1914 |
| Fate | Sold December 1921 |
| General characteristics | |
| Class & type | Laforey-classdestroyer |
| Displacement | 983 long tons (999 t) deep load |
| Length | 268 ft 10 in (81.9 m)oa |
| Beam | 27 ft 6 in (8.4 m) |
| Draught | 10 ft 10 in (3.3 m) |
| Installed power | 24,500 shp (18,300 kW) |
| Propulsion |
|
| Speed | 29 kn (54 km/h; 33 mph) |
| Complement | 73 |
| Armament |
|
HMSLandrail was aLaforey-classdestroyer of the BritishRoyal Navy. TheLaforey class (or L class) was the class of destroyers ordered under the Royal Navy's 1912–1913 construction programme, which were armed with three 4-inch (102 mm) guns and fourtorpedo tubes and were capable of 29knots (54 km/h; 33 mph). The ship, which was originally to be namedHotspur but was renamed beforelaunch, was built by the Scottish shipbuilderYarrow between 1912 and 1914,
Landrail served during theFirst World War. She formed part of theHarwich Force in the early years of the war, taking part in theBattle of Heligoland Bight in 1914, theBattle of Dogger Bank in 1915 and theBattle of Jutland in 1916. Later in the war she joined theFirst Destroyer Flotilla based atPortsmouth where she served as aconvoy escort. She survived the war, and was sold forscrap in 1921.
For the 1912–1913 shipbuilding programme for the Royal Navy, theBritish Admiralty ordered twenty destroyers to a design based on a modified version of the previous year'sAcasta-classdestroyer, with the major difference being an increasedtorpedo armament of fourtorpedo tubes rather than two. Four of the destroyers were ordered fromYarrow, with four more fromFairfield, and two each fromDenny, Parsons, Swan Hunter, Thonycroft, White and Beardmore.[1][2]
The destroyers were 268 feet 10 inches (81.9 m)overall and 260 feet 0 inches (79.2 m)between perpendiculars, with abeam of 27 feet 6 inches (8.4 m) and adraught of 10 feet 10 inches (3.3 m).[3]Displacement of the class ranged from 965 long tons (980 t) to 1,010 long tons (1,030 t) normal and 1,150 long tons (1,170 t) to 1,300 long tons (1,300 t) deep load,[2] withLandrail having a normal displacement of 983 long tons (999 t).[4][5] ThreeYarrow boilers fed two sets of Brown-Curtis impulsesteam turbines. The machinery was rated at 24,500shaft horsepower (18,300 kW), giving a speed of 29knots (54 km/h; 33 mph). The ship had twofunnels.[2]
The ships were armed with three 4-inch (102 mm) QF Mk IV guns, with a single .303-inch (8 mm)Maxim machine gun. Two twin 21-inch (533 mm) torpedo tubes were fitted. The ships were built with fittings to carry fourmines, but these were never used. The ship's crew was 73 officers andratings.[2] Wartime modifications included the addition of a 2-pounder (40 mm) pom-pom anti-aircraftautocannon, the provision ofdepth charges, which may have resulted in one of the ship's guns and a pair of torpedo tubes being removed in 1918 to accommodate an outfit of 30–50 depth charges, while the ship was also modified to allow akite balloon to be operated.[6]
The second of the four Yarrow-built destroyers,Hotspur waslaid down at Yarrow'sScotstoun yard on 24 July 1912.[7] On 30 September 1913, the 1912–1913 destroyers, which were previously to be known as theRob Roy class, were redesignated the L orLaforey class, with the ships given new names string with the letter L.Hotspur was renamedLandrail.[2][8]Landrail waslaunched on 7 February 1914 and completed in June that year,[8] being handed over to the Royal Navy on 10 June.[9]
On the outbreak of theFirst World War,Landrail, like the rest of theLaforey class, joined theHarwich Force,[2] which operated in the southernNorth Sea and could reinforce theGrand Fleet or forces in theEnglish Channel as required.[10][11] On 5 August 1914, theThird Destroyer Flotilla, led by the light cruiserAmphion carried out a sweep to prevent Germanminelayers or torpedo craft entering theEnglish Channel. Later that morning, in response to a report from a trawler that a merchant vessel had been acting suspiciously and throwing objects overboard,Landrail andsister shipLance were ordered ahead of the flotilla to investigate, and came across the German minelayerKönigin Luise, laying mines offSouthwold on theSussex coast. The German ship attempted to escape to neutral waters, but was engaged and sunk byLance,Landrail andAmphion. The flotilla was returning from the sweep on 6 August when it ran into the minefield laid byKönigin Luise, withAmphion striking two mines and sinking, with the loss of 151 ofAmphion's crew, together with 18 survivors fromKönigin Luise.[12][13][14]
