HMS ''Raider'' was a R-class destroyer built for 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 ...

during the Second World War.

Description

''Raider'' displaced at

standard Standard may refer to: Symbols * Colours, standards and guidons, kinds of military signs * Standard (emblem), a type of a large symbol or emblem used for identification Norms, conventions or requirements * Standard (metrology), an object ...

load and at

deep load The displacement or displacement tonnage of a ship is its weight. As the term indicates, it is measured indirectly, using Archimedes' principle, by first calculating the volume of water displaced by the ship, then converting that value into weig ...

. She had an

overall length The overall length (OAL) of an ammunition cartridge is a measurement from the base of the brass shell casing to the tip of the bullet, seated into the brass casing. Cartridge overall length, or "COL", is important to safe functioning of reloads i ...

of , a beam of and a deep draught of . She was powered by two Parsons geared

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, each driving one

propeller shaft A drive shaft, driveshaft, driving shaft, tailshaft (Australian English), propeller shaft (prop shaft), or Cardan shaft (after Girolamo Cardano) is a component for transmitting mechanical power, torque, and rotation, usually used to connect o ...

, using steam provided by two

Admiralty three-drum boiler Three-drum boilers are a class of water-tube boiler used to generate steam, typically to power Steamship, ships. They are compact and of high evaporative power, factors that encourage this use. Other boiler designs may be more efficient, although ...

s. The turbines developed a total of and gave a maximum speed of . ''Raider'' carried a maximum of of

fuel oil Fuel oil is any of various fractions obtained from the distillation of petroleum (crude oil). Such oils include distillates (the lighter fractions) and residues (the heavier fractions). Fuel oils include heavy fuel oil (bunker fuel), marine f ...

that gave her a range of at . Her complement was 176 officers and ratings. The ship was armed with four 45-

calibre In guns, particularly firearms, but not artillery, where a different definition may apply, caliber (or calibre; sometimes abbreviated as "cal") is the specified nominal internal diameter of the gun barrel bore – regardless of how or wher ...

4.7-inch (120 mm) Mark IX guns in single mounts. For

anti-aircraft Anti-aircraft warfare (AAW) is the counter to aerial warfare and includes "all measures designed to nullify or reduce the effectiveness of hostile air action".AAP-6 It encompasses surface-based, subsurface ( submarine-launched), and air-ba ...

(AA) defence, ''Raider'' had one quadruple mount for QF 2-pdr Mark VIII ("pom-pom") guns and six single Oerlikon

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, ...

. She was fitted with two quadruple mounts for torpedoes on the superstructure. Two

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 ...

rails and four throwers were fitted for which 70 depth charges were provided.

Construction and career

HMS ''Raider'' was adopted by

Romford Romford is a large List of places in London, town in east London, east London, England, located northeast of Charing Cross. Part of the London Borough of Havering, the town is one of the major Metropolitan centres of London, metropolitan centr ...

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 ...

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 ...

. She was launched on 1 April 1942 as the second

ship to carry the name, previously borne by a destroyer built in 1916 and sold in 1927.

Postwar service

''Raider'' was placed in Reserve at Devonport in January 1946 and was recommissioned for service in the Mediterranean on 6 May that year. The ship was extensively deployed for Plane Guard duties with aircraft carriers and took part in Fleet exercises. She returned to UK in August 1947 and reduced to Reserve status. She was subsequently sold to the

Indian Navy The Indian Navy (IN) (ISO 15919, ISO: ) is the Navy, maritime and Amphibious warfare, amphibious branch of the Indian Armed Forces. The President of India is the Supreme Commander of the Indian Navy. The Chief of the Naval Staff (India), Chief ...

in 1948, where she was commissioned in 1949 as INS ''Rana'' (D115). Along with two other former R-class destroyers (''Rajput'' and ''Ranjit'') she formed part of the 11th destroyer Squadron.Blackman, Raymond V B, Jane's Fighting Ships 1963-4, Sampson Low, Marston & Co. Ltd, London, p122 She was decommissioned in 1976, and scrapped in 1979.

References

Bibliography

* * * * * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Raider (H15) Q and R-class destroyers of the Royal Navy Ships built on the River Mersey 1942 ships World War II destroyers of the United Kingdom R-class destroyers of the Indian Navy