HMS Raven II
Encyclopedia
HMS Raven II was a seaplane carrier 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...
used during World War I
World 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...
. Converted from the captured German freighter Rabenfels, the ship's aircraft conducted aerial reconnaissance
Aerial reconnaissance
Aerial reconnaissance is reconnaissance that is conducted using unmanned aerial vehicles or reconnaissance aircraft. Their roles are to collect imagery intelligence, signals intelligence and measurement and signature intelligence...
, observation and bombing missions in the Eastern Mediterranean and Red Sea
Red Sea
The Red Sea is a seawater inlet of the Indian Ocean, lying between Africa and Asia. The connection to the ocean is in the south through the Bab el Mandeb strait and the Gulf of Aden. In the north, there is the Sinai Peninsula, the Gulf of Aqaba, and the Gulf of Suez...
during 1915–17 even though the ship was not commissioned
Ship commissioning
Ship commissioning is the act or ceremony of placing a ship in active service, and may be regarded as a particular application of the general concepts and practices of project commissioning. The term is most commonly applied to the placing of a warship in active duty with its country's military...
into the Royal Navy until mid-1915. She fruitlessly searched the Indian Ocean
Indian Ocean
The Indian Ocean is the third largest of the world's oceanic divisions, covering approximately 20% of the water on the Earth's surface. It is bounded on the north by the Indian Subcontinent and Arabian Peninsula ; on the west by eastern Africa; on the east by Indochina, the Sunda Islands, and...
for the German commerce raider in mid-1917. Raven II was decommissioned
Ship decommissioning
To decommission a ship is to terminate her career in service in the armed forces of her nation. A somber occasion, it has little of the elaborate ceremony of ship commissioning, but carries significant tradition....
in late 1917 and became a Merchant Navy
Merchant Navy
The Merchant Navy is the maritime register of the United Kingdom, and describes the seagoing commercial interests of UK-registered ships and their crews. Merchant Navy vessels fly the Red Ensign and are regulated by the Maritime and Coastguard Agency...
collier for the last year of the war. She was sold off in 1923 and had a succession of owners and names until she was sunk during World War II
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...
while under Japanese ownership.
Description
Raven II was 394 in 5 in (120.22 m) long, had a beamBeam (nautical)
The beam of a ship is its width at the widest point. Generally speaking, the wider the beam of a ship , the more initial stability it has, at expense of reserve stability in the event of a capsize, where more energy is required to right the vessel from its inverted position...
of 51 in 6 in (15.7 m), and a draught
Draft (hull)
The draft of a ship's hull is the vertical distance between the waterline and the bottom of the hull , with the thickness of the hull included; in the case of not being included the draft outline would be obtained...
of 27 in 6 in (8.38 m). She was rated at 4,706 GRT
Gross Register Tonnage
Gross register tonnage a ship's total internal volume expressed in "register tons", one of which equals to a volume of . It is calculated from the total permanently enclosed capacity of the vessel. The ship's net register tonnage is obtained by reducing the volume of non-revenue-earning spaces i.e...
. The ship had one propeller shaft powered by one quadruple-expansion steam engine that used steam generated by an unknown number of coal-fired boiler
Boiler (steam generator)
A boiler or steam generator is a device used to create steam by applying heat energy to water. Although the definitions are somewhat flexible, it can be said that older steam generators were commonly termed boilers and worked at low to medium pressure but, at pressures above this, it is more...
s. Raven II had a maximum speed of 10 knots (5.4 m/s).
Career
The German freighter SS Rabenfels was built by Swan Hunter & Wigham Richardson and completed in December 1903. On the outbreak of war in August 1914, she was seized by the British authorities whilst in Port SaidPort Said
Port Said is a city that lies in north east Egypt extending about 30 km along the coast of the Mediterranean Sea, north of the Suez Canal, with an approximate population of 603,787...
, Egypt
Egypt
Egypt , officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, Arabic: , is a country mainly in North Africa, with the Sinai Peninsula forming a land bridge in Southwest Asia. Egypt is thus a transcontinental country, and a major power in Africa, the Mediterranean Basin, the Middle East and the Muslim world...
and was requisitioned for service under the Red Ensign
Red Ensign
The Red Ensign or "Red Duster" is a flag that originated in the early 17th century as a British ensign flown by the Royal Navy and later specifically by British merchantmen. The precise date of its first appearance is not known, but surviving receipts indicate that the Navy was paying to have such...
