Rawalpindi was a 16,697-gross-ton liner completed in 1925 and requisitioned just before the war. Her twin-screw machinery was rated at 15,000 indicated horsepower, while cited sources disagreed over whether her top speed was 15 or 17 knots. Her eight single 6-inch guns and two 3-inch anti-aircraft guns added firepower, but did not add the armour, protection, or combat systems of a warship. The nominal complement of 249 had grown to roughly 276 or more by the final patrol, another sign of wartime needs reshaping the civilian design. The short conversion timetable illustrates how Britain used the merchant marine to fill urgent patrol gaps before purpose-built ships could be available.
Notable Point · 22:35-26:14
Rawalpindi's rapid conversion and limited armament
Requisitioned in August 1939 and commissioned the next month, Rawalpindi carried eight 6-inch guns but retained the limitations of her merchant-hull origin.