HMS ''Landrail'' was a of the British
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 ...
. The ''Laforey'' class (or L class) was the class of destroyers ordered under the Royal Navy's 1912–1913 construction programme, which were armed with three guns and four
torpedo tube
A torpedo tube is a cylindrical device for launching torpedoes.
There are two main types of torpedo tube: underwater tubes fitted to submarines and some surface ships, and deck-mounted units (also referred to as torpedo launchers) installed aboa ...
s and were capable of . The ship, which was originally to be named ''Hotspur'' but was renamed before
launch
Launch or launched may refer to:
Involving vehicles
* Launch (boat), one of several different sorts of boat
** Motor launch (naval), a small military vessel used by the Royal Navy
* Air launch, the practice of dropping an aircraft, rocket, or ...
, was built by the Scottish shipbuilder
Yarrow
''Achillea millefolium'', commonly known as yarrow () or common yarrow, is a flowering plant in the family Asteraceae. Growing to tall, it is characterized by small whitish flowers, a tall stem of fernlike leaves, and a pungent odor.
The plan ...
between 1912 and 1914,
''Landrail'' served during 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 ...
. She formed part of the
Harwich Force
The Harwich Force originally called Harwich Striking Force was a squadron of the Royal Navy, formed during the First World War and based in Harwich. It played a significant role in the war.
History
After the outbreak of the First World War, it ...
in the early years of the war, taking part in the
Battle of Heligoland Bight in 1914, the
Battle of Dogger Bank in 1915 and the
Battle of Jutland
The Battle of Jutland () was a naval battle between Britain's Royal Navy Grand Fleet, under Admiral John Jellicoe, 1st Earl Jellicoe, Sir John Jellicoe, and the Imperial German Navy's High Seas Fleet, under Vice-Admiral Reinhard Scheer, durin ...
in 1916. Later in the war she joined the
First Destroyer Flotilla
The 1st Destroyer Flotilla, also styled as the First Destroyer Flotilla, was a naval formation of the British Royal Navy from 1909 to 1940 and again from 1947 to 1951.
History
Pre-war history
In May 1906, the First Destroyer Flotilla was at ...
based at
Portsmouth
Portsmouth ( ) is a port city status in the United Kingdom, city and unitary authority in Hampshire, England. Most of Portsmouth is located on Portsea Island, off the south coast of England in the Solent, making Portsmouth the only city in En ...
where she served as a
convoy
A convoy is a group of vehicles, typically motor vehicles or ships, traveling together for mutual support and protection. Often, a convoy is organized with armed defensive support and can help maintain cohesion within a unit. It may also be used ...
escort. She survived the war, and was sold for
scrap
Scrap consists of recyclable materials, usually metals, left over from product manufacturing and consumption, such as parts of vehicles, building supplies, and surplus materials. Unlike waste, scrap can have monetary value, especially recover ...
in 1921.
Construction and design
For the 1912–1913 shipbuilding programme for the Royal Navy, the
British Admiralty
The Admiralty was a Departments of the Government of the United Kingdom, department of the Government of the United Kingdom that was responsible for the command of the Royal Navy.
Historically, its titular head was the Lord High Admiral of the ...
ordered twenty destroyers to a design based on a modified version of the previous year's , with the major difference being an increased
torpedo
A modern torpedo is an underwater ranged weapon launched above or below the water surface, self-propelled towards a target, with an explosive warhead designed to detonate either on contact with or in proximity to the target. Historically, such ...
armament of four
torpedo tube
A torpedo tube is a cylindrical device for launching torpedoes.
There are two main types of torpedo tube: underwater tubes fitted to submarines and some surface ships, and deck-mounted units (also referred to as torpedo launchers) installed aboa ...
s rather than two. Four of the destroyers were ordered from
Yarrow
''Achillea millefolium'', commonly known as yarrow () or common yarrow, is a flowering plant in the family Asteraceae. Growing to tall, it is characterized by small whitish flowers, a tall stem of fernlike leaves, and a pungent odor.
The plan ...
, with four more from
Fairfield, and two each from
Denny, Parsons, Swan Hunter, Thonycroft, White and Beardmore.
The destroyers were
overall
Overalls or bib-and-brace overalls, also called dungarees in British English, are a type of garment usually used as protective clothing when working. The garments are commonly referred to as a "pair of overalls" by analogy with "pair of trousers ...
and
between perpendiculars
Length between perpendiculars (often abbreviated as p/p, p.p., pp, LPP, LBP or Length BPP) is the length of a ship along the summer load line from the forward surface of the stem, or main bow perpendicular member, to the after surface of the ster ...