On 28 August 1914, the Harwich Force, supported bylight cruisers andbattlecruisers of the Grand Fleet, carried out araid towardsHeligoland with the intention of destroying patrolling Germantorpedo boats.[15]Landrail formed part of the 2nd Division of the Third Flotilla during this operation.[16]Landrail took part in torpedo attacks against the German light cruisersStrassburg andMainz, withLandrail claiming one hit onMainz.[17] On 24 October 1914,Landrail set out from Harwich as part of the escort for theseaplane carriersEngadine andEmpress on a raid against the Germanairship base atCuxhaven. The force reached the launch-off point off Heligoland on the morning of 25 October, but poor weather meant that only two of the sixseaplanes managed to take-off, both of which quickly abandoned the mission.[18]
On 23 January 1915, the German battlecruisers under AdmiralFranz von Hipper made a sortie to attack British fishing boats on theDogger Bank.British Naval Intelligence was warned of the raid by radio messages decoded byRoom 40, and sent out the Battlecruiser Force fromRosyth, commanded by AdmiralBeatty aboardLion and the Harwich Force, commanded by CommodoreReginald Tyrwhitt aboard the light cruiserArethusa were sent out to intercept the German force.Landrail was part of the 1st Division of the Third Flotilla when it sailed as part of the Harwich Force.[19][20][21] This resulted in theBattle of Dogger Bank, which took the form of a high speed chase of the German ships.[22] The majority of the destroyers of the Harwich Force, includingLandrail, were not fast enough to keep up with the battlecruisers. Only seven destroyers of theM class were fast enough to engage the German warships.[23]
On 30 January 1915,Landrail, together with sister shipsLaforey,Liberty andLysander were detached from the Harwich Force to hunt submarines (in particularU-21) in theIrish Channel.[24] On 13 February the four destroyers, their anti-submarine duties over, were returning to Harwich via the English Channel when poor weather forced them to take shelter inPortsmouth. They were retained at Portsmouth for escort duties until 15 February, when the ships were ordered to resume their journey to Harwich, lessLandrail, which was due a refit inGlasgow.[25] On 23 March 1915 ships of the Harwich Force escorted the seaplane carrierEmpress on an attempted raid against a German radio station atNorddeich. The force ran into thick fog just as the seaplanes were due to be launched, causing the operation to be abandoned.Landrail collided with the light cruiserUndaunted in the fog and was badly damaged, with her bow smashed. While at first she managed to make her way slowly under how own power, butbulkheads at her bow began to leak and she had to be towed stern-first, first by the destroyerMentor, then after the tow line parted, by the cruiserAurora until the line failed again, when the cruiserArethusa took over, finally reaching Harwich after three days.[26][27]
In July 1915 three divisions of the Third Destroyer Flotilla were detached toDevonport on escort duties in the South West approaches, relieving the Tenth Flotilla, also part of the Harwich Force.[28] On 8–9 August 1915Landrail took part in a large scale hunt off southwest Ireland for the German submarinesU-34 andU-35. The hunt, which involved one light cruiser, onedestroyer leader, eight destroyers and foursloops, was unsuccessful.[29] In September 1915 the 3rd Destroyer Flotilla was renumbered the 9th Destroyer Flotilla, still remaining part of the Harwich Force, withLandrail remaining part of the new formation.[30][31][32][33]
