HMS Medway (1928)

Medway at anchor
History
United Kingdom
Name	HMS Medway
Namesake	River Medway
Ordered	14 September 1926
Builder	Vickers Armstrong, Barrow-in-Furness
Laid down	April 1927
Launched	19 July 1928
Completed	3 July 1929
Identification	Pennant number: 25
Fate	Sunk by U-372, 30 June 1942
General characteristics
Displacement	14,650 long tons (14,890 t) standard 18,362 long tons (18,657 t) (full load)
Length	580 ft (176.8 m) (o/a)
Beam	85 ft (25.9 m)
Draught	21 ft 3 in (6.5 m)
Installed power	8,000 bhp (6,000 kW)
Propulsion	2 shafts, MAN diesel engines
Speed	15 knots (28 km/h; 17 mph)
Complement	400 + 1,335 (spare)
Armament	4 × 1 – QF 4-inch anti-aircraft guns 2 × 1 – 4-inch (102 mm) guns
Armour	Deck: 1.5 in (38 mm) Bulkheads: 1.5 in (38 mm)

HMS Medway (Pennant F25) was the first purpose-built submarine depot ship constructed for the Royal Navy. She was built by Vickers Armstrong at Barrow-in-Furness during the late 1920s. The ship served on the China Station before the Second World War and was transferred to Egypt in early 1940. Ordered to evacuate Alexandria in the face of the German advance after the Battle of Gazala in May 1942, Medway sailed for Lebanon at the end of June, escorted by a light cruiser and seven destroyers. Her strong escort could not protect her; on 30 June a German submarine torpedoed and sank her.