View source for SS Ardena (1915)

{{other ships|HMS Peony}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=December 2016}}
{{Use British English|date=December 2016}}
{|{{Infobox ship begin}}
{{Infobox ship image
| Ship image               = 
| Ship caption             = 
}}
{{Infobox ship career
| Hide header              = 
| Ship name                = 
*1915–1920: HMS ''Peony''
*1920–1943: SS ''Ardena''
| Ship operator            = 
*1915–1920: [[Royal Navy]]
*1920–1923: [[London and South Western Railway]]
*1923–1934: [[Southern Railway (UK)|Southern Railway]]
*1934–1942: Navigation Constantine Toyias, Piraeus
*1942–1943: [[Kriegsmarine|German Navy]]
| Ship registry            = {{flagicon|UK|civil}}
| Ship route               = 
| Ship ordered             = 
| Ship builder             = A McMillan & Son, Dumbarton
| Ship original cost       = 
| Ship yard number         = 462
| Ship way number          = 
| Ship laid down           = 
| Ship launched            = 25 August 1915
| Ship completed           = 
| Ship christened          = 
| Ship acquired            = 
| Ship maiden voyage       = 
| Ship in service          = 
| Ship out of service     = 
| Ship identification      = 
| Ship fate                = Mined and sunk 27 September 1943
| Ship notes               = 
}}
{{Infobox ship characteristics
| Hide header              = 
| Header caption           = 
| Ship type                = 
| Ship tonnage             =  {{GRT|1092|disp=long}}
| Ship displacement        = 
| Ship length              = {{convert|250.1|ft|m}}
| Ship beam                = {{convert|33.1|ft|m}}
| Ship draught             =
| Ship depth               = 
| Ship decks               = 
| Ship deck clearance      = 
| Ship ramps               = 
| Ship ice class           = 
| Ship power               = 
| Ship propulsion          = 
| Ship speed               = 
| Ship capacity            = 
| Ship crew                = 
| Ship notes               = 
}}
|}

'''SS ''Ardena''''' was a [[minesweeper]] and escort vessel built as an {{sclass|Azalea|sloop|0}} [[Sloop-of-war|sloop]] [[minesweeper]] for the British [[Royal Navy]] with the name HMS ''Peony'' in 1915.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Duckworth |first1=Christian Leslie Dyce |last2=Langmuir |first2=Graham Easton |date=1968 |title=Railway and other Steamers |location=Prescot, Lancashire |publisher= T. Stephenson and Sons }}</ref>

==Design and construction==
The ''Azalea''-class was based on the previous {{sclass|Acacia|sloop|0}}, but with a heavier gun armament.<ref name="conways06p94">{{Harvnb|Gardiner|Gray|1985|p=94}}</ref>{{#tag:ref|Together with the following {{sclass|Arabis|sloop|0}}, {{sclass|Aubrietia|sloop|0}} and {{sclass|Anchusa|sloop|0}}, these classes were collectively known as Flower-class sloops.|group=lower-alpha}} They were designed at the start of the [[First World War]] as relatively fast minesweepers that could also carry out various miscellaneous duties in support of the fleet such as acting as [[dispatch vessel]]s or carrying out towing operations, but as the war continued and the threat from German submarines grew, became increasingly involved in anti-submarine duties.<ref name="conways06p3,94">{{Harvnb|Gardiner|Gray|1985|pp=3, 94}}</ref><ref name="brownp136-7">{{Harvnb|Brown|2010|pp=136–137}}</ref>

''Peony'' was {{convert|262|ft|6|in|m|2|abbr=on}} [[length overall|long overall]] and {{convert|250|ft|m|2|abbr=on}} [[length between perpendiculars|between perpendiculars]], with a [[Beam (nautical)|beam]] of {{convert|33|ft|m|2|abbr=on}} and a [[Draft (ship)|draught]] of {{convert|11|ft|m|2|abbr=on}}.<ref name="dittp94">{{Harvnb|Dittmar|Colledge|1972|p=94}}</ref> [[Displacement (ship)|Displacement]] was {{convert|1200|LT|t|0|abbr=on}} normal.<ref name="conways06p95">{{Harvnb|Gardiner|Gray|1985|p=95}}</ref> Two [[Scotch marine boiler|cylindrical boiler]]s fed steam to a [[Marine steam engine#Triple or multiple expansion|triple expansion steam engine]] rated at {{convert|1800|ihp|kW|abbr=on}}, giving a speed of {{convert|16.5|kn|mph km/h|abbr=on}}.<ref name="conways06p94"/><ref name="brownp137">{{Harvnb|Brown|2010|p=137}}</ref>  The ''Azelea''s had a main armament of two 4.7 inch (120&nbsp;mm) or 4 inch (102 mm) guns, with two 3-pounder (47&nbsp;mm) anti-aircraft guns also carried.<ref name="conways06p95"/> ''Peony'' had a crew of 90 officers and other ranks.<ref name="conways06p94"/>

