HMIS ''Lawrence'' (L83) was a
sloop, commissioned in 1919 into the
Royal Indian Marine
Royal may refer to:
People
* Royal (name), a list of people with either the surname or given name
* A member of a royal family or royalty
Places United States
* Royal, Arkansas, an unincorporated community
* Royal, Illinois, a village
* Royal, ...
(RIM).
She served during
World War II
World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
in the
Royal Indian Navy
The Royal Indian Navy (RIN) was the naval force of British Raj, British India and the Dominion of India. Along with the Presidency armies, later the British Indian Army, Indian Army, and from 1932 the Royal Indian Air Force, it was one of the ...
(RIN), the successor to the RIM. Her
pennant number
In the Royal Navy and other navies of Europe and the Commonwealth of Nations, ships are identified by pennant number (an internationalisation of ''pendant number'', which it was called before 1948). Historically, naval ships flew a flag that iden ...
was changed to U83 in 1940. Although originally built as a minesweeper, she was primarily used as a convoy escort during the war. She was scrapped soon after the end of the war.
History
HMIS ''Lawrence'' was ordered under the Emergency War Programme of the
First World War
World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...
, being launched at
William Beardmore and Company
William Beardmore and Company was a British engineering and shipbuilding Conglomerate (company), conglomerate based in Glasgow and the surrounding Clydeside area. It was active from 1886 to the mid-1930s and at its peak employed about 40,000 peo ...
on 30 July 1919 and completed on 27 December 1919.
In the immediate post-war years, ''Lawrence'' was used by the Royal Indian Marine for servicing buoys and lighthouses and as a transport for high officials in the
Persian Gulf
The Persian Gulf, sometimes called the Arabian Gulf, is a Mediterranean seas, mediterranean sea in West Asia. The body of water is an extension of the Arabian Sea and the larger Indian Ocean located between Iran and the Arabian Peninsula.Un ...
.
[Collins 1964, pp. 6–7.]
In 1925 while conducting anti-slavery patrols the ship conducted a bombardment of
Fujairah Fort
Fujairah Fort () is a fort in the city of Fujairah, United Arab Emirates (UAE). Dating back to the 16th century, it is among the oldest as well as the largest castles in the country. Today, it is among the main tourist attractions in the city. , destroying three of the forts towers.
[Zahlan, Rosemarie Said (2016-03-22). The origins of the United Arab Emirates : a political and social history of the Trucial States. London. p. 165. ISBN 9781317244653. OCLC 945874284.]
On the outbreak of the Second World War, the ''Lawrence'', whose armament had been increased by the addition of four
3-pounder gun 3-pounder gun, 3-pounder, 3-pdr or QF 3-pdr is an abbreviation typically referring to a gun which fired a projectile weighing approximately 3 pounds. It may refer to:
* The Grasshopper cannon – of the 18th century
* QF 3-pounder Hotchkiss – Hotc ...
s and a second 2-pounder pom-pom,
[Collins 1964, p. 13.] deployed to
Masirah Island
Masirah Island (), also referred to as Mazeira Island, is an island off the east coast of mainland Oman in the Arabian Sea, and the largest island of the country. Administratively, it forms one of the five Provinces of Oman, provinces (''Wilaya ...
off the coast of
Oman
Oman, officially the Sultanate of Oman, is a country located on the southeastern coast of the Arabian Peninsula in West Asia and the Middle East. It shares land borders with Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, and Yemen. Oman’s coastline ...
where it was used to carry out patrols,
[Collins 1964, p. 33.] taking part in the unsuccessful search for the missing airliner
Hannibal
Hannibal (; ; 247 – between 183 and 181 BC) was a Punic people, Carthaginian general and statesman who commanded the forces of Ancient Carthage, Carthage in their battle against the Roman Republic during the Second Punic War.
Hannibal's fat ...
in March 1940.
[Collins 1964, p. 36.]
Immediately prior to the outbreak of the
Anglo-Iraqi War
The Anglo-Iraqi War was a British-led Allies of World War II, Allied military campaign during the Second World War against the Kingdom of Iraq, then ruled by Rashid Ali al-Gaylani who had seized power in the 1941 Iraqi coup d'état with assista ...
, ''Lawrence'' helped to cover the landing of the
20th Indian Infantry Brigade at Basra on 18 April 1941.
[Collins 1964, pp. 71–72.] When Britain and the Soviet Union
invaded Iran in August 1941, ''Lawrence'' took part in the attack on
Abadan
Abadan (; ) is a city in the Central District (Abadan County), Central District of Abadan County, Khuzestan province, Khuzestan province, Iran, serving as capital of both the county and the district. The city is in the southwest of the coun ...
on 25 August 1941, boarding and capturing the Iranian gunboats ''Karkas'' and ''Shahbaaz'' and two Italian merchant ships.
[Collins 1964, pp. 78–82, 88–92.]
In late 1944 ''Lawrence'' was assigned to HMIS ''Himalaya'', the Gunnery school in
Karachi
Karachi is the capital city of the Administrative units of Pakistan, province of Sindh, Pakistan. It is the List of cities in Pakistan by population, largest city in Pakistan and 12th List of largest cities, largest in the world, with a popul ...
as a Gunnery School Firing Ship,
[Collins 1964, p. 128.] and joined the Bombay training squadron in November 1945.
[Collins 1964, p. 144.]
''Lawrence'' was decommissioned and scrapped in 1947, two years after the end of the war.
Notes
References
*Collins, J.T.E
''The Royal Indian Navy, 1939–1945'' Official History of the Indian Armed Forces in the Second World War. New Delhi: Combined Inter-Services Historical Section (India & Pakistan), 1964.
*Parkes, Oscar. ''Jane's Fighting Ships 1931''. Newton Abbot, Devon, UK:Davis & Charles Reprints, 1931 (1973 reprint). .
External links
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lawrence (L83)
Sloops of the Royal Indian Navy
1919 ships