HMS Lawford (1913)
HMS Lawford was a Laforey-class destroyer of the British Royal Navy. The Laforey class (or L class) was the class of destroyers ordered under the Royal Navy's 1912–1913 construction programme, which were armed with three 4-inch (102 mm) guns and four torpedo tubes and were capable of 29 knots (54 km/h; 33 mph). The ship, which was originally to be named Ivanhoe but was renamed before launch, was built by the Scottish shipbuilder Fairfields between 1912 and 1914.
Lawford | |
| History | |
|---|---|
| United Kingdom | |
| Name | HMS Lawford |
| Ordered | 29 March 1912 |
| Builder | Fairfield Shipbuilding and Engineering Company |
| Laid down | 28 September 1912 |
| Launched | 30 October 1913 |
| Commissioned | March 1914 |
| Fate | Sold August 1922 |
| General characteristics | |
| Class and type | Laforey-class destroyer |
| Displacement | 965–1,300 long tons (980–1,321 t) |
| Length | 269 ft (82 m) |
| Beam | 26 ft 9 in (8.15 m) |
| Draught | 9 ft 6 in (2.90 m) |
| Installed power | 24,500 shp (18,300 kW) |
| Propulsion |
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| Speed | 29 kn (33 mph; 54 km/h) |
| Complement | 73 |
| Armament |
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Lawford was in service for the whole of the First World War. Initially she was part of the Harwich Force, operating in the North Sea and English Channel, and taking part in the Battle of Heligoland Bight in 1914 and the Battle of Dogger Bank in 1915. In September 1915, she transferred to the Mediterranean, taking part in the Gallipoli Campaign before returning to the Harwich Force in June 1916. She took part in the Battle of Dover Strait in October 1916 and in January 1918 transferred to Devonport where she was employed on convoy escort duties until the end of the war. Lawford was sold for scrap in 1922.