There have been two ships of the Royal Navy named HMS Rapid:
HMS Rapid (1917)
The first HMS Rapid was an R-class destroyer (of the 1916-17 sub-group), launched in 1917.- Design and Construction: She was built by Cammell Laird at Birkenhead and launched on 15 July 1917. She was completed in September 1917. As an R-class destroyer, she was designed for speed and armed with torpedo tubes and naval guns, characteristic of World War I destroyers.
- Service History: She served with the Grand Fleet during the latter part of World War I. Her duties primarily involved escorting convoys and fleet operations in the North Sea.
- Fate: HMS Rapid was sold for breaking up on 29 April 1927.
HMS Rapid (H32) (1942)
The second HMS Rapid was an R-class destroyer (of the later, wartime standard destroyer variant), launched in 1942, and later converted into a Type 16 fast anti-submarine frigate.- Design and Construction: She was built by John Brown & Company, Clydebank, and launched on 20 July 1942. She was commissioned on 13 February 1943. Her original design was typical of wartime destroyers, with a strong emphasis on anti-aircraft and anti-submarine capabilities, alongside torpedo and gun armament.
- World War II Service:
- Upon commissioning, Rapid was assigned to the Home Fleet and initially served on convoy escort duties, including several challenging Arctic convoys to Russia.
- In 1944, she participated in Operation Neptune, the naval component of the D-Day landings in Normandy, providing gunfire support and escorting invasion forces.
- Later in the war, she was redeployed to the British Pacific Fleet, where she participated in operations against Japanese forces, including being present at the formal surrender of Japan in Tokyo Bay in September 1945.
- Post-War and Conversion:
- After World War II, Rapid continued to serve in the Royal Navy.
- Between 1952 and 1954, she underwent a significant conversion at Portsmouth Dockyard into a Type 16 fast anti-submarine frigate. This modernization involved removing much of her original armament, installing a new, larger bridge structure, and enhancing her sonar and anti-submarine mortar systems (such as Squid mortars), transforming her role from a general-purpose destroyer to a dedicated anti-submarine warfare (ASW) vessel.
- Frigate Service: As a frigate, she continued to serve for several more decades, participating in various fleet exercises, patrols, and training duties. She often operated with different escort squadrons.
- Fate: HMS Rapid was ultimately decommissioned and sold for breaking up to Thos. W. Ward at Grays, Essex, on 29 April 1981, bringing an end to nearly four decades of service.