HMS Riviera
| Career (United Kingdom) |  |
|---|---|
| Name: |
SS Riviera (1911-14) HMS Riviera (1914-20) SS Riviera (1920-32) SS Laird's Isle (1932-57) |
| Port of registry: |
 London (1911-14) Royal Navy (1914-20) London (1920-32) Glasgow (1932-57) |
| Builder: | William Denny and Brothers Dumbarton |
| Laid down: | 1910 |
| Launched: | 1 April 1911 |
| Acquired: | 11 August 1914 |
| Decommissioned: | 21 May 1919 |
| Fate: | Returned to civilian service 1919 |
| General characteristics | |
| Displacement: | 1,850 tons |
| Length: | 316 ft (96 m) overall |
| Beam: | 41 ft (12 m) |
| Draught: | 14 ft (4.3 m) |
| Propulsion: | 6 Babcock and Wilcox water-tube, coal fired boiler for propulsion, plus one for auxiliary use. 3 sets of Parsons direct-drive turbines, 3 shafts 11,000 shaft horsepower |
| Speed: | 20.5 knots ( km per hour) |
| Range: | 860 nautical miles (1,590 km) at 10 knots (19 km/h) |
| Complement: | 250 |
| Armament: | 2 x 4in (10.2 cm), 1 x 6pdr (57 mm) |
| Aircraft carried: | 1914 - Short S.74 & 2 Short S.135 (for the Cuxhaven Raid).1915 - 4 Short S.184 (for the Ems Reconnaissance). 1917 - Sopwith Babies. |
Built as a fast Cross-Channel steamer for the South East and Chatham Railway Co., HMS Riviera was requisitioned by the Admiralty on 11 August 1914 and converted by Chatham Dockyard to carry and operate four seaplanes.
Based at Harwich along with HMS Engadine and Empress, aircraft from all three ships took part in the Cuxhaven Raid on hangars housing Zeppelin airships on Christmas Day 1914. A notable member of her crew was Robert Erskine Childers whose knowledge of the east German coast was considered very important in the raid. HMS Riviera later saw service in the Dover Patrol, prior to moving to the Mediterranean in June 1918.
In 1919 the ship returned to civilian use under her original name of RTMS Lairds Isle. She once again entered military service on 28 August 1939 as HMS Laird's Isle, an Armed Boarding Vessel and carried landing craft and tanks on D-Day.
She returned to civil use again in 1946.
References
- Colledge, J. J.; Warlow, Ben (2006) [1969]. Ships of the Royal Navy: the complete record of all fighting ships of the Royal Navy (Rev. ed.). London: Chatham. ISBN 9781861762818. OCLC 67375475.
- Dittmar, F. J. & Colledge, J. J., "British Warships 1914-1919", (Ian Allen, London, 1972), ISBN 0-7110-0380-7
- Gray, Randal (ed), "Conway's All The Worlds Fighting Ships, 1906-1921", (Conway Maritime Press, London, 1985), ISBN 0-85177-245-5
External links
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