A depot ship is an auxiliary ship used as a mobile or fixed base for submarines, destroyers, minesweepers, fast attack craft, landing craft, or other small ships with similarly limited space for maintenance equipment and crew dining, berthing and relaxation. Depot ships may be identified as tenders in American English. Depot ships may be specifically designed for their purpose or be converted from another purpose.
HMS Albury was a Hunt-class minesweeper of the Aberdare sub-class built for the Royal Navy during World War I. She was not finished in time to participate in the First World War and survived the Second World War to be sold for scrap in 1947.
HMS Clyde was a submarine of the River class. She was built by Vickers Armstrong, Barrow and launched on 15 March 1934. Building was completed on 12 April 1935. Initially planeed to be part of a class 20 strong, Clyde would be the third and final of the boats to be completed and launched.
The second HMS Talisman (N78), and the first to enter service under the name, was a T-class submarine of the Royal Navy. She was laid down by Cammell Laird & Co Limited, Birkenhead and launched on 29 January 1940.
HMS Turbulent (N98) was a T-class submarine of the Royal Navy. She was laid down by Vickers Armstrong, Barrow and launched in May 1941.
HMS Urge was a British U-class submarine, of the second group of that class, built by Vickers Armstrong, Barrow-in-Furness. She was laid down on 30 October 1939, and was commissioned on 12 December 1940. From 1941–1942 she formed part of the 10th Submarine Flotilla based in Malta and spent most of her career operating in the Mediterranean, where she damaged or sank a number of Italian warships and merchant vessels and took part in special operations. She was commanded by Lieutenant-Commander Edward Philip Tomkinson, DSO. She was lost with all hands and a number of passengers on 27 April 1942 after striking a German mine off Malta.
Vice-Admiral Sir Arthur Richard Hezlet, nicknamed Baldy Hezlet, was a decorated Royal Navy submariner. He became the Royal Navy's youngest captain at the time – aged 36 – and its youngest admiral, aged 45. In retirement he became a military historian.
HMS Star was a Palmer three-funnel, 30-knot destroyer ordered by the Royal Navy under the 1896–1897 Naval Estimates. She was the eleventh ship to carry this name since it was introduced in 1643 for a 19-gun ship sold until 1652.
Naval trawlers were purpose-built or requisitioned and operated by the Royal Navy (RN), mainly during World Wars I and II. Vessels built to Admiralty specifications for RN use were known as Admiralty trawlers. All trawlers operated by the RN, regardless of origin, were typically given the prefix HMT, for "His Majesty's Trawler".
HMS Eridge was a Hunt-class destroyer of the Royal Navy. She was launched in 1940 and served during the Second World War.
HMIS Cornwallis (L09) was an Aubrietia-class sloop, originally built during World War I and commissioned as HMS Lychnis in the Royal Navy (RN) in 1917. She was transferred to the Royal Indian Marine (RIM) and commissioned as Cornwallis in 1921.
The fifth HMS Valorous, ex-HMS Montrose, was a V-class flotilla leader of the British Royal Navy that saw service in World War I, the Russian Civil War, and World War II.
HMS Ouse was a Laird type River-class destroyer ordered by the Royal Navy under the 1903 – 1904 Naval Estimates. Named after the River Ouse in north east England near the city of York, she was the first ship to carry this name in the Royal Navy.
HMS Tyne was a store-ship of the Royal Navy. The ship was launched on 19 January 1878 at Armstrong Mitchell's Low Walker, Newcastle upon Tyne shipyard as the mercantile Mariotis. She was purchased for the Royal Navy on 8 March 1878. Commanded by Commander John Edward Stokes on 12 March 1879.
HMS Cattistock (L35) was a Type I Hunt-class destroyer of the Royal Navy. She was a member of the first subgroup of the Hunt class and served throughout World War II before being scrapped in 1957.
HMS Dolphin was originally the steam merchant ship Seti built in 1902 by Sir Raylton Dixon & Co Ltd. She was purchased by the Admiralty for the Royal Navy in November 1914, renamed Pandora, and used as a depot ship. She was renamed Dolphin in 1924 and was sunk by a mine laid by the German submarine U-22 in 1939, without loss of life. She was lost on her last trip while being towed to Cambois to be stripped of usable parts and scuttled as a blockship at Scapa Flow.
Captain Michael Lindsay Coulton "Tubby" Crawford DSC & Bar was an officer in the Royal Navy and submariner.
The 10th Submarine Flotilla was formed during the First World War. In January 1915 it was based on the Humber but by January 1917 it had relocated to the Tees. During the Second World War it was formed at Malta in January 1941 and comprised Royal Navy and Polish Naval Force submarines assigned to the British Mediterranean Fleet based in Malta from early 1941.
HMS Titania was a Royal Navy submarine depot ship. Most of those that saw service in the First World War were scrapped in the 1930s. Titania, however, saw service in the Second World War. She was scrapped at Faslane, Scotland, in September 1949.
United Kingdom