, with a
beam
Beam may refer to:
Streams of particles or energy
*Light beam, or beam of light, a directional projection of light energy
**Laser beam
*Radio beam
*Particle beam, a stream of charged or neutral particles
**Charged particle beam, a spatially lo ...
of and a
draught of .
Displacement
Displacement may refer to:
Physical sciences
Mathematics and physics
*Displacement (geometry), is the difference between the final and initial position of a point trajectory (for instance, the center of mass of a moving object). The actual path ...
of the class ranged from to normal and to deep load,
with ''Landrail'' having a normal displacement of .
Three
Yarrow boiler
Yarrow boilers are an important class of high-pressure water-tube boilers. They were developed by
Yarrow Shipbuilders, Yarrow & Co. (London), Shipbuilders and Engineers and were widely used on ships, particularly warships.
The Yarrow boiler desi ...
s fed two sets of Brown-Curtis impulse
steam turbine
A steam turbine or steam turbine engine is a machine or heat engine that extracts thermal energy from pressurized steam and uses it to do mechanical work utilising a rotating output shaft. Its modern manifestation was invented by Sir Charles Par ...
s. The machinery was rated at , giving a speed of . The ship had two
funnels
A funnel is a tube or pipe that is wide at the top and narrow at the bottom, used for guiding liquid or powder into a small opening.
Funnels are usually made of stainless steel, aluminium, glass, or plastic. The material used in its constructi ...
.
The ships were armed with three QF Mk IV guns, with a single
Maxim machine gun
The Maxim gun is a Recoil operation, recoil-operated machine gun invented in 1884 by Hiram Maxim, Hiram Stevens Maxim. It was the first automatic firearm, fully automatic machine gun in the world.
The Maxim gun has been called "the weapon most ...
. Two twin torpedo tubes were fitted. The ships were built with fittings to carry four
mines
Mine, mines, miners or mining may refer to:
Extraction or digging
*Miner, a person engaged in mining or digging
*Mining, extraction of mineral resources from the ground through a mine
Grammar
*Mine, a first-person English possessive pronoun
Mi ...
, but these were never used. The ship's crew was 73 officers and
ratings.
Wartime modifications included the addition of a 2-pounder (40 mm) pom-pom anti-aircraft
autocannon
An autocannon, automatic cannon or machine cannon is a automatic firearm, fully automatic gun that is capable of rapid-firing large-caliber ( or more) armour-piercing, explosive or incendiary ammunition, incendiary shell (projectile), shells, ...
, the provision of
depth charge
A depth charge is an anti-submarine warfare (ASW) weapon designed to destroy submarine
A submarine (often shortened to sub) is a watercraft capable of independent operation underwater. (It differs from a submersible, which has more limited ...
s, 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 a
kite balloon
A kite balloon is a tethered balloon which is shaped to help make it stable in low and moderate winds and to increase its lift. It typically comprises a streamlined envelope with stabilising features and a harness or yoke connecting it to the mai ...
to be operated.
The second of the four Yarrow-built destroyers, ''Hotspur'' was
laid down
Laying the keel or laying down is the formal recognition of the start of a ship's construction. It is often marked with a ceremony attended by dignitaries from the shipbuilding company and the ultimate owners of the ship.
Keel laying is one ...
at Yarrow's
Scotstoun
Scotstoun () is an area of Glasgow, Scotland, west of Glasgow City Centre. It is bounded by Garscadden and Yoker to the west, Victoria Park, Jordanhill and Whiteinch to the east, Jordanhill to the north and the River Clyde (and Braehead ...
yard on 24 July 1912.
On 30 September 1913, the 1912–1913 destroyers, which were previously to be known as the ''Rob Roy'' class, were redesignated the L or ''Laforey'' class, with the ships given new names string with the letter L. ''Hotspur'' was renamed ''Landrail''.
''Landrail'' was
launched on 7 February 1914 and completed in June that year,
being handed over to the Royal Navy on 10 June.
Service
1914–1915
On the outbreak 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 ...
, ''Landrail'', like the rest of the ''Laforey'' class, joined the
Harwich Force
The Harwich Force originally called Harwich Striking Force was a squadron of the Royal Navy, formed during the First World War and based in Harwich. It played a significant role in the war.