in January 1915 to operate seaplanes. No special modifications were made to the ship; the aircraft were stowed on the aft hatch covers and handled with her cargo booms. Aenne Rickmers operated two French Nieuport
Nieuport
Nieuport, later Nieuport-Delage, was a French aeroplane company that primarily built racing aircraft before World War I and fighter aircraft during World War I and between the wars.-Beginnings:...
floatplane
Floatplane
A floatplane is a type of seaplane, with slender pontoons mounted under the fuselage; only the floats of a floatplane normally come into contact with water, with the fuselage remaining above water...
s that had been off-loaded by the ; they were flown by French pilots with British observers. Later, the ship operated included British Short Type 184
Short Type 184
|-Manufacturers:Source: Barnes and James#Brush Electrical Engineering Co. Ltd. #Frederick Sage & Co. Ltd. #J. Samuel White #Mann, Egerton & Co. Ltd. #Phoenix Dynamo Manufacturing Company #Robey & Co. Ltd. #S E Saunders Limited...
, Sopwith Schneider, Sopwith Baby
Sopwith Baby
-See also:...
and Short Admiralty Type 827 floatplane
Floatplane
A floatplane is a type of seaplane, with slender pontoons mounted under the fuselage; only the floats of a floatplane normally come into contact with water, with the fuselage remaining above water...
s.
For the first two months of 1915, the ship and her aircraft supported Allied operations in Syria, Palestine and the Sinai Peninsula. Aside from reconnaissance duties, they delivered and recovered Allied spies as well as observed for ships performing coastal bombardments. Around 20 March, Rabenfels arrived in Mudros
Moudros
Moudros is a town and a former municipality on the island of Lemnos, North Aegean, Greece. Since the 2011 local government reform it is part of the municipality Lemnos, of which it is a municipal unit. It covers the entire eastern peninsula of the island, with a land area of 185.127 km²,...
to load the aircraft and crew of the damaged Aenne Rickmers
HMS Anne (1915)
HMS Anne was a seaplane carrier of the Royal Navy used during World War I. Converted from the captured German freighter Aenne Rickmers, the ship's two aircraft conducted aerial reconnaissance, observation and bombing missions in the Eastern Mediterranean and Red Sea during 1915–17 even though the...
(later HMS Anne). The ship was commissioned into the Royal Navy on 12 June 1915 and renamed HMS Raven II. On 17 August, both Anne and Raven II spotted for the French armoured cruiser as she bombarded Tarsus
Tarsus, Mersin
Tarsus is a historic city in south-central Turkey, 20 km inland from the Mediterranean Sea. It is part of the Adana-Mersin Metropolitan Area, the fourth-largest metropolitan area in Turkey with a population of 2.75 million...
. In January 1916, she was assigned to the East Indies and Egypt Seaplane Squadron together with the carriers , and Anne. The squadron was under the command of the General Officer Commanding
General Officer Commanding
General Officer Commanding is the usual title given in the armies of Commonwealth nations to a general officer who holds a command appointment. Thus, a general might be the GOC II Corps or GOC 7th Armoured Division...
, Egypt and its primary duty was to watch Turkish positions and movements in southern Palestine and the Sinai in early 1916.
At the end of March, Raven II was sent to the Red Sea to attack Turkish troops threatening Aden
Aden
Aden is a seaport city in Yemen, located by the eastern approach to the Red Sea , some 170 kilometres east of Bab-el-Mandeb. Its population is approximately 800,000. Aden's ancient, natural harbour lies in the crater of an extinct volcano which now forms a peninsula, joined to the mainland by a...
; she carried one two-seat Short floatplane and five Sopwith Schneiders for this operation. After a preliminary reconnaissance mission, on 2–3 April her aircraft dropped ninety-one 20 pounds (9.1 kg) bombs as well as leaflets urging the Arab auxiliaries to desert. The ship returned to the Syrian coast for patrols and was transferred to Kastellorizo in early July to conduct aerial reconnaissance
Aerial reconnaissance
Aerial reconnaissance is reconnaissance that is conducted using unmanned aerial vehicles or reconnaissance aircraft. Their roles are to collect imagery intelligence, signals intelligence and measurement and signature intelligence...
and bombing missions in that area. Raven II was transferred to the Gulf of Aquaba later that month to take aerial photographs of the head of gulf as well as the east coast of the Red Sea. Her aircraft observed for the monitor
Monitor (warship)
A monitor was a class of relatively small warship which was neither fast nor strongly armoured but carried disproportionately large guns. They were used by some navies from the 1860s until the end of World War II, and saw their final use by the United States Navy during the Vietnam War.The monitors...
as she bombarded an Turkish encampment in the Sinai. One aircraft was forced to land, but it was taken in tow by the monitor and delivered back to Raven II.