''Peony'' was ordered on 4 May 1915 from the Scottish shipbuilder [[Archibald McMillan & Son]], and was built at their [[Dumbarton]] shipyard as [[Yard number]] 462. She was [[Ceremonial ship launching|launched]] on 25 August 1915, and was completed on 27 October 1915.<ref name="dittp94"/><ref name="sweptp364">{{Harvnb|Dorling|1935|p=364}}</ref><ref name="clyde">{{cite web|title=Peony |work=Scottish Built Ships: The History of Shipbuilding in Scotland |publisher=Caledonian Maritime Research Trust |url=http://www.clydeships.co.uk/view.php?ref=13698&vessel=PEONY |accessdate=13 November 2020}}</ref>

==Service==
''Peony'' joined the [[Mediterranean Fleet]] after commissioning.<ref>{{cite magazine|title=Supplement to the Monthly Naval List Showing Organisation of the Fleet, Flag Officers' Commands, &c.: IX.—The Mediterranean Fleet |magazine=The Navy List |date=December 1915 |page=20 |url=https://digital.nls.uk/british-military-lists/archive/92009910 |via=National Library of Scotland |accessdate=13 November 2020}}</ref> In December 1915, the Royal Navy prepared to evacuate troops from the [[Gallipoli campaign|Dardanelles]], with ''Peony'' serving as headquarters ship for General [[Julian Byng, 1st Viscount Byng of Vimy|Julian Byng]] during the evacuation from [[Suvla|Suvla Bay]] on the night of 18/19 December that year.<ref>{{harvnb|Corbett|1923|pp=230–231, 235–236}}</ref>  In June 1916, ''Peony'' took part in a demonstration in Milo Bay to force the Greek Army to demobilise after Greece had allowed German forces to capture [[Fort Roupel]] and occupy much of eastern [[Macedonia (Greece)|Macedonia]] without a fight.<ref>{{harvnb|Newbolt|1928|pp=133–134}}</ref>

By May 1917, ''Peony'' formed part of the Eastern Mediterranean Squadron,<ref>{{cite magazine|title=Supplement to the Monthly Naval List Showing Organisation of the Fleet, Flag Officers' Commands, &c.: IX.—The Mediterranean Fleet |magazine=The Navy List |date=May 1917 |page=20 |url=https://digital.nls.uk/british-military-lists/archive/92148486 |via=National Library of Scotland |accessdate=14 November 2020}}</ref> which by September, had become the Aegean Squadron.<ref>{{cite magazine|title=Supplement to the Monthly Naval List Showing Organisation of the Fleet, Flag Officers' Commands, &c.: IX.—The Mediterranean Fleet |magazine=The Navy List |date=September 1917 |page=21 |url=https://digital.nls.uk/british-military-lists/archive/94242350 |via=National Library of Scotland |accessdate=14 November 2020}}</ref> In May 1917, owing to a shortage of [[seaplane carrier]]s to support anti-submarine operations in the southern [[Aegean Sea|Aegean]], ''Peony'' was fitted to support the operation of three seaplanes. From mid-May to the end of June that year, she was based at [[Leros]], using her seaplanes to search for hidden U-boat bases around the islands of the Aegean.<ref>{{harvnb|Jones|1935|pp=414–415}}</ref>  ''Peony'' remained in the [[Aegean Sea]] into 1918, operating in the [[Smyrna]] area, and was undergoing boiler cleaning on 20 January 1918.<ref>{{harvnb|Newbolt|1931|p=87}}</ref> In April 1918, she was based at [[Mudros]], together with the seaplane carrier {{HMS|Ark Royal|1914}}, with their seaplanes being mainly employed on anti-submarine duties.<ref>{{harvnb|Jones|1937|pp=314–316}}</ref> ''Peony'' was still based in the Aegean, supporting aircraft operations at the end of the war.<ref>{{cite magazine|title=Supplement to the Monthly Naval List Showing Organisation of the Fleet, Flag Officers' Commands, &c.: XV.—Mediterranean: British Aegean Squadron |magazine=The Navy List |date=December 1918 |page=23 |url=https://digital.nls.uk/british-military-lists/archive/92315746 |via=National Library of Scotland |accessdate=15 November 2020}}</ref> In January 1919, she was listed as part of the 12th Sloop Flotilla, based at [[Malta]].<ref>{{cite magazine|title=Supplement to the Monthly Naval List Showing Organisation of the Fleet, Flag Officers' Commands, &c.: XV.—Mediterranean |magazine=The Navy List |date=January 1919 |page=22 |url=https://digital.nls.uk/british-military-lists/archive/92371038 |via=National Library of Scotland |accessdate=15 November 2020}}</ref>

