HMS  Ariadne

HMS Ariadne was one of a pair of fast minelayers completed in 1943-1944 as repeat editions of the famous Abdiel class. The original four Abdiels had proved so successful that two more were laid down in late 1941, just in time to make good the loss of three between 1941 and 1943.

As a class these ships were unique in combining very high speed with good minecapacity. In practice their mine-decks proved so capacious that the ships were soon pressed into service as fast transports to carry vital fuel and ammunition to Malta during the dark days of 1941 and 1942. One, the Latona, never laid a single mine during her short but crowded life.

Structurally the fast minelayers were enlarged destroyer-types, with unarmoured hulls transversely subdivided, but they had the forecastle deck extended right aft to the stern to provide an enclosed mine-deck running from abaft the bridge structure. To give them the necessary high speed to allow for rapid transit to and from their minelaying areas, they were given a power-plant equivalent to a cruiser; 72,000 shaft horsepower on only two shafts gave them a theoretical maximum speed of 40 knots.

Right from the start these handsome ships caught the fancy of the public. Their phenomenal designed speed was higher than anything hitherto attempted in British ships, and their heroic runs in and out of Malta made their names famous.
Myth and legend surround their achievements, and the fantastic speed of 44 knots has often been claimed for them. The highest trial speed recorded is a shade over 37 knots, and it must be admitted that the specification was too optimistic. However, their performance remains a tremendous achievement, and it compares very well with contemporary destroyer-speeds.

The Ariadne and her sister Apollo differed from the first four principally in sacrificing a twin 4-inch high-angle gun-mounting in 'B' position in favour of a twin power-operated 20 mm. oerlikon mounting, and in having two twin Hazemeyer Bofors guns in place of a multiple pom-pom aft. In most other respects they were identical to the original Abdiel class, but they were given all the improved radar sets and communication equipment available by 1944.

The mine-deck was arranged in two parts. The main set of rails ran from abaft the bridge-structure, with single sets of rails running aft on either side of the boiler-uptakes and machinery spaces. Abaft the machinery there were two additional sets of rails inboard, which joined the outer rails before reaching the stern doors. There were four mine-Ioading hatches, two port and starboard abreast of the forward funnel, and a further two abaft the cranes. The combination of inine-rails and deck-cranes gave them a unique advantage among warships for rapid unloading of cargoes such as cased fuel or ammunition; the rails made stowage easy, and the cranes and hatches made loading oodunloading very speedy. In practice this meant that they could dash into Malta under cover of darkness, offload their precious cargo quickly and leave as soon as possible, offering the minimum target to enemy air raids.

The Ariadne was the seventh ship of the name, which commemorates a heroine of Greek mythology rescued by Theseus. The previous Ariadne had also served as a minelayer, and was torpedoed in 1917. The name has been given to anew Leander class frigate.

HMS Ariadne was commissioned in September 1943, and laid mines off the coast of Norway. She then left Home waters in January 1944 to join the U.S.
7th Fleet in the Pacific. In June 1944 she laid 146 mines off the northern coast of New Guinea, followed by another Jay in the same area some three months later. When landings were made in the Mapia Group of islands in November 1944 Ariadne was used as a troop-carrier for the British part of the operation.

During her period of active service Ariadne laid 1,352 mines; hardly an impressive total when compared to the 8,361 laid by her sister Apollo. However, her last duty in World War II was to begin the massive repatriation of British prisoners-ofwar from Japan. This errand of mercy continued after the end of hostilities, and Ar;adne did not return to Home waters until 1947. She was immediately paid off into the Reserve Fleet at Sheerness, and did not see service again, apart from a short trial after a refit in the 1950s. This involved the replacement of her light anti-aircraft guns with more modern weapons. She was finally sold to W.H. Arnott Young for scrapping and arrived at Dalmuir in February 1965.

The drawing shows Ariadne on completion in 1943. Note the twin Oerlikon mountings in 'B' position etc. and the twin 40mm. guns on either side of the after superstructure. These weapons were only improved versions of the single Oerlikon and Bofors guns already in service, but vastly more effective. The power-mounted 20mm. trained faster and delivered a greater volume of fire than the old hand-operated single, while the Hazemeyer Bofors had the immeasurable advantage of its own target-tracking radar set incorporated in the mounting. The original version had been Dutch, and had been brought over after the Invasion of the Netherlands in 1940; its main disadvantage was its fragility, but in 1944 it was the Royal Navy's most advanced anti-aircraft system.

Other points of interest are the cranes, with the winch mechanism pivoted in a bracket extending from the after deckhouse; the after tripod is stepped against the third funnel, unlike the Abdiel, which carried the tripod further aft. No fewer than eight different types of radar aerial are carried: 291 air warning type on topmast, 285M on director tower, 252, 253, 242 and 281 on foremast, a 272 surface warning set with its distinctive 'lantern' on a bracket above the director, and the small twin 282 type aerials carried above the Hazemeyer mountings. In addition there are aerials for TBS (Talk Between Ships) on the topmast, and a coil in front of the bridge for MF/DF (Medium-Frequency Direction-Finding).