The East Indies and Egypt Squadron reassembled in late August with Raven II, Anne and Ben-my-Chree and the aircraft from the three carriers attacked the Turkish supply dump at El Afule for thirty minutes. The squadron then steamed south along the Palestinian coast where they encountered two Turkish supply dhows. One was sunk by the escorting while the other was captured. The squadron flew off seven aircraft that attacked an encampment at Bureir and a nearby railroad viaduct
Viaduct
A viaduct is a bridge composed of several small spans. The term viaduct is derived from the Latin via for road and ducere to lead something. However, the Ancient Romans did not use that term per se; it is a modern derivation from an analogy with aqueduct. Like the Roman aqueducts, many early...
. Raven II was then sent to the Adalia
Antalya
Antalya is a city on the Mediterranean coast of southwestern Turkey. With a population 1,001,318 as of 2010. It is the eighth most populous city in Turkey and country's biggest international sea resort.- History :...
area on the Turkish coast where her aircraft bombed a factory at Fineka and searched for U-boat bases On 1 September, the ship was in Port Said preparing for another sortie
Sortie
Sortie is a term for deployment or dispatch of one military unit, be it an aircraft, ship, or troops from a strongpoint. The sortie, whether by one or more aircraft or vessels, usually has a specific mission....
into the Red Sea when she was hit by a bomb dropped by a German aircraft (probably the first successful air attack on an aviation vessel). Although Raven II was only lightly damaged, Anne was sent in her place. Raven II relieved Anne on 26 October in the Red Sea and her aircraft bombed Turkish forces advancing on Rabigh
Rabigh
Rabigh is an ancient town on the western coast of Saudi Arabia . It is in Makkah Province. It used to be named "Al-Johfa" until the early years of the 17th century. In some ancient stories the town had been completely destroyed through a sea water...
and Yenbo on 10 December. Shortly afterwards, the ship was transferred back to the Eastern Mediterranean where her aircraft attacked a bridge over the Ceyhan River with one 65 pounds (29.5 kg) bomb and eight 16 pounds (7.3 kg) bombs on 27 December.
On 10 March 1917, Raven II and the sailed for the Indian Ocean to hunt for the German Q-ship
Q-ship
Q-ships, also known as Q-boats, Decoy Vessels, Special Service Ships, or Mystery Ships, were heavily armed merchant ships with concealed weaponry, designed to lure submarines into making surface attacks. This gave Q-ships the chance to open fire and sink them...
Wolf. For this mission she carried a Short Baby and two Short 184s. The two ships searched the Laccadive Islands en route to Colombo
Colombo
Colombo is the largest city of Sri Lanka. It is located on the west coast of the island and adjacent to Sri Jayawardenapura Kotte, the capital of Sri Lanka. Colombo is often referred to as the capital of the country, since Sri Jayawardenapura Kotte is a satellite city of Colombo...
, Ceylon, which they reached on 2 April. They then searched the Chagos Archipelago
Chagos Archipelago
The Chagos Archipelago , is a group of seven atolls comprising more than 60 individual tropical islands in the Indian Ocean; situated some due south of the Maldives archipelago. This chain of islands are the southernmost archipelago of the Chagos-Laccadive Ridge a long submarine mountain range...
and the Maldive Islands and returned to Colombo. Engine problems forced a Short 184 to make an emergency landing
Emergency landing
An emergency landing is a landing made by an aircraft in response to a crisis which either interferes with the operation of the aircraft or involves sudden medical emergencies necessitating diversion to the nearest airport.-Types of emergency landings:...
on 21 April in the Maldives; the crew rejoined the ship on 6 May after a series of adventures that inspired Rudyard Kipling
Rudyard Kipling
Joseph Rudyard Kipling was an English poet, short-story writer, and novelist chiefly remembered for his celebration of British imperialism, tales and poems of British soldiers in India, and his tales for children. Kipling received the 1907 Nobel Prize for Literature...
's story "A Flight of Fact". Raven II recovered the floatplane and its aircraft continued to fly search missions from Colombo until 21 May. She then joined a convoy bound for Egypt and arrived back in Port Said on 10 June. In early November, the ship's aircraft observed fire for a variety of ships during the Third Battle of Gaza
Third Battle of Gaza
The Third Battle of Gaza was fought in 1917 in southern Palestine during the First World War. The British Empire forces under the command of General Edmund Allenby successfully broke the Ottoman defensive Gaza-Beersheba line...
.