HMS ''Forth'', pennant number F04 later A187, was a

submarine depot ship A submarine tender, in British English a submarine depot ship, is a type of depot ship that supplies and supports submarines. Development Submarines are small compared to most oceangoing vessels, and generally cannot carry large amounts of food ...

. ''Forth'' was completed in 1939. She served at bases in Scotland including

Holy Loch The Holy Loch () is a sea loch, part of the Firth of Clyde, in Argyll and Bute, Scotland. The "Holy Loch" name is believed to date from the 6th century, when Saint Munn landed there after leaving Ireland. Kilmun Parish Church and Argyll Mausole ...

on the

Firth of Clyde The Firth of Clyde, is the estuary of the River Clyde, on the west coast of Scotland. The Firth has some of the deepest coastal waters of the British Isles. The Firth is sheltered from the Atlantic Ocean by the Kintyre, Kintyre Peninsula. The ...

and at Halifax in Canada during the Second World War. During the war ''Forth'' was adopted by

Stirlingshire Stirlingshire or the County of Stirling ( ) is a Shires of Scotland, historic county and registration county of Scotland. Its county town is Stirling.Registers of Scotland. Publications, leaflets, Land Register Counties. It borders Perthshir ...

as part of ''

Warship Week Warship Weeks were British National savings campaigns during the Second World War, with the aim of a Royal Navy warship being adopted by a civil community. During the early parts of the war, the Royal Navy not only had lost many capital ships but ...

''. The plaque from this adoption is held by the

National Museum of the Royal Navy The National Museum of the Royal Navy was created in early 2009 to act as a single non-departmental public body for the museums of the Royal Navy. With venues across the United Kingdom, the museums detail the history of the Royal Navy operating ...

in Portsmouth. During her stay in Malta in the 1950s she was moored on the east side of

Msida Msida (, ) is a harbour town in the Eastern Region, Malta, Eastern Region of Malta with a population of 7,623 (2021). Location The town is located just west of Valletta on the northeast coast of Malta. The neighbouring towns of Msida are Ta' ...

creek. In 1953 she took part in the Fleet Review to celebrate the Coronation of Queen Elizabeth II. She left Malta in 1960. She was modified to support the

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the naval warfare force of the United Kingdom. It is a component of His Majesty's Naval Service, and its officers hold their commissions from the King of the United Kingdom, King. Although warships were used by Kingdom ...

's nuclear-powered submarines at H.M.Dockyard Chatham between 1962 and 1966. She arrived in Singapore in mid-1966 to relieve HMS ''Medway'' (former

landing craft tank The Landing Craft, Tank (LCT) (or tank landing craft, TLC) was an amphibious assault craft for landing tanks on beachheads. They were initially developed by the Royal Navy and later by the United States Navy during World War II in a series of ver ...

HMS ''LCT 1109'') as depot ship of the 7th Submarine Squadron. She left Singapore to return to the United Kingdom on 31 March 1971. In 1968, HMS ''Forth'' transported the first

hovercraft A hovercraft (: hovercraft), also known as an air-cushion vehicle or ACV, is an amphibious craft capable of travelling over land, water, mud, ice, and various other surfaces. Hovercraft use blowers to produce a large volume of air below the ...

(a small two or three seater) to

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

References

External links

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Depot Ships of the Royal Navy
Auxiliary ships of the Royal Navy Cold War fleet auxiliaries of the United Kingdom Ships built on the River Clyde 1938 ships Royal Navy Submarine Depot Ships Firth of Clyde {{UK-mil-ship-stub