HMS Triad (N88)
{{short description|Ship of the Royal Navy}}
{{other ships|HMS Triad}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=May 2025}}
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{{Infobox ship image |Ship image= HMS Triad N88.jpg |Ship caption= HMS Triad shortly after entering naval service }} {{Infobox ship career |Hide header= |Ship country=United Kingdom |Ship flag={{shipboxflag|United Kingdom|naval}} |Ship name=HMS Triad |Ship namesake= |Ship ordered= |Ship awarded= |Ship builder=Caledon Shipbuilding and Engineering Co. |Ship original cost= |Ship yard number= |Ship way number= |Ship laid down= |Ship launched=9 November 1908 |Ship sponsor= |Ship christened= |Ship completed= |Ship commissioned= |Ship recommissioned= |Ship decommissioned= |Ship maiden voyage= |Ship in service=August 1914 |Ship out of service=May 1933 |Ship renamed= |Ship reclassified= |Ship refit= |Ship struck= |Ship reinstated= |Ship homeport= |Ship identification=Pennant number N88{{cite web |title=AUXILIARY PATROL VESSELS, Part 1, Yachts to Trawlers |url=https://www.naval-history.net/WW1NavyBritishShips-Dittmar4AP.htm |website=Naval History |access-date=1 May 2025}} |Ship motto= |Ship nickname= |Ship honours= |Ship fate=Sold out of the navy |Ship notes= |Ship badge= }} {{Infobox ship characteristics |Hide header= |Header caption= |Ship class=Hired yacht |Ship tonnage=*{{GRT|1,212}}
|Ship length={{convert|250|ft|m|abbr=on}} |Ship beam={{convert|35|ft|6|in|m|abbr=on}} |Ship draught= |Ship depth= |Ship power= |Ship propulsion=*Two shafts
|Ship speed= |Ship range= |Ship endurance= |Ship test depth= |Ship complement= |Ship time to activate= |Ship sensors= |Ship EW= |Ship armament=2 × 12-pounder naval guns |Ship armour= |Ship aircraft= |Ship aircraft facilities= |Ship notes= }} |
HMS Triad was a private yacht that was hired into the service of the Royal Navy during World War I, and later became the headquarters ship of the British navy in the Persian Gulf.
Private yacht
Triad R.Y.S. was built by Caledon Shipbuilding and Engineering Co. in Dundee for G.A. Shenley Esq. from Warsash, Southampton and designed to be reminiscent of Edwardian ocean greyhounds.{{cite web |title=A fine and detailed builder's model of the twin screw steam yacht 'Triad' R.Y.S. |url=https://www.christies.com/en/lot/lot-583512 |website=Christie's |access-date=1 May 2025}} She was launched on 9 November 1908 and completed in June 1909.{{cite web |title=Triad |url=https://www.clydeships.co.uk/view.php?year_built=&builder=&ref=50555&vessel=TRIAD |website=clydeships.co.uk |access-date=1 May 2025}} Shenley only kept her for three years before selling her to Richard Grech, who, in the summer of 1914, was yachting in the Eastern Mediterranean when the first world war was declared. Grech promptly made his way to the nearest friendly port and offered Triad to authorities for use as an auxiliary patrol vessel.
Service
=World War I=
Due to her size, {{convert|250|ft}} in length, and speed, powered by two custom-built Caledon triple expansion engines, the Admiralty did not hesitate at the offer and armed the now HMS Triad with two 12-pounder guns. She would be used during the Gallipoli offensive during the first landings, transporting Australian forces from British Egypt to the front, as well as medically evacuating the wounded.{{cite web |title=06 September 1915 |url=https://www.gallipoli-association.org/on-this-day/september/06/ |website=gallipoli-association.org |access-date=1 May 2025}}
The admiral of the Gallipoli naval force, John de Robeck, saw the battleship {{HMS|Triumph|1903|6}} sunk by the German submarine {{SMU|U-21|Germany|2}}, with de Robeck ordering the fleet to disperse, but still needing to be near the front, chose to transfer his headquarters to HMS Triad. de Robeck so liked Triad due to her ability to steam close inshore, out of submarine sight, that he kept her as his flagship after Gallipoli. In this capacity she saw further service in the Aegean Sea before being transferred to the Persian Gulf near the end of the war.