History
After the outbreak of the First World War, it ...
,
which operated in the southern
North Sea
The North Sea lies between Great Britain, Denmark, Norway, Germany, the Netherlands, Belgium, and France. A sea on the European continental shelf, it connects to the Atlantic Ocean through the English Channel in the south and the Norwegian Se ...
and could reinforce the
Grand Fleet
The Grand Fleet was the main battlefleet of the Royal Navy during the First World War. It was established in August 1914 and disbanded in April 1919. Its main base was Scapa Flow in the Orkney Islands.
History
Formed in August 1914 from th ...
or forces in the
English Channel
The English Channel, also known as the Channel, is an arm of the Atlantic Ocean that separates Southern England from northern France. It links to the southern part of the North Sea by the Strait of Dover at its northeastern end. It is the busi ...
as required. On 5 August 1914, the
Third Destroyer Flotilla, led by the light cruiser carried out a sweep to prevent German
minelayer
A minelayer is any warship, submarine, military aircraft or land vehicle deploying explosive mines. Since World War I the term "minelayer" refers specifically to a naval ship used for deploying naval mines. "Mine planting" was the term for ins ...
s or torpedo craft entering the
English Channel
The English Channel, also known as the Channel, is an arm of the Atlantic Ocean that separates Southern England from northern France. It links to the southern part of the North Sea by the Strait of Dover at its northeastern end. It is the busi ...
. Later that morning, in response to a report from a trawler that a merchant vessel had been acting suspiciously and throwing objects overboard, ''Landrail'' and
sister ship
A sister ship is a ship of the same Ship class, class or of virtually identical design to another ship. Such vessels share a nearly identical hull and superstructure layout, similar size, and roughly comparable features and equipment. They o ...
were ordered ahead of the flotilla to investigate, and came across the German minelayer , laying mines off
Southwold
Southwold is a seaside town and civil parish on the North Sea, in the East Suffolk District, East Suffolk district, in the county of Suffolk, England. It lies at the mouth of the River Blyth, Suffolk, River Blyth in the Suffolk Coast and Heaths ...
on the
Sussex
Sussex (Help:IPA/English, /ˈsʌsɪks/; from the Old English ''Sūþseaxe''; lit. 'South Saxons'; 'Sussex') is an area within South East England that was historically a kingdom of Sussex, kingdom and, later, a Historic counties of England, ...
coast. The German ship attempted to escape to neutral waters, but was engaged and sunk by ''Lance'', ''Landrail'' and ''Amphion''. The flotilla was returning from the sweep on 6 August when it ran into the minefield laid by ''Königin Luise'', with ''Amphion'' striking two mines and sinking, with the loss of 151 of ''Amphion''s crew, together with 18 survivors from ''Königin Luise''.
On 28 August 1914, the Harwich Force, supported by
light cruiser
A light cruiser is a type of small or medium-sized warship. The term is a shortening of the phrase "light armored cruiser", describing a small ship that carried armor in the same way as an armored cruiser: a protective belt and deck. Prior to thi ...
s and
battlecruiser
The battlecruiser (also written as battle cruiser or battle-cruiser) was a type of capital ship of the first half of the 20th century. These were similar in displacement, armament and cost to battleships, but differed in form and balance of att ...
s of the Grand Fleet, carried out a
raid
RAID (; redundant array of inexpensive disks or redundant array of independent disks) is a data storage virtualization technology that combines multiple physical Computer data storage, data storage components into one or more logical units for th ...
towards
Heligoland
Heligoland (; , ; Heligolandic Frisian: , , Mooring Frisian: , ) is a small archipelago in the North Sea. The islands were historically possessions of Denmark, then became possessions of the United Kingdom from 1807 to 1890. Since 1890, the ...
with the intention of destroying patrolling German
torpedo boat
A torpedo boat is a relatively small and fast naval ship designed to carry torpedoes into battle. The first designs were steam-powered craft dedicated to ramming enemy ships with explosive spar torpedoes. Later evolutions launched variants of ...
s. ''Landrail'' formed part of the 2nd Division of the Third Flotilla during this operation. ''Landrail'' took part in torpedo attacks against the German light cruisers and , with ''Landrail'' claiming one hit on ''Mainz''. On 24 October 1914, ''Landrail'' set out from Harwich as part of the escort for the
seaplane carrier
A seaplane tender is a boat or ship that supports the operation of seaplanes. Some of these vessels, known as seaplane carriers, could not only carry seaplanes but also provided all the facilities needed for their operation; these ships are rega ...