==Civil use==
''Peony'' was sold to T. R. Sales on 20 August 1919, and was resold to the [[London and South Western Railway]]. In 1920, she was reconstructed as a passenger ferry by the [[Caledon Shipbuilding & Engineering Company]] at their [[Dundee]] yard, and was renamed ''Ardena'', making her maiden civil voyage on 6 December 1920.<ref name="clyde"/> ''Ardena'' was placed on the routes to [[Cherbourg]] and [[Caen]] which re-opened in July 1921.<ref>{{cite news |author=<!--Staff writer(s); no by-line.--> |title=Southampton-Cherbourg route re-opened |url=http://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0000687/19210708/100/0004 |newspaper=Yorkshire Post and Leeds Intelligencer |location=England |date=8 July 1921 |accessdate=1 December 2015 |via = [[British Newspaper Archive]] |url-access=subscription }}</ref>  She was taken over by the [[Southern Railway (UK)|Southern Railway]] in 1923 and remained until sold in July 1934.

She went to Navigation Constantine Toyias, Piraeus. On 18 April 1941, during a convoy escort, she collided with the {{ship|Greek destroyer|Leon|1912|6}} followed by the explosion of two [[depth charge]]s. As a result, the stern section of ''Leon'' was cut off and two officers were killed.

''Ardena'' was sunk by the [[Luftwaffe]] in April 1941 and later raised by the Germans.<ref name=Ardena>{{cite web |url=https://www.historisches-marinearchiv.de/projekte/verluste_griechenland/ausgabe.php?lang=1&rubrik=%&where_value=439 |title=Ardena |publisher=www.historisches-marinearchiv.de |accessdate=4 January 2019}}</ref>

On 28 September 1943 she was sailing from Cephalonia to Greece with 840 Italian prisoners of war when she hit a [[Naval mine|mine]] off [[Argostoli]] and sank. 720 Italian prisoners of war were killed.<ref name=Ardena/>

==Notes==
{{reflist|group=lower-alpha}}

==Citations==
{{reflist}}

==References==
*{{cite book|last=Brown |first=D. K. |title=The Grand Fleet: Warship Design and Development 1906–1922 |year=2010 |location=Barnsley, UK| publisher=Seaforth Publishing |isbn=978-1-84832-085-7}}
*{{cite book|last=Corbett|first=Julian S. |authorlink=Julian Corbett |title=Naval Operations: Volume III |year=1923 |publisher=Longmans, Green and Co. |location=London|url=https://archive.org/details/navaloperations03corb |series=History of the Great War }}
*{{cite book|last1=Dittmar|first1=F.J.|last2=Colledge|first2=J.J.|title=British Warships 1914–1919|year=1972|publisher=Ian Allan|location=Shepperton, UK|isbn=0-7110-0380-7}}
*{{cite book |last=Dorling |first=Taprell |title=Swept Channels: Being an Account of the Work of the Minesweepers in the Great War |year=1935 |location=London |publisher=Hodder and Stoughton}}
* {{cite book|editor-last1=Gardiner|editor-first1=Robert|editor-last2=Gray|editor-first2=Randal|title=Conway's All The World's Fighting Ships 1906–1921|year=1985|publisher=Conway Maritime Press|location=London|isbn=0-85177-245-5}}
* {{cite book |last=Jones |first=H. A. |title=The War in the War: Being the Story of the part played in the Great War by the Royal Air Force: Vol. V |series=History of the Great War |year=1935 |location=Oxford |publisher=The Clarendon Press |url=https://archive.org/details/warinairbeingsto05rale/page/n5/mode/2up}}
* {{cite book |last=Jones |first=H. A. |title=The War in the War: Being the Story of the part played in the Great War by the Royal Air Force: Vol. VI |series=History of the Great War |year=1937 |location=Oxford |publisher=The Clarendon Press |url=https://archive.org/details/warinairbeingsto06rale/page/n5/mode/2up}}
*{{cite book|last=Newbolt |first=Henry |author-link=Henry Newbolt |title=Naval Operations: Volume IV |year=1928 |publisher=Longmans, Green and Co. |location=London|url=https://archive.org/details/navaloperations04corb |series=History of the Great War }}
*{{cite book|last=Newbolt |first=Henry |author-link=Henry Newbolt |title=Naval Operations: Volume V |year=1931 |publisher=Longmans, Green and Co. |location=London|url=https://archive.org/details/navaloperations0000corb/page/n5/mode/2up |series=History of the Great War }}

{{Azalea-class sloop}}
{{LSWR Ships}}
{{SR ships}}
{{September 1943 shipwrecks}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ardena}}
[[Category:1915 ships]]
[[Category:Steamships of the United Kingdom]]
[[Category:Ships of the London and South Western Railway]]
[[Category:Ships of the Southern Railway (UK)]]
[[Category:Ships built on the River Clyde]]
[[Category:Maritime incidents in September 1943]]
[[Category:Ships sunk by mines]]
[[Category:World War II shipwrecks in the Mediterranean Sea]]
[[Category:Azalea-class sloops]]