Description and Construction
Medway was designed to support up to 18 Odin and Parthian-class submarines in peacetime and an additional three submarines during wartime. She carried three QF 4-inch Mk IV deck guns as spares together with 144 21-inch (533 mm) torpedoes to resupply her submarines. The ship proved to be less top-heavy than anticipated and had the enormously high metacentric height of 13 feet (4.0 m) at full load. Built with bilge keels only 12 inches (305 mm) wide, Medway once rolled 42° each way with a period of nine seconds, losing her main topmast. Her bilge keels subsequently were widened to a width of 36 inches (914 mm).
She was 580 feet (176.8 m) long overall and had a beam of 85 feet 1 inch (25.9 m) and a draft of 21 feet 3 inches (6.5 m). The ship displaced 14,650 long tons (14,890 t) at standard load and up to 18,362 long tons (18,657 t) at (full load). Her crew numbered 400 officers and enlisted men; she could also accommodate up to 1,335 additional men.
The ship was powered by MAN diesel engines rated at 8,000 brake horsepower (6,000 kW), driving two shafts, and had a top speed of about 15 knots (28 km/h; 17 mph). Medway carried 810 long tons (820 t) of diesel fuel for herself and an additional 1,880 long tons (1,910 t) for her submarines. Figures for her range are not available. The ship had five 560-kilowatt (750 hp) diesel generators for electrical power and special provisions to recharge submarine batteries.
She was armed with two low-angle 4-inch (102 mm) guns in single mounts and four quick-firing Mk V 4-inch anti-aircraft guns, also in single mounts. The latter guns were controlled by a High-Angle Control System mounted above the bridge. Medway was protected by an internal anti-torpedo bulge which incorporated a water jacket of 1,374 long tons (1,396 t). Amidships a 1.5-inch (38 mm) torpedo bulkhead was located 13 feet inboard that inclined outwards above the waterline. The main deck was 1.5 inches thick amdiships.
Medway was ordered on 14 September 1926 as part of the 1925/26 Naval Estimates. The ship was laid down in April 1927 by the Vickers Armstrong shipyard in Barrow-in-Furness, launched on 19 July 1928, and completed on 3 July 1929.
Read more about this topic: HMS Medway (F25)
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