HMS Al Rawdah (1911)
 HMS Al Rawdah berthed next to U-2502 and U-2326 in 1945. | |
| History | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Name: | HMS Al Rawdah |
| Launched: | 1911 |
| Commissioned: | 1940 |
| Decommissioned: | 1946 |
| Fate: | Scrapped, 1953 |
| General characteristics | |
| Displacement: | 3,930 gross tons |
HMS Al Rawdah was a ship of the Royal Navy. She was built in 1911 and originally christened Chenab for the Nourse Line of London.
In 1930 the ship was sold to Khedivial Mail Steamship & Graving Dock and renamed Ville De Beyrouth. In 1939 the ship was sold again and renamed Al Rawdah.
In 1940 the British Ministry of Shipping requisitioned the vessel and she was managed by the British-India Steam Navigation Company Ltd. In 1946 Al Rawdah was returned to her owners, and scrapped in 1953. She was later broken up at Inverkeithing. Can be seen in final scenes of film We Dive at Dawn.
Internment
Between 1940 and 1946 the vessel was used as a military base and prison ship for Irish Republican internees and prisoners. Internment on the Al Rawdah began in 1939 as it was moored just off Killyleagh in Strangford Lough. Some of the Irish detainees placed in the hold of Al Rawdah had also been interned on the British prison ship HMS Argenta.