HMS Radiant (1916)

HMS Radiant was a Royal Navy and Royal Thai Navy R-class destroyer constructed and then operational in the First World War.^[1]

Royal Navy Service

She was built by John I. Thornycroft & Company at Woolston and launched 25 November 1916.^[2] HMS Radiant served with the Harwich Force. During a night escort of a convoy off the coast of Holland, she came to the rescue of the Harwich Force destroyers HMS Torrent, HMS Surprise and HMS Tornado after the destroyers ran into a German minefield. Torrent struck a mine, and when attempting a rescue, Surprise and Tornado also hit mines, resulting in the three destroyers being lost.^[3] Radiant picked up all survivors that could be found.^[4] This accounted for twelve officers and sailors, with the losses of 252 officers and men from the three destroyers.

Thai Navy Service

She was later sold back to Thornycroft on 21 June 1920, who then sold her on to the Royal Thai Navy in September 1920.^[5] She was renamed Phra Ruang. It is believed that in order to finance her acquisition King Rama VI and other senior figures donated personally to the finance fund, making this the first publication donation of money to procure a warship in Thailand.^[6] The Royal Prince Admiral Abhakara Kiartivongse went to England to negotiate the purchase personally and command the ship during its subsequent voyage from England to Thailand.^[6]

Because of her continued service in the Thai Navy, the destroyer was the last of the R class destroyers to survive, being stricken from the Thai Navy list in 1957.^[7] It is reported that she remained in use as a training hulk and as of 2000 was still afloat, but has since been moved ashore and encased in concrete at a shrine to Admiral Prince Abhakara Kiartivongse.^[8]

References

↑ "HMS Radiant". The Dreadnought Project. Retrieved 23 September 2016.
↑ "HMS Radiant". Royal Navy History. Retrieved 23 September 2016.
↑ "HMS Surprise". Clyde Maritime. Retrieved 23 September 2016.
↑ Pare, Andy. Call the Hands. Lodge Books, 2015, R Class Destroyer, p.126
↑ Dittmar; Colledge. British Warships 1914–1919, Ian Allen Publishing, 1972, p. 71.
1 2 "Thai Naval Force Development". Global Security. Retrieved 23 September 2016.
↑ "HMS Radiant". Harwich and DoverCourt. Retrieved 23 September 2016.
↑ "PHRA RUANG destroyer". Navypedia. Retrieved 23 September 2016.

R-class destroyers

Royal Navy

Admiralty R class	Romola Sarpedon Radstock Raider Sable Rowena Rocket Restless Setter Rob Roy Sorceress Starfish Rigorous Salmon / Sable Redoubt Simoon Stork Sylph Redgauntlet Recruit Satyr Thruster Skate Sturgeon Tempest Skilful Torrid Sharpshooter Thisbe Springbok Tarpon Sceptre Tetrarch Telemachus Tenacious Tormentor Tancred Tornado Torrent

Modified Admiralty R class	Trenchant Tristram Undine Ulysses Tower Tirade Urchin Umpire Ursa Ursula Ulster

Thornycroft R class	Rosalind Radiant Retriever Taurus Teazer

Yarrow R class or Yarrow Later M class	Sabrina Strongbow Surprise Sybille Truculent Tyrant Ulleswater

Royal Thai Navy

Thornycroft R class	Phra Ruang (ex-Radiant)

Preceded by: Admiralty M class
Followed by: Admiralty S class

List of destroyers of the Royal Navy

Coordinates: 10°23′54″N 99°16′45″E / 10.39833°N 99.27917°E / 10.39833; 99.27917

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