=Post-war=
At the end of the war, instead of transferring Triad back to Grech, as had been done to most other hired yachts, the Admiralty decided to retain her, and compensated Grech in 1919. On 8 December 1919, Triad collided with {{HMS|Lucia}}.{{cite web |title=HMS 'Triad' and launch of HMS 'Lucia' collision on a date prior to 8th December 1919, 1920 |url=https://archive.ukho.gov.uk/records/HD/1920/1143 |website=archive.ukho.gov.uk |access-date=1 May 2025}}
On 1 January 1920, she became a Special Service Vessel and served as the headquarters ship for the Royal Navy in the Persian Gulf,{{cite web |title=GEORGE PARKER BEVAN |url=https://www.cwgc.org/find-records/find-war-dead/casualty-details/428618/george-parker-bevan/?afd_azwaf_tok=eyJhbGciOiJSUzI1NiJ9.eyJhdWQiOiJ3d3cuY3dnYy5vcmciLCJleHAiOjE3NDYxMDY4NDAsImlhdCI6MTc0NjEwNjgzMCwiaXNzIjoidGllcjEtNWQ2NGQ5YzljZi16YjZiNCIsInN1YiI6IjE2Mi4yMjMuMTYuMjQ5IiwiZGF0YSI6eyJ0eXBlIjoiaXNzdWVkIiwicmVmIjoiMjAyNTA1MDFUMTM0MDMwWi0xNWQ2NGQ5YzljZnpiNmI0aEMxRVdSNno2bjAwMDAwMDAyYmcwMDAwMDAwMDY1YjAiLCJiIjoid1BxVVpWOHh4TjlSU2IyeGMzcThycEFSdnl4bi1va1JKdDhKdWV2RjFxZyIsImgiOiJ4bjAyM2FBV2hucEl6N0VjWlIxOHVDSGhPajJScmEteVhkMllrOEo2VXEwIn19.kAutUzHaT2nxfAKQd7IHHl_Tfi_RqdXVmAKBUGNXjD2p764aJETi8eJH4ApNb-0RrlKeoNAkVs4P8bGt70WsuwBzu_fisasAHi8AJJ1nOg_Fljt5KcUPWsUtLHfpmJAfAqdFB6D5KT-UNSGxrakC7OMsolAip-yOWBDNrXjs2fr_53pNY5So2tvdKuFoUBYJCGJRy_Gw5Ft6p8RzDw4tyucyEVJOWYmgeZB9W3xGHq2DWdumXZ0HS8ZahkTVn4LGcvROFmyu2uN07XYF6JMWSZo3g1bpiceGqzsU9gFpfjH3J0NleFnZuQ78u4bfFqc8l4lE8kvr2wGfG1JGSbJ5IQ.WF3obl2IDtqgvMFRqVdYkD5s |website=cwgc.org |access-date=1 May 2025}} suffering a collision with {{SS|Bankura}} on 7 October 1920.{{cite web |title=HMS 'Triad' and SS 'Bankura' collision at Basra on 7th October 1920, 1920 |url=https://archive.ukho.gov.uk/records/HD/1920/1839 |access-date=1 May 2025 |website=archive.ukho.gov.uk}}
Triad became involved in the settlement of a number of disputes in the Trucial States, including the imbroglio following the invasion of Ajman by the sheikh of the neighbouring town of Al Heera, Abdulrahman bin Muhammad Al Shamsi, in December 1920. Triad was ultimately sold out of Royal Navy service at Bombay in May 1933. She was replaced as the Persian Gulf headquarters ship by {{HMS|Shoreham|L32|6}}.{{cite web |title=Triad |url=https://www.shipsnostalgia.com/media/hms-triad.447359/ |website=shipsnostalgia.com |access-date=1 May 2025}}
Legacy
On 2 November 1995, a model of Triad was sold at auction by Christie's for 20,250 GBP.