s and on a raid against the German
airship
An airship, dirigible balloon or dirigible is a type of aerostat (lighter-than-air) aircraft that can navigate through the air flying powered aircraft, under its own power. Aerostats use buoyancy from a lifting gas that is less dense than the ...
base at
Cuxhaven
Cuxhaven (; ) is a town and seat of the Cuxhaven district, in Lower Saxony, Germany. The town includes the northernmost point of Lower Saxony. It is situated on the shore of the North Sea at the mouth of the Elbe River. Cuxhaven has a footprint o ...
. The force reached the launch-off point off Heligoland on the morning of 25 October, but poor weather meant that only two of the six
seaplane
A seaplane is a powered fixed-wing aircraft capable of takeoff, taking off and water landing, landing (alighting) on water.Gunston, "The Cambridge Aerospace Dictionary", 2009. Seaplanes are usually divided into two categories based on their tech ...
s managed to take-off, both of which quickly abandoned the mission.
On 23 January 1915, the German battlecruisers under Admiral
Franz von Hipper
Franz Ritter von Hipper (born Franz Hipper; 13 September 1863 – 25 May 1932) was an admiral in the German Imperial Navy, (''Kaiserliche Marine'') who played an important role in the naval warfare of World War I. Franz von Hipper joined th ...
made a sortie to attack British fishing boats on the
Dogger Bank
Dogger Bank ( Dutch: ''Doggersbank'', German: ''Doggerbank'', Danish: ''Doggerbanke'') is a large sandbank in a shallow area of the North Sea about off the east coast of England.
During the last ice age, the bank was part of a large landmass ...
.
British Naval Intelligence
The Naval Intelligence Division (NID) was created as a component part of the Admiralty War Staff in 1912. It was the intelligence arm of the United Kingdom, British British Admiralty, Admiralty before the establishment of a unified Defence Inte ...
was warned of the raid by radio messages decoded by
Room 40
Room 40, also known as 40 O.B. (old building; officially part of NID25), was the cryptanalysis section of the British Admiralty during the First World War.
The group, which was formed in October 1914, began when Rear-Admiral Henry Oliver, the ...
, and sent out the Battlecruiser Force from
Rosyth
Rosyth () is a town and Garden City in Fife, Scotland, on the coast of the Firth of Forth.
Scotland's first Garden city movement, Garden City, Rosyth is part of the Greater Dunfermline Area and is located 3 miles south of Dunfermline city cen ...
, commanded by Admiral
Beatty Beatty may refer to:
Places U.S. places
* Beatty, Nevada
* Beatty, Ohio
* Beatty, Oregon
* Beatty, Kentucky, now known as Beattyville
Other places
* Beatty, Saskatchewan
Beatty ( 2016 population: ) is a village in the Canadian province of S ...
aboard and the Harwich Force, commanded by Commodore
Reginald Tyrwhitt
Admiral of the Fleet Sir Reginald Yorke Tyrwhitt, 1st Baronet, (; 10 May 1870 – 30 May 1951) was a Royal Navy officer. During the First World War he served as commander of the Harwich Force. He led a supporting naval force of 31 destroyers an ...
aboard the light cruiser 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.
This resulted in the
Battle of Dogger Bank, which took the form of a high speed chase of the German ships.
The majority of the destroyers of the Harwich Force, including ''Landrail'', were not fast enough to keep up with the battlecruisers. Only seven destroyers of the
M class were fast enough to engage the German warships.
On 30 January 1915, ''Landrail'', together with sister ships , and were detached from the Harwich Force to hunt submarines (in particular ) in the
Irish Channel. 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 in
Portsmouth
Portsmouth ( ) is a port city status in the United Kingdom, city and unitary authority in Hampshire, England. Most of Portsmouth is located on Portsea Island, off the south coast of England in the Solent, making Portsmouth the only city in En ...
. They were retained at Portsmouth for escort duties until 15 February, when the ships were ordered to resume their journey to Harwich, less ''Landrail'', which was due a refit in
Glasgow
Glasgow is the Cities of Scotland, most populous city in Scotland, located on the banks of the River Clyde in Strathclyde, west central Scotland. It is the List of cities in the United Kingdom, third-most-populous city in the United Kingdom ...