On 31 May–1 June 1916,Landrail was one of fourLaforey-class destroyers of the Ninth Flotilla that were attached to Beatty's battlecruisers at theBattle of Jutland.[a][35]Landrail formed part of the destroyer screen for the Second Battlecruiser Squadron.[36] The destroyers were on the port, engaged, side of the battlecruisers during the"Run to the South", and reported spotting aperiscope and that a torpedo track passed underneath her,[37] although these supposed sightings were incorrect.[38] During the night action,Landrail's division passed near the German battle line and although firing was seen, it was believed at the time that they were British ships, and no attack was made.[39][40]
On 4 August 1916Landrail was one of four destroyers of the Harwich Force that were despatched for anti-submarine operations offLe Havre.[41] On 28 September 1916Landrail sailed as part of the Harwich Force in support of a planned air reconnaissance of theSchillig Roads. A Curtiss'America'flying boat was to carry out a reconnaissance flight, then alight and refuel from the Harwich Force, which would be waiting nearTerschelling.[42] Poor weather caused the operation to be abandoned while the flying boat was still on its out-bound leg, but when it landed nearLandrail to refuel, the destroyer collided with the flying boat when attempting to refuel it, damaging the aircraft's wing and making it unflyable. Attempts, first byLandrail and then by the leaderLightfoot to tow the flying boat back to Britain almost succeeded, but it collapsed and sank close to the British coast.[43][44] As the losses of shipping to attacks by German submarines grew heavier, the destroyers of the Harwich Force and the Grand Fleet were increasingly diverted to anti-submarine operations.[45] On the night of 12/13 December 1916,Landrail was on patrol in theDover Strait when a submerging submarine was spotted.Landrail dropped two depth charges in response, and the attack was credited as a 'Possible', but post war assessment indicated that the German submarineUB-29 was sunk.[46][47]
On the night of 25 February 1917 the Germans launched a major raid by Flanders-based torpedo boats againstAllied defences and shipping in the Channel. One group of five torpedo boats were to operate against shipping near theNorth Foreland lighthouse and The Downs, while a second group of six torpedo boats were to attack the patrol boats of the Dover Barrage, while three more torpedo boats were to attack shipping off the mouth of theRiver Maas.Landrail was one of five destroyers patrolling the Barrage. The attack on the Dover Barrage withdrew after a confrontation with the British destroyerLaverock, while the attack on the Downs carried out a brief bombardment of the North Foreland andMargate before withdrawing, hitting a house and killing three civilians but doing little other damage.[48][49][50]
Landrail was still listed as a member of the Harwich Force at the start of March 1917,[51] but joined theDover Patrol on 15 March.[52] On 22 May the Dover Patrol carried out a bombardment of the German held Belgian port ofZeebrugge, using themonitorsErebus,Terror andMarshal Soult, with the hope of destroying the locks on the canal that linked Zeebrugge toBruges.Landrail formed part of the escort force for the operation. The operation failed to hit the locks.[53]
Landrail's stay at Dover was short, leaving on 31 May and joining the Portsmouth escort flotilla.[52][54] On 7 July 1917,Landrail, together with the destroyersBeaver,Forester andEttrick and the patrol boatsP22,P25,P32 andP54, was escorting convoy HH4 of five merchant ships up the Channel. The convoy was offBeachy Head when a torpedo, fired by the German submarineUC-61, hitEttrick, blowing the destroyer in two, with the forward part sinking quickly. The aft part ofEttrick was towed into Portsmouth byP25.[55]Landrail was part of theFirst Destroyer Flotilla at Portsmouth in July 1917.[56]
Landrail remained part of the First Flotilla at the start of January 1918,[57] but by February had moved to theFirth of Forth, joining the Methil Convoy Flotilla.[58][59]
Landrail was sold forscrap to the shipbreakers Stanlee of Dover on 1 December 1921.[60]
| Pennant number[60] | Dates |
|---|---|
| H54 | 1914–January 1918 |
| H47 | January 1918– |