:HMS Raleigh (1919)

File:Hawkins class cruiser diagrams Brasseys 1923.jpg 1923]]

The Hawkins-class cruisers were designed to be able to hunt down commerce raiders in the open ocean, for which they needed a heavy armament, high speed and long range.Raven & Roberts, p. 51 The ships had an overall length of {{convert|605|ft|m|1}}, a beam of {{convert|65|ft|m|1}} and a draught of {{convert|19|ft|3|in|m|1}} at deep load. They displaced {{convert|9750|LT|t|lk=on}} at normal load and {{convert|12190|LT|t}} at deep load. Their crew consisted of 712 officers and ratings.Preston, p. 63

The ships were originally designed with {{convert|60000|shp|lk=on|adj=on}} propulsion machinery, but the Admiralty decided in 1917 to replace their four coal-fired boilers with more powerful oil-burning ones. This change could only be applied to the three least-advanced ships, including Raleigh, although she was the only one who received the full upgrade. The ship was powered by four Brown-Curtis geared steam turbine sets, each driving one propeller shaft using steam provided by a dozen Yarrow boilers. The turbines were rated at {{cvt|70000|shp}} for a speed of {{convert|31|kn|lk=in}}.Friedman, p. 69; Raven & Roberts, pp. 52–53 When Raleigh ran her sea trials in 1920, she reached, but did not exceed, her designed speed. Raleigh carried enough fuel oil to give her a range of {{convert|5640|nmi|lk=in}} at {{convert|10|kn}}.Friedman, p. 390

The main armament of the Hawkins-class ships consisted of seven BL 7.5 inch Mk VI naval gun in single mounts protected by {{convert|1|in|adj=on|0}} gun shields. They were arranged with five guns on the centreline, four of which were in superfiring pairs fore and aft of the superstructure, the fifth gun on the quarterdeck, and the last two as wing guns abreast the aft funnel. Their secondary armament consisted of ten QF 3-inch 20 cwt."Cwt" is the abbreviation for hundredweight, 20 cwt referring to the weight of the gun. Six of these were in low-angle mounts, two in casemates between the forward 7.5-inch guns, another pair on platforms abreast the conning tower and the remaining guns on a platform between the funnels, although these last two guns were removed in 1921. The last four served as anti-aircraft (AA) guns and were positioned around the base of the mainmast. The rest of their anti-aircraft suite consisted of a pair of QF 2 pounder naval gun#QF 2-pounder Mark II AA guns. The ships were also fitted with six 21-inch (533 mm) torpedo tubes, one submerged and two above water on each broadside.Friedman, pp. 66–67; Raven & Roberts, p. 404

The guns of the first three Hawkins-class ships to be completed, {{HMS|Vindictive|1918|2}}, {{HMS|Hawkins|D86|2}} and Raleigh, were controlled by a mechanical Mark I Dreyer Fire-control Table. It used data provided by the {{convert|15|ft|m|adj=on|1}} coincidence rangefinder in the pedestal-type gunnery director positioned under the spotting top at the head of the tripod mast. The ships were also fitted with one {{convert|12|ft|m|adj=on|1}} and a {{convert|9|ft|m|adj=on|1}} rangefinder.Raven & Roberts, p. 405

The Hawkins class were protected by a full-length waterline armoured belt that covered most of the ships' sides. It was thickest over the boiler and engine rooms, ranging from {{convert|1.5|to|3|in|mm|0}} thick. Their magazines were protected by an additional {{convert|0.5|to|1|in|}} of armour. There was a 1-inch aft transverse bulkhead and the conning tower was protected by 3-inch armour plates. The ships' deck protection consisted of 1 to 1.5 inches of high-tensile steel.Raven & Roberts, p. 404

Raleigh was named for the Elizabethan explorer and statesman Sir Walter RaleighSmith, p. 177 and was the sixth ship of her name to serve in the Royal Navy.Colledge & Warlow, p. 286 The ship was laid down by William Beardmore & Company at their shipyard in Dalmuir on 9 December 1915, launched on 28 August 1919 and completed in July 1921.Morris, p. 170 Captain Arthur Bromley was appointed in command on 14 February 1920. Raleigh was intended to serve as the flagship of Vice-Admiral Trevylyan Napier, Commander-in-Chief of the North America and West Indies Station (which was to become the America and West Indies Station, with the addition of South American waters and the absorption of the Pacific Station in 1926), and departed on 26 July, bound for her new base, the Royal Naval Dockyard in the Imperial fortress colony of Bermuda, to rendezvous with the admiral, but he died on 30 July.Smith, pp. 178, 180

Sir William Pakenham, the new commander of the America and West Indies Station, hoisted his flag aboard the ship on 12 August and she departed for Montreal, Quebec, on 1 September. Two months later, Raleigh returned to Bermuda and then visited Jamaica. She passed through the Panama Canal in January 1922 and continued northwards to drop anchor in San Francisco, California, on the 21st. The ship returned to the Bermuda the following month and then visited ports around Chesapeake Bay, including Washington, D.C. in May. Two months later, Raleigh returned to Canada where the general public toured the ship. On 3 August, Pakenham transferred his flag to the light cruiser {{HMS|Calcutta|D82|6}} and Raleigh became a private ship.Smith, pp. 178–179

On 8 August Raleigh was bound for Forteau, Labrador, from Hawke's Bay, Newfoundland, and she entered a heavy fog in the Strait of Belle Isle en route. The ship ran aground at L'Anse Amour, Labrador, that afternoon, 15 minutes after entering the fog. She did not strike with much force, but the strong wind quickly blew her stern onto the rocks, which pounded multiple holes in the hull and gave her an eight-degree list. A dozen sailors died from drowning and hypothermia as the crew abandoned ship. Many men were able to find shelter ashore while the others lit fires to stay warm.Smith, pp. 180–182

