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HMS Adventure (M23)
Encyclopedia
HMS Adventure, pennant number
M23, was a minelaying
cruiser
of the Royal Navy
built in the 1920s that saw service during the Second World War
. Her commander between 1928 and 1929 was the future First Sea Lord
John H. D. Cunningham.
Laid down at Devonport in November 1922 and launched in June 1924, Adventure was the first vessel built for service as a minelayer, she was also the first warship to use diesel engines, being used for cruising.
On entering the service she joined the Atlantic Fleet. From 1931-1932, she underwent a refit. During this refit she received a rounded stern in place of the original square one.
In the early months of the Second World War, she was damaged in the Thames Estuary
and was repaired at Sheerness
.
In 1940, she laid minefields in the Orkney Islands
and St. George's Channel and in 1941 was damaged by a mine while off Liverpool
.
In 1944, she was converted to a landing craft
repair and accommodation ship; in 1945 was reduced to reserve; and in 1947 was sold to T W Ward Ltd. and broken up at Briton Ferry
.
Adventure was adopted by the City of Plymouth.
veteran Princess Margaret, and her design was dictated by a requirement for a large mine capacity and a good cruising range. The mineload was to be carried completely internally, dictating a long, tall hull, and there were four sets of rails running the length of the hull to chutes at the stern. She was built with a transom, or flat, stern, to improve cruising efficiency, but the dead water caused by such a form meant that mines tended to be sucked back into the hull when they were launched; an obviously dangerous situation for a minelayer. As a result she was rebuilt with a traditional cruiser, or rounded, stern
, increasing the length by 19 ft (5.8 m).
Propulsion was by plant as installed in the C-class cruiser
s, but to increase cruising efficiency a novel diesel-electric plant was trialled, the propellers being driven by either set of machinery through gearboxes. The diesel-electric plant was removed by 1941, along with the small diesel exhaust that had been trunked up the second funnel. Adventures high topweight resulting from the mineload carried high up in her hull meant that typical cruiser type armament could not be fitted. Instead, four QF 4.7 in (120 mm) guns on high-angle mounts were carried in 'A', 'Q', 'X' and 'Y' positions, in hindsight a more useful arrangement. The anti-aircraft armament was completed by a single octuple multiple pom-pom in 'B' position (not fitted until the late 1930s) and a pair of quadruple 0.5 in (12.7 mm) Vickers machine gun
s.
By 1941, she had been fitted with Radar Type 291 air warning at the masthead, Radar Type 285 on the high-angle HACS
Director Control Tower on the foremast spotting top and Radar Type 272 centimetric target indication on the foremast, below the spotting top. By 1944, nine 20 mm Oerlikon guns had been added, two of which had replaced the useless Vickers machine gun
s. Adventure was converted to a repair ship for landing craft
for the Normandy landings.
Pennant number
In the modern Royal Navy, and other navies of Europe and the Commonwealth, ships are identified by pennant numbers...
M23, was a minelaying
Minelayer
Minelaying is the act of deploying explosive mines. Historically this has been carried out by ships, submarines and aircraft. Additionally, since World War I the term minelayer refers specifically to a naval ship used for deploying naval mines...
cruiser
Cruiser
A cruiser is a type of warship. The term has been in use for several hundreds of years, and has had different meanings throughout this period...
of the Royal Navy
Royal Navy
The Royal Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Founded in the 16th century, it is the oldest service branch and is known as the Senior Service...
built in the 1920s that saw service during the Second World War
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
. Her commander between 1928 and 1929 was the future First Sea Lord
First Sea Lord
The First Sea Lord is the professional head of the Royal Navy and the whole Naval Service; it was formerly known as First Naval Lord. He also holds the title of Chief of Naval Staff, and is known by the abbreviations 1SL/CNS...
John H. D. Cunningham.
Laid down at Devonport in November 1922 and launched in June 1924, Adventure was the first vessel built for service as a minelayer, she was also the first warship to use diesel engines, being used for cruising.
On entering the service she joined the Atlantic Fleet. From 1931-1932, she underwent a refit. During this refit she received a rounded stern in place of the original square one.
In the early months of the Second World War, she was damaged in the Thames Estuary
Thames Estuary
The Thames Mouth is the estuary in which the River Thames meets the waters of the North Sea.It is not easy to define the limits of the estuary, although physically the head of Sea Reach, near Canvey Island on the Essex shore is probably the western boundary...
and was repaired at Sheerness
Sheerness
Sheerness is a town located beside the mouth of the River Medway on the northwest corner of the Isle of Sheppey in north Kent, England. With a population of 12,000 it is the largest town on the island....
