HMS Raider (H15)

HMS Raider (H15) was an R or Rotherham class destroyer adopted by Romford during World War II. She was launched on 1st April 1942 as the 2nd RN ship to carry the name, previously borne by a destroyer built in 1916 and sold in 1927.

The town council still has all of the relevant documents regarding the adoption. The local Sea Cadet Unit was renamed T S Raider.

She was placed in Reserve at Devonport in January 1946 and was recommissioned for service in the Mediterranean on 6th May that year. The ship was extensively deployed for Plane Guard duties with aircraft carriers and took part in Fleet exercises. She returned to UK in August 1947 and reduced to Reserve status. She was subsequently sold to the Indian Navy in 1948, where she was commissioned in 1949 as INS Rana (D115). She was decommissioned in 1976, and scrapped in 1979.