700-013 HAWKINS CLASS CRUISERS HMS RALEIGH

HMS Raleigh was a British heavy cruiser, the keel of which was laid in December 1915, launched in August 1919, and entered service with the Royal Navy in the summer of 1921. The total length of the ship at the time of launching was 184.4 m, width 19.8 m, with a standard displacement of about 9,910 tons. The maximum speed was up to 31 knots. The ship's armament included: 7 single 191 mm cannons, 6 single 76 mm cannons and 2 single 40 mm anti-aircraft cannons. HMS Raleigh was the second of five Hawkins-class ships. The design of these units was born before the outbreak of the Great War, but their implementation was already underway. The main task of the Hawkins-class units was to act against German auxiliary cruisers and to engage in at least equivalent combat with them. For this reason, when designing them, emphasis was placed on a relatively high maximum speed, as much autonomy as possible and a large range. HMS Raleigh was built at the William Beardmore shipyard in Dalmuir, Scotland. He entered service after the end of World War I, in 1921. His career in the Royal Navy was very short, because on August 8, 1922 he ran aground in the waters surrounding New Funland. Interestingly, the remains of HMS Raleigh posed a threat to shipping in this Atlantic region until the early 2000s!