HMIS ''Lawrence'' (L83) was a

sloop A sloop is a sailboat with a single mast typically having only one headsail in front of the mast and one mainsail aft of (behind) the mast. Such an arrangement is called a fore-and-aft rig, and can be rigged as a Bermuda rig with triangular sa ...

, commissioned in 1919 into the

Royal Indian Marine Royal may refer to: People * Royal (name), a list of people with either the surname or given name * A member of a royal family Places United States * Royal, Arkansas, an unincorporated community * Royal, Illinois, a village * Royal, Iowa, a cit ...

(RIM). She served during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

in the

Royal Indian Navy The Royal Indian Navy (RIN) was the naval force of British India and the Dominion of India. Along with the Presidency armies, later the Indian Army, and from 1932 the Royal Indian Air Force, it was one of the Armed Forces of British India. Fr ...

(RIN), the successor to the RIM. Her

pennant number In the Royal Navy and other navies of Europe and the Commonwealth of Nations, ships are identified by pennant number (an internationalisation of ''pendant number'', which it was called before 1948). Historically, naval ships flew a flag that iden ...

was changed to U83 in 1940. Although originally built as a minesweeper, she was primarily used as a convoy escort during the war. She was scrapped soon after the end of the war.

History

HMIS ''Lawrence'' was ordered under the Emergency War Programme of the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

, being launched at

William Beardmore and Company William Beardmore and Company was a British engineering and shipbuilding conglomerate based in Glasgow and the surrounding Clydeside area. It was active from 1886 to the mid-1930s and at its peak employed about 40,000 people. It was founded and ...

on 30 July 1919 and completed on 27 December 1919. In the immediate post-war years, ''Lawrence'' was used by the Royal Indian Marine for servicing buoys and lighthouses and as a transport for high officials in the

Persian Gulf The Persian Gulf ( fa, خلیج فارس, translit=xalij-e fârs, lit=Gulf of Persis, Fars, ), sometimes called the ( ar, اَلْخَلِيْجُ ٱلْعَرَبِيُّ, Al-Khalīj al-ˁArabī), is a Mediterranean sea (oceanography), me ...

.Collins 1964, pp. 6–7. In 1925 while conducting anti-slavery patrols the ship conducted a bombardment of

Fujairah Fort Fujairah Fort () is a fort in the city of Fujairah, United Arab Emirates (UAE). Dating back to the 16th century, it is the among the oldest as well as the largest castles in the country. It is noted for playing significant roles in fighting back t ...

, destroying three of the forts towers.Zahlan, Rosemarie Said (2016-03-22). The origins of the United Arab Emirates : a political and social history of the Trucial States. London. p. 165. ISBN 9781317244653. OCLC 945874284. On the outbreak of the Second World War, the ''Lawrence'', whose armament had been increased by the addition of four

3-pounder gun 3-pounder gun, 3-pounder, 3-pdr or QF 3-pdr is an abbreviation typically referring to a gun which fired a projectile weighing approximately 3 pounds. It may refer to : *The Grasshopper cannon : of the 18th century *QF 3-pounder Hotchkiss : Hotchkiss ...

s and a second 2-pounder pom-pom,Collins 1964, p. 13. deployed to

Masirah Island Masirah Island ( ar, جَزِيْرَة مَصِيْرَة, Jazīrat Maṣīrah), also referred to as Mazeira Island or ''Wilāyat Maṣīrah'' ( ar, وِلَايَة مَصِيْرَة), is an island off the east coast of mainland Oman in the ...

off the coast of

Oman Oman ( ; ar, عُمَان ' ), officially the Sultanate of Oman ( ar, سلْطنةُ عُمان ), is an Arabian country located in southwestern Asia. It is situated on the southeastern coast of the Arabian Peninsula, and spans the mouth of t ...

where it was used to carry out patrols,Collins 1964, p. 33. taking part in the unsuccessful search for the missing airliner

Hannibal Hannibal (; xpu, 𐤇𐤍𐤁𐤏𐤋, ''Ḥannibaʿl''; 247 – between 183 and 181 BC) was a Carthaginian general and statesman who commanded the forces of Carthage in their battle against the Roman Republic during the Second Puni ...

in March 1940.Collins 1964, p. 36. Immediately prior to the outbreak of the

Anglo-Iraqi War The Anglo-Iraqi War was a British-led Allied military campaign during the Second World War against the Kingdom of Iraq under Rashid Gaylani, who had seized power in the 1941 Iraqi coup d'état, with assistance from Germany and Italy. The c ...

, ''Lawrence'' helped to cover the landing of the

20th Indian Infantry Brigade The 20th Indian Infantry Brigade was an infantry brigade formation of the Indian Army during World War II. History The brigade was formed in September 1940, by the conversion of the Khojak Brigade and assigned to the 9th Indian Infantry Divis ...

at Basra on 18 April 1941.Collins 1964, pp. 71–72. When Britain and the Soviet Union invaded Iran in August 1941, ''Lawrence'' took part in the attack on

Abadan Abadan ( fa, آبادان ''Ābādān'', ) is a city and capital of Abadan County, Khuzestan Province, which is located in the southwest of Iran. It lies on Abadan Island ( long, 3–19 km or 2–12 miles wide). The island is bounded ...

on 25 August 1941, boarding and capturing the Iranian gunboats ''Karkas'' and ''Shahbaaz'' and two Italian merchant ships.Collins 1964, pp. 78–82, 88–92. In late 1944 ''Lawrence'' was assigned to HMIS ''Himalaya'', the Gunnery school in

Karachi Karachi (; ur, ; ; ) is the most populous city in Pakistan and 12th most populous city in the world, with a population of over 20 million. It is situated at the southern tip of the country along the Arabian Sea coast. It is the former cap ...

as a Gunnery School Firing Ship,Collins 1964, p. 128. and joined the Bombay training squadron in November 1945.Collins 1964, p. 144. ''Lawrence'' was decommissioned and scrapped in 1947, two years after the end of the war.

Notes

References

*Collins, J.T.E
''The Royal Indian Navy, 1939–1945
'. Official History of the Indian Armed Forces in the Second World War. New Delhi: Combined Inter-Services Historical Section (India & Pakistan), 1964. *Parkes, Oscar. ''Jane's Fighting Ships 1931''. Newton Abbot, Devon, UK:Davis & Charles Reprints, 1931 (1973 reprint). .

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lawrence (L83) Sloops of the Royal Indian Navy 1919 ships