Allied Warships

HMS Rajputana (F 35)

Armed Merchant Cruiser

NavyThe Royal Navy
TypeArmed Merchant Cruiser
Class[No specific class] 
PennantF 35 
Built byHarland & Wolff Ltd. (Greenock, Scotland) 
Ordered 
Laid down 
Launched6 Aug 1925 
Commissioned16 Dec 1939 
Lost13 Apr 1941 
Loss position64° 50'N, 27° 25'W
History

On 4 September 1939 the passenger ship Rajputana of the P. & O. Steam Navigation Co Ltd, London was requisitioned by the Admiralty. She was converted to an armed merchant cruiser and commissioned as such on 16 December 1939.

Displacement: 16644 BRT
Armament: 8x 152mm, 2x 76mm
Speed: 17 knots

Career:
December 39 - April 40: America and West Indies Station
May 40: Bermuda Convoy Escort Force
June 40 - April 41: Bermuda and Halifax Escort Force
April 41: North Atlantic Escort Force

HMS Rajputana (Capt. Frederick Henry Taylor, DSC, RN (retired)) was torpedoed and sunk on 13 April 1941 by the German submarine U-108 west of Reykjavik, Iceland in position 64º50'N, 27º25'W. 283 survivors were picked up by the British destroyer HMS Legion and landed at Reykjavik. 40 of her crew went down with the ship.  

Hit by U-boat
Sunk on 13 Apr 1941 by U-108 (Scholtz).

U-boat AttackSee our U-boat attack entry for the HMS Rajputana

Commands listed for HMS Rajputana (F 35)

Please note that we're still working on this section
and that we only list Commanding Officers for the duration of the Second World War.

CommanderFromTo
1Capt. (retired) Frederick Henry Taylor, DSC, RN2 Oct 193913 Apr 1941

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Notable events involving Rajputana include:


17 Jan 1940
The light cruiser HMS Despatch (Commodore 2nd cl. A. Poland, DSO, RN), armed merchant cruiser HMS Rajputana (Capt.(Retd.) F.H. Taylor, DSC, RN) and the RFA tanker Abbeydale (8299 GRT, built 1937) made rendezvous off San Nicolás Bay, Peru.

All ships departed again to resume their patrols later the same day. (1)

Sources

  1. ADM 53/111986 + ADM 53/113029

ADM numbers indicate documents at the British National Archives at Kew, London.


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