. On 23 March 1915 ships of the Harwich Force escorted the seaplane carrier ''Empress'' on an attempted raid against a German radio station at
Norddeich. 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 cruiser 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, but
bulkheads at her bow began to leak and she had to be towed stern-first, first by the destroyer , then after the tow line parted, by the cruiser until the line failed again, when the cruiser took over, finally reaching Harwich after three days.
In July 1915 three divisions of the Third Destroyer Flotilla were detached to
Devonport on escort duties in the South West approaches, relieving the Tenth Flotilla, also part of the Harwich Force. On 8–9 August 1915 ''Landrail'' took part in a large scale hunt off southwest Ireland for the German submarines and . The hunt, which involved one light cruiser, one
destroyer leader
Destroyer leader (DL) was the United States Navy designation for large destroyers from 9 February 1951 through the early years of the Cold War. United States ships with hull classification symbol DL were officially frigates from 1 January 1955Blac ...
, eight destroyers and four
sloops, was unsuccessful. In September 1915 the 3rd Destroyer Flotilla was renumbered the 9th Destroyer Flotilla, still remaining part of the Harwich Force, with ''Landrail'' remaining part of the new formation.
1916
On 31 May–1 June 1916, ''Landrail'' was one of four ''Laforey''-class destroyers of the Ninth Flotilla that were attached to Beatty's battlecruisers at the
Battle of Jutland
The Battle of Jutland () was a naval battle between Britain's Royal Navy Grand Fleet, under Admiral John Jellicoe, 1st Earl Jellicoe, Sir John Jellicoe, and the Imperial German Navy's High Seas Fleet, under Vice-Admiral Reinhard Scheer, durin ...
. ''Landrail'' formed part of the destroyer screen for the Second Battlecruiser Squadron. The destroyers were on the port, engaged, side of the battlecruisers during the
"Run to the South", and reported spotting a
periscope
A periscope is an instrument for observation over, around or through an object, obstacle or condition that prevents direct line-of-sight observation from an observer's current position.
In its simplest form, it consists of an outer case with ...
and that a torpedo track passed underneath her, although these supposed sightings were incorrect. 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.
On 4 August 1916 ''Landrail'' was one of four destroyers of the Harwich Force that were despatched for anti-submarine operations off
Le Havre
Le Havre is a major port city in the Seine-Maritime department in the Normandy (administrative region), Normandy region of northern France. It is situated on the right bank of the estuary of the Seine, river Seine on the English Channel, Channe ...
. On 28 September 1916 ''Landrail'' sailed as part of the Harwich Force in support of a planned air reconnaissance of the
Schillig Roads. A Curtiss
'America' flying boat
A flying boat is a type of seaplane with a hull, allowing it to land on water. It differs from a floatplane in having a fuselage that is purpose-designed for flotation, while floatplanes rely on fuselage-mounted floats for buoyancy.
Though ...
was to carry out a reconnaissance flight, then alight and refuel from the Harwich Force, which would be waiting near
Terschelling
Terschelling (; ; Terschelling dialect: ''Schylge'') is a Municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality and an island in the northern Netherlands, one of the West Frisian Islands. It is situated between the islands of Vlieland and Ameland.
...
. Poor weather caused the operation to be abandoned while the flying boat was still on its out-bound leg, but when it landed near ''Landrail'' 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 by ''Landrail'' and then by the leader to tow the flying boat back to Britain almost succeeded, but it collapsed and sank close to the British coast. 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. On the night of 12/13 December 1916, ''Landrail'' was on patrol in the
Dover Strait
The Strait of Dover or Dover Strait, historically known as the Dover Narrows, is the strait at the narrowest part of the English Channel, marking the boundary between the Channel and the North Sea, and separating Great Britain from continental ...
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 submarine was sunk.
1917–1918
On the night of 25 February 1917 the Germans launched a major raid by Flanders-based torpedo boats against
Allied
An alliance is a relationship among people, groups, or states that have joined together for mutual benefit or to achieve some common purpose, whether or not an explicit agreement has been worked out among them. Members of an alliance are calle ...
defences and shipping in the Channel. One group of five torpedo boats were to operate against shipping near the
North Foreland
North Foreland is a chalk headland on the Kent coast of southeast England, specifically in Broadstairs.
