HMS Riviera
Riviera at anchor in 1914–1915 with her early canvas hangars
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History | |
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United Kingdom | |
Name | Riviera |
Owner | South East and Chatham Railway |
Port of registry | London (1911–1914) |
Builder | William Denny and Brothers, Dumbarton, Scotland |
Launched | 1 April 1911 |
Completed | 1911 |
Fate | Leased to Royal Navy, 11 August 1914 |
United Kingdom | |
Acquired |
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Commissioned | 6 September 1914 |
Fate | Sold back to owners, 31 May 1919 |
United Kingdom | |
Owner | South East and Chatham Railway/Southern Railway |
Acquired | 31 May 1919 |
Fate | Sold, 1932 |
United Kingdom | |
Owner | Burns & Laird Lines |
Port of registry | Glasgow |
Acquired | 1932 |
Renamed | Laird's Isle |
Fate | Leased by the Royal Navy, 28 August 1939 |
United Kingdom | |
Acquired | 28 August 1939 |
Reclassified | Landing Ship, Infantry (LSI (H)), 1944 |
Fate |
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General characteristics (as of 1918) | |
Type | Seaplane carrier |
Tonnage | 1,675 gross register tons (GRT) |
Displacement | 2,550 deep load ) |
Length | 323 ft (98.5 m) |
Beam | 41 ft (12.5 m) |
Draught | 13 ft 8 in (4.2 m) |
Installed power |
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Propulsion | 3 shafts; 3 steam turbines |
Speed | 20.5 knots (38.0 km/h; 23.6 mph) |
Range | 1,250 nmi (2,320 km; 1,440 mi) at 15 knots (28 km/h; 17 mph) |
Complement | 197 |
Armament |
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Aircraft carried | 4 × seaplanes |
HMS Riviera was a
Sold in 1932 and renamed RMTS Laird's Isle for service in the
Description
Riviera had an
Building and service
Riviera was
Upon completion of the modifications on 1 September, Riviera was assigned to the Harwich Force along with the seaplane tenders Empress and Engadine.[7] On Christmas Day 1914, nine aircraft from all three ships took part in the Cuxhaven Raid on hangars housing Zeppelin airships.[8] Seven of the nine seaplanes successfully took off for the attack, but they inflicted little damage. Only three of the aircraft returned to be recovered, but the crews of the other three ditched safely[8] and were recovered by a British submarine[9] and the Dutch trawler Marta van Hattem.[10]
Riviera was purchased in February 1915 by the Admiralty and she was modified by
Upon completion of the conversion, she rejoined the Harwich Force; in early May she conducted the handling trials of the
Riviera later saw service with the Dover Patrol where her aircraft flew spotting missions for naval bombardments off the Belgian coast.[13] She was transferred to the Mediterranean Fleet in May 1918 where she was based out of Malta, conducting anti-submarine patrols, for the remainder of the war.[14]
On 31 May 1919 the ship was sold back to her original owners, the South Eastern and Chatham Railway, and resumed her former role as a cross-Channel ferry. Riviera passed to the Southern Railway in 1923 in the grouping of Britain's railways. She was sold to the Burns & Laird Lines and renamed RMTS Laird's Isle for service in the Irish Sea.[15]
Second World War
She was once again requisitioned on 28 August 1939 as HMS Laird's Isle, to serve as an armed boarding vessel. To suit her new duties, she was equipped with a single four-inch (102 mm) and two 40-millimetre (1.6 in)
Notes
- ^ "Cwt" is the abbreviation for hundredweight, 12 cwt referring to the weight of the gun.
Footnotes
- ^ a b Friedman, p. 364
- ^ a b c d Layman, p. 38
- ^ Friedman, p. 30
- ^ a b Hobbs, p. 22
- ^ Hobbs, pp. 21, 32; Layman, p. 38
- ^ Friedman, pp. 30, 32, Hobbs, p. 21
- ^ Layman, pp. 38, 40
- ^ a b c Friedman, p. 32
- ^ Barnes & James, p. 98
- ^ "The Rescue of Flight Commander Hewlett". Flight. Vol. 315, no. 8 January 1915. 8 January 1915. p. 24. Retrieved 7 February 2014.
- ^ Bruce 2001, p. 9
- ^ Bruce 1996, p. 5
- ^ Layman, p. 39
- ^ Friedman, p. 43; Layman, p. 39
- ^ Friedman, p. 364; Hobbs, p. 32
- ^ Hobbs, p. 32; Lenton, pp. 82–83, 438, 441, 443
References
- Barnes, Christopher H. & James, Derek N. (1989). Shorts Aircraft Since 1900. London: Putnam. ISBN 0-85177-819-4.
- Bruce, J. M. (2001). The Short 184. Windsock Datafile. Vol. 85. Berkhampstead, UK: Albatros Productions. OCLC 295877455.
- Bruce, J. M. (1996). Sopwith Baby. Windsock Datafile. Vol. 60. Berkhampstead, UK: Albatros Productions. ISBN 0-948414-79-0.
- Campbell, Colin & Fenton, Roy (1999). Burns and Laird. Preston, UK: Ships in Focus Publications. ISBN 1-901703-07-X.
- ISBN 0-87021-054-8.
- Hobbs, David (2013). British Aircraft Carriers: Design, Development and Service Histories. Barnsley, UK: Seaforth Publishing. ISBN 978-1-84832-138-0.
- Layman, R. D. (1989). Before the Aircraft Carrier: The Development of Aviation Vessels 1859–1922. Annapolis, Maryland: Naval Institute Press. ISBN 0-87021-210-9.
- ISBN 1-55750-048-7.
- Middlemiss, Norman (1998). Coast Lines. Newcastle-upon-Tyne, UK: Shield Publications. ISBN 1-871128-16-1.
External links
- Account of Cuxhaven raid
- R.M.T.S. "Lairds Isle", Tom McGrattan, Ardrossan & Saltcoats Herald, July 1982, at Threetowners
- TS Riviera – Past and Present at Dover Ferry Photos