HMS ''Radiant'' was an which fought in 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 ...

as part of the

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against F ...

before being transferred to the

Royal Thai Navy The Royal Thai Navy ( Abrv: RTN, ทร.; th, กองทัพเรือไทย, ) is the naval warfare force of Thailand. Established in 1906, it was modernised by the Admiral Prince Abhakara Kiartiwongse (1880–1923) who is known as ...

, in which she served until well after the

Second World War 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 ...

Royal Navy service

She was built by John I. Thornycroft & Company at

Woolston Woolston may refer to: Places United Kingdom * Woolston, Cheshire, a village and civil parish in Warrington * Woolston, Devon, on the list of United Kingdom locations: Woof-Wy near Kingsbridge, Devon * Woolston, Southampton, a city suburb in Ham ...

and launched 25 November 1916. ''Radiant'' served with the

10th Destroyer Flotilla The British 10th Destroyer Flotilla, or Tenth Destroyer Flotilla, was a military formation of the Royal Navy from March from 1914 to 1919. It was reformed on an ad hoc basis from 1940 to 1941 and finally from 1944 to 1945. History First created ...

Harwich Force The Harwich Force originally called Harwich Striking Force was a squadron of the Royal Navy, formed during the First World War and based in Harwich. It played a significant role in the war. History After the outbreak of the First World War, a p ...

from April 1917 until February 1919. During the night of 23 December 1917, while escorting of a

convoy A convoy is a group of vehicles, typically motor vehicles or ships, traveling together for mutual support and protection. Often, a convoy is organized with armed defensive support and can help maintain cohesion within a unit. It may also be used ...

off the coast of

Holland Holland is a geographical regionG. Geerts & H. Heestermans, 1981, ''Groot Woordenboek der Nederlandse Taal. Deel I'', Van Dale Lexicografie, Utrecht, p 1105 and former province on the western coast of the Netherlands. From the 10th to the 16th c ...

, she came to the rescue of the

destroyers , and after the destroyers ran into a German minefield. ''Torrent'' struck a

mine Mine, mines, miners or mining may refer to: Extraction or digging * Miner, a person engaged in mining or digging *Mining, extraction of mineral resources from the ground through a mine Grammar *Mine, a first-person English possessive pronoun ...

, and when attempting a rescue, ''Surprise'' and ''Tornado'' also hit mines, resulting in the three destroyers being lost. ''Radiant'' picked up all survivors that could be found. This accounted for twelve officers and sailors, with the losses of 252 officers and men from the three destroyers. After the First World War, she was briefly assigned to the

4th Destroyer Flotilla The British 4th Destroyer Flotilla , or Fourth Destroyer Flotilla, was a naval formation of the Royal Navy from August 1909 to July 1951. History In 1907 the Home Fleet had a large formation of destroyers called the Home Fleet Flotilla of destr ...

of the

Home Fleet The Home Fleet was a fleet of the Royal Navy that operated from the United Kingdom's territorial waters from 1902 with intervals until 1967. In 1967, it was merged with the Mediterranean Fleet creating the new Western Fleet. Before the First ...

before paying off and being laid up in reserve as part of the

Nore Command The Commander-in-Chief, The Nore, was an operational commander of the Royal Navy. His subordinate units, establishments, and staff were sometimes informally known as the Nore Station or Nore Command. The Nore is a sandbank at the mouth of the Th ...

until sold.

Thai Navy service

She was sold back to Thornycroft on 21 June 1920, who then sold her on to the

in September 1920. She was renamed HTMS ''Phra Ruang'' ( th, เรือหลวงพระร่วง). It is believed that in order to finance her acquisition

King Rama VI Vajiravudh ( th, วชิราวุธ, , 1 January 188126 November 1925) was the sixth monarch of Siam under the Chakri dynasty as Rama VI. He ruled from 23 October 1910 until his death in 1925. King Vajiravudh is best known for his effort ...

and other senior figures donated personally to the finance fund, making this the first publication donation of money to procure a warship in Thailand. The Royal Prince Admiral

Abhakara Kiartivongse Admiral Prince Abhakara Kiartivongse, Prince of Chumphon (19 December 1880 – 19 May 1923) ( th, พระองค์เจ้าอาภากรเกียรติวงศ์, , full title: th, พระเจ้าบรมวงศ์� ...

went to

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

to negotiate the purchase personally and command the ship during its subsequent voyage from England to Thailand. On 29 January 1943, the submarine launched three torpedoes at a destroyer believed to be ''Phra Ruang'' and watched each run true to the target. However, all proved to be duds. Because of her continued service in the Thai Navy, the destroyer was the last survivor of the Royal Navy's First World War destroyers. She was used as a training ship toward the end of her career, removed from the effective list in 1957, and stricken in 1959.Robert Gardiner, ''Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships 1947-1995'', Naval Institute Press, 1995, p.461.

Notes

References

Bibliography

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Radiant (1916) World War I destroyers of the United Kingdom R-class destroyers (1916) 1917 ships Ships of the Royal Thai Navy Ships built by John I. Thornycroft & Company Thailand–United Kingdom military relations