With the rest of Broadstairs and part of Ramsgate it is the eastern side of Kent's largest peninsula, the Isle of Thanet. It presents a b ...
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 the
River Maas
The Meuse or Maas is a major European river, rising in France and flowing through Belgium and the Netherlands before draining into the North Sea from the Rhine–Meuse–Scheldt delta. It has a total length of .
History
From 1301, the upper ...
. ''Landrail'' was one of five destroyers patrolling the Barrage. The attack on the Dover Barrage withdrew after a confrontation with the British destroyer , while the attack on the Downs carried out a brief bombardment of the North Foreland and
Margate
Margate is a seaside resort, seaside town in the Thanet District of Kent, England. It is located on the north coast of Kent and covers an area of long, north-east of Canterbury and includes Cliftonville, Garlinge, Palm Bay, UK, Palm Bay and W ...
before withdrawing, hitting a house and killing three civilians but doing little other damage.
''Landrail'' was still listed as a member of the Harwich Force at the start of March 1917, but joined the
Dover Patrol
The Dover Patrol and later known as the Dover Patrol Force was a Royal Navy command of the First World War, notable for its involvement in the Zeebrugge Raid on 22 April 1918. The Dover Patrol formed a discrete unit of the Royal Navy based at Dov ...
on 15 March.
On 22 May the Dover Patrol carried out a bombardment of the German held Belgian port of
Zeebrugge
Zeebrugge (; from , meaning "Bruges-on-Sea"; , ) is a village on the coast of Belgium and a subdivision of Bruges, for which it is the modern port. Zeebrugge serves as both the international port of Bruges-Zeebrugge and a seafront resort with ...
, using the
monitors
Monitor or monitor may refer to:
Places
* Monitor, Alberta
* Monitor, Indiana, town in the United States
* Monitor, Kentucky
* Monitor, Oregon, unincorporated community in the United States
* Monitor, Washington
* Monitor, Logan County, West ...
, and , with the hope of destroying the locks on the canal that linked Zeebrugge to
Bruges
Bruges ( , ; ; ) is the capital and largest city of the province of West Flanders, in the Flemish Region of Belgium. It is in the northwest of the country, and is the sixth most populous city in the country.
The area of the whole city amoun ...
. ''Landrail'' formed part of the escort force for the operation. The operation failed to hit the locks.
''Landrail''s stay at Dover was short, leaving on 31 May and joining the Portsmouth escort flotilla.
[ On 7 July 1917, ''Landrail'', together with the destroyers , and and the patrol boats , , and , was escorting convoy HH4 of five merchant ships up the Channel. The convoy was off ]Beachy Head
Beachy Head is a Chalk Group, chalk headland in East Sussex, England. It is situated close to Eastbourne, East Sussex, Eastbourne, immediately east of the Seven Sisters, Sussex, Seven Sisters.
Beachy Head is located within the administrative ar ...
when a torpedo, fired by the German submarine , hit ''Ettrick'', blowing the destroyer in two, with the forward part sinking quickly. The aft part of ''Ettrick'' was towed into Portsmouth by ''P25''. ''Landrail'' was part of the First Destroyer Flotilla
The 1st Destroyer Flotilla, also styled as the First Destroyer Flotilla, was a naval formation of the British Royal Navy from 1909 to 1940 and again from 1947 to 1951.
History
Pre-war history
In May 1906, the First Destroyer Flotilla was at ...
at Portsmouth in July 1917.
''Landrail'' remained part of the First Flotilla at the start of January 1918, but by February had moved to the Firth of Forth
The Firth of Forth () is a firth in Scotland, an inlet of the North Sea that separates Fife to its north and Lothian to its south. Further inland, it becomes the estuary of the River Forth and several other rivers.
Name
''Firth'' is a cognate ...
, joining the Methil Convoy Flotilla.
Disposal
''Landrail'' was sold for scrap
Scrap consists of recyclable materials, usually metals, left over from product manufacturing and consumption, such as parts of vehicles, building supplies, and surplus materials. Unlike waste, scrap can have monetary value, especially recover ...
to the shipbreakers Stanlee of Dover on 1 December 1921.
Pennant numbers
Notes
Citations
References
* · (see als
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External links
Battle of Jutland Crew Lists Project - HMS Landrail Crew List
{{DEFAULTSORT:Landrail (1914)
Laforey-class destroyers
1914 ships
Ships built on the River Clyde