.
In 1940, she laid minefields in the Orkney Islands
Orkney Islands
Orkney also known as the Orkney Islands , is an archipelago in northern Scotland, situated north of the coast of Caithness...
and St. George's Channel and in 1941 was damaged by a mine while off Liverpool
Liverpool
Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough of Merseyside, England, along the eastern side of the Mersey Estuary. It was founded as a borough in 1207 and was granted city status in 1880...
.
In 1944, she was converted to a landing craft
Landing craft
Landing craft are boats and seagoing vessels used to convey a landing force from the sea to the shore during an amphibious assault. Most renowned are those used to storm the beaches of Normandy, the Mediterranean, and many Pacific islands during WWII...
repair and accommodation ship; in 1945 was reduced to reserve; and in 1947 was sold to T W Ward Ltd. and broken up at Briton Ferry
Briton Ferry
Briton Ferry is a town and community in the county borough of Neath Port Talbot, Wales. The town encompasses the electoral wards of Briton Ferry East and Briton Ferry West....
.
Adventure was adopted by the City of Plymouth.
Design
Adventure was built to replace the converted First World WarWorld War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
veteran Princess Margaret, and her design was dictated by a requirement for a large mine capacity and a good cruising range. The mineload was to be carried completely internally, dictating a long, tall hull, and there were four sets of rails running the length of the hull to chutes at the stern. She was built with a transom, or flat, stern, to improve cruising efficiency, but the dead water caused by such a form meant that mines tended to be sucked back into the hull when they were launched; an obviously dangerous situation for a minelayer. As a result she was rebuilt with a traditional cruiser, or rounded, stern
Stern
The stern is the rear or aft-most part of a ship or boat, technically defined as the area built up over the sternpost, extending upwards from the counter rail to the taffrail. The stern lies opposite of the bow, the foremost part of a ship. Originally, the term only referred to the aft port section...
, increasing the length by 19 ft (5.8 m).
Propulsion was by plant as installed in the C-class cruiser
C class cruiser
The C class was a group of twenty-eight light cruisers of the Royal Navy, and were built in a sequence of seven classes known as the Caroline , Calliope , Cambrian , Centaur , Caledon , Ceres and Carlisle classes...
s, but to increase cruising efficiency a novel diesel-electric plant was trialled, the propellers being driven by either set of machinery through gearboxes. The diesel-electric plant was removed by 1941, along with the small diesel exhaust that had been trunked up the second funnel. Adventures high topweight resulting from the mineload carried high up in her hull meant that typical cruiser type armament could not be fitted. Instead, four QF 4.7 in (120 mm) guns on high-angle mounts were carried in 'A', 'Q', 'X' and 'Y' positions, in hindsight a more useful arrangement. The anti-aircraft armament was completed by a single octuple multiple pom-pom in 'B' position (not fitted until the late 1930s) and a pair of quadruple 0.5 in (12.7 mm) Vickers machine gun
Vickers machine gun
Not to be confused with the Vickers light machine gunThe Vickers machine gun or Vickers gun is a name primarily used to refer to the water-cooled .303 inch machine gun produced by Vickers Limited, originally for the British Army...
s.
By 1941, she had been fitted with Radar Type 291 air warning at the masthead, Radar Type 285 on the high-angle HACS
HACS
HACS, an acronym of High Angle Control System, was a British anti-aircraft fire-control system employed by the Royal Navy from 1931 onwards and used widely during World War II...
Director Control Tower on the foremast spotting top and Radar Type 272 centimetric target indication on the foremast, below the spotting top. By 1944, nine 20 mm Oerlikon guns had been added, two of which had replaced the useless Vickers machine gun
Vickers machine gun
Not to be confused with the Vickers light machine gunThe Vickers machine gun or Vickers gun is a name primarily used to refer to the water-cooled .303 inch machine gun produced by Vickers Limited, originally for the British Army...
s. Adventure was converted to a repair ship for landing craft
Landing craft
Landing craft are boats and seagoing vessels used to convey a landing force from the sea to the shore during an amphibious assault. Most renowned are those used to storm the beaches of Normandy, the Mediterranean, and many Pacific islands during WWII...
for the Normandy landings.