File:August 1922 - HMS Raleigh aground at Point Amour Labrador.jpg

They returned to the ship the following morning to evaluate the ship's condition and to recover personal belongings, only to find a {{convert|260|ft|m|adj=mid|-long}} gash in the hull and most personal items ruined by leaking fuel oil. The light cruisers {{HMS|Capetown|D88|2}} and Calcutta arrived later that day and fed the crewmen. In the bad weather little could be done immediately and many of the survivors were marched to Forteau to be transported back to Britain. The {{GRT|18481|disp=adj}} Canadian ocean liner RMS Empress of France arrived on 10 August to load the crewmen, but her captain refused to do so as he did not have enough provisions for all the men. They had to wait several more days before the brand-new 16,402 GRT ocean liner {{SS|Montrose|1922|6}} arrived. Several hundred men were kept back to salvage Raleigh and to protect the wreck from locals intent on the same task. It was stripped of everything useful and the wreck was abandoned in place, still upright. Shortly after their return to the UK, Bromley and his navigator were both court martialled and found negligent in their duty; they were severely reprimanded and dismissed their ship. Their careers over, both men requested retirement.Smith, pp. 184–186, 191

Embarrassed by the sight of the apparently intact Raleigh visible to every passing ship, the Board of Admiralty deemed the wreck a hazard to shipping in 1926 and ordered it to be refloated. A survey found that this was impossible and the captains of Capetown and Calcutta were ordered to remove as much as possible from the wreck and then demolish the remains so that it was unrecognizable. The crew of the former ship carried out the first task and the latter's crew blew Raleigh{{'}}s remains apart using depth charges under the command of Captain Andrew Cunningham over five days beginning on 23 September.Smith, pp. 191–192{{cite web |last1=Gallant |first1=Jeffrey |title=Royal Eyesore in Labrador |url=https://divingalmanac.com/hms-raleigh/ |website=Diving Almanac Book of Records |access-date=26 May 2019 |archive-date=26 April 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190426130547/https://divingalmanac.com/hms-raleigh/ |url-status=dead }}{{refn|There is much confusion as to when the ship was demolished. Naval historian M. J. Whitley states that Raleigh was blown up in July 1928, although naval historian Antony Preston says that it was in 1927.Whitley, p. 80|group=Note}}

Cunningham's men made no effort to recover the pieces of the ship and remains are still plentiful. Royal Canadian Navy dive teams were forced to visit the site in 2003 and 2005 to remove live 7.5-inch ammunition, although there were reports of shells still visible as of 2016.Smith, pp. 192–193

{{reflist|group=Note}}

{{reflist|30em}}

• {{Cite Colledge2006}}
• {{cite book|last=Friedman|first=Norman|title=British Cruisers: Two World Wars and After|year=2010|publisher=Seaforth Publishing|location=Barnsley, UK|isbn=978-1-59114-078-8 |author-link=Norman Friedman}}
• {{cite book |last1=Morris |first1=Douglas |title=Cruisers of the Royal and Commonwealth Navies Since 1879 |date=1987 |publisher=Maritime Books |location=Liskeard, UK |isbn=0-907771-35-1}}
• {{cite book|editor1-last=Gray|editor1-first=Randal|title=Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships 1906–1921 |year=1985 |location=Annapolis, Maryland|publisher=Naval Institute Press |isbn=0-85177-245-5 |name-list-style=amp |chapter=Great Britain and Empire Forces|first1=Antony|last1=Preston|author-link=Antony Preston|pages=1–104}}
• {{cite book|last=Raven|first=Alan|author2=Roberts, John|title=British Cruisers of World War Two|publisher=Naval Institute Press|location=Annapolis, Maryland|year=1980|isbn=0-87021-922-7 |name-list-style=amp}}
• {{cite book |last1=Smith |first1=Peter C. |title=Sailors on the Rocks: Famous Royal Navy Shipwrecks |date=2015|publisher=Pen & Sword Maritime|location=Barnsley, UK |isbn=978-1-78340-062-1|author-link=Peter C. Smith}}
• {{cite book|last=Whitley|first=M. J.|title=Cruisers of World War Two: An International Encyclopedia |publisher=Cassell |location=London|year=1995|isbn=1-86019-874-0|author-link=Michael J. Whitley}}

{{Commons category|HMS Raleigh (1919)}}

• Extract from the diary of Vice Admiral Sir Stephen Carlill, KBE, CB, DSO [https://web.archive.org/web/20171002022023/http://www.naval-review.com/issues/1980s/1982-3.pdf "The Wreck of HMS Raleigh"], Naval Review, 1982.
• {{cite book|first=Richard |last=Rohmer |title='Raleigh' on the Rocks: The Shipwreck of HMS 'Raleigh' |location=St. John's |publisher=Creative Publishing |date=2003 |isbn=978-1-894294-46-1 |url=https://archive.org/details/raleighonrocksca0000rohm |url-access=registration}}
• [http://www.royalnavyresearcharchive.org.uk/Loss_of_RALEIGH.htm The Diary of Petty Officer Ernest Arthur Cobb]

{{Cavendish class cruiser}}

{{1922 shipwrecks}}

{{1926 shipwrecks}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Raleigh (1919)}}

Category:Hawkins-class cruisers

Category:Ships built on the River Clyde

Category:1919 ships

Category:Maritime incidents in 1922

Category:Maritime incidents in 1926

Category:Shipwrecks of the Newfoundland and Labrador coast