HMS King Edward VII

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HMS King Edward VII in early 1907
History
RN EnsignUnited Kingdom
NameHMS King Edward VII
NamesakeKing Edward VII
Ordered1903/04 Estimates
BuilderDevonport Dockyard
Laid down8 March 1902
Launched23 July 1903
CompletedFebruary 1905
Commissioned7 February 1905
Nickname(s)The King Edward VII-class battleships were known as "The Wobbly Eight"
FateSunk by mine off Cape Wrath on 6 January 1916
General characteristics
Class and typeKing Edward VII class
TypePredreadnought battleship
Displacementlist error: <br /> list (help)
16,350 tons (standard)
17,500 tons (full load)
Length453 ft 6 in (138.23 m)
Beam78 ft (24 m)
Draught26 ft 9 in (8.15 m)
Installed power18,000 ihp (13 MW)
PropulsionCoal-fired (with oil sprayers) boilers (10 Babcock and Wilcox water-tube boilers and 6 cylindrical boilers[1]); two 4-cylinder vertical compound expansion steam engines; two screws
Speed18.5 knots (33 km/h)
Range2,000 nautical miles (3,704 km) at 18.5 knots (34 km/h); 5,270 nautical miles (9,760 km) at 10 knots (18.5 km/h)
Complement777
Armamentlist error: <br /> list (help)
4 x 12 inch (305 mm) 40 caliber Mark IX guns (2 x 2)
4 x 9.2 inch (234 mm) Mark X guns (4 x 1)
10 x 6 inch (152 mm) 45 caliber quick-firing Mark VII guns
14 x 12 pounder quick-firing guns
14 x 3 pounder quick-firing guns
5 x 18 inch (457 mm) torpedo tubes (submerged), four on the beam and one in the stern[2]
2 x Maxim machine guns
Armourlist error: <br /> list (help)
Belt amidships: 9 inches tapering to 8 inches (203 mm)
Bulkheads: 12 inches (305 mm) to 8 inches (203 mm)
Barbettes: 12 inches (356 mm)
Main turrets (gunhouses): 12 inches (356 mm) to 8 inches (203 mm)
9.2 inch (234 mm) turrets: 9 inches (229 mm) to 5 inches (127 mm)
6 inch (152 mm) battery: 7 inches (178 mm)
Conning tower: 12 inches (305 mm)
Armoured deck: 2.5 inches (63.5 mm) to 1 inch (25.4 mm)
Notes2,164-2,238 tons coal maximum, 380 tons oil

HMS King Edward VII, named after King Edward VII, was the lead ship of the King Edward VII class of British Royal Navy predreadnought battleships.

Technical Characteristics

HMS King Edward VII was laid down at Devonport Dockyard on 8 March 1902. She was launched by King Edward VII on 23 July 1903, and completed in February 1905.

Although King Edward VII and her seven sister ships of the King Edward VII class were a direct descendant of the Majestic class, they were also the first class to make a significant departure from the Majestic design, displacing about 1,000 tons more and mounting for the first time an intermediate battery of four 9.2-inch (234-mm) guns in addition to the standard outfit of 6-inch (152-mm) guns. The 9.2-inch was a quick-firing gun like the 6-inch, and its heavier shell made it a formidable weapon by the standards of the day when King Edward VII and her sisters were designed; it was adopted out of concerns that British battleships were undergunned for their displacement and were becoming outgunned by foreign battleships that had begun to mount 8-inch (203-mm) intermediate batteries. The four 9.2-inch were mounted in single turrets abreast the foremast and mainmast, and King Edward VII thus could bring two of them to bear on either broadside. Even then, King Edward VII and her sisters were criticized for not having, a uniform secondary battery of 9.2-inch guns, something considered but rejected because of the length of time it would have taken to design the ships with such a radical revision of the secondary armament layout. In the end, it proved impossible to distinguish 12-inch and 9.2-inch shell splashes from one another, making fire control impractical for ships mounting both calibers, although King Edward VII had fire-control platforms on her fore- and mainmasts rather than the fighting tops of earlier classes.[3]

Like all British battleships since the Majestic class, the King Edward VII-class ships had four 12-inch (305-mm) guns in two twin turrets (one forward and one aft), the first five King Edwards, including King Edward VII herself, mounted the Mark IX 12-inch gun. Mounting of the 6-inch guns in casemates was abandoned in King Edward VII and her sister ships, the 6-inch instead being placed in a central battery amidships protected by 7-inch (178-mm) armored walls. Otherwise, King Edward VII's armor was much as in the London class battleships, although there were various differences in detail from the Londons.[4]

King Edward VII and her sisters were the first British battleships with balanced rudders since the 1870s and were very maneuverable, with a tactical diameter of 340 yards (311 m) at 15 knots (27.75 km/h). However, they were difficult to keep on a straight course, and this characteristic led to them being nicknamed "the Wobbly Eight" during their 1914-1916 service in the Grand Fleet. They had a slightly faster roll than previous British battleship classes, but were good gun platforms, although very wet in bad weather.[5]

HMS King Edward VII in dry dock.

Primarily powered by coal, King Edward VII had oil sprayers installed during her construction, as did all of her sisters except HMS New Zealand, the first time this had been done in British battleships. These allowed steam pressure to be rapidly increased, improving King Edward VII's acceleration. The eight ships between them were given four different boiler installations for comparative purposes; King Edward VII's is variously reported to have had 10 Babcock and Wilcox boilers and six cylindrical boilers[6] or 10 Babcock and Wilcox boilers and three cylindrical boilers.[7]She exceeded her designed speed on trials.[8]

King Edward VII was a powerful ship when she was designed, and completely fulfilled the goals set for her at that time. However, she was unlucky in that the years of her design and construction were ones of revolutionary advancement in naval guns, fire control, armor, and propulsion. She joined the fleet in early 1905, but was made obsolete in less than two years by the commissioning of the revolutionary battleship HMS Dreadnought at the end of 1906 and the large numbers of the new dreadnought battleships that commissioned in succeeding years. By 1914, King Edward VII and her sister ships were, like all predreadnoughts, so outclassed that they spent much of their 1914-1916 Grand Fleet service steaming at the heads of divisions of the far more valuable dreadnoughts, protecting the dreadnoughts from naval mines by being the first battleships to either sight or strike them.[9]

Operational History

King Edward VII consented to having King Edward VII carry his name on the condition that she always serve as a flagship. The Royal Navy honored this wish throughout her career.[10]

HMS King Edward VII commissioned on 7 February 1905 at Devonport Dockyard for service as Flagship, Commander-in-Chief, Atlantic Fleet. She underwent a refit in 1906-1907. Her Atlantic Fleet service ended when she paid off at Portsmouth Dockyard on 4 March 1907. [11]

On 5 March 1907, King Edward VII recommissioned as flagship of Admiral Lord Charles Beresford, Commander-in-Chief, Channel Fleet. She underwent another refit at Portsmouth in 1907-1908.[12]

Under a fleet reorganization on 24 March 1909, the Channel Fleet became the 2nd Division, Home Fleet. Accordingly, King Edward VII recommissioned as Flagship, Vice Admiral, Home Fleet on 27 March 1909. She underwent a refit at Portsmouth from December 1909 to February 1910. She recommissioned at Portsmouth on 1 August 1911 as Flagship, Vice Admiral, Third and Fourth Divisions, Home Fleet.[13]

Under a fleet reorganization in May 1912, King Edward VII and all seven of her sisters of the King Edward VII class (Africa, Britannia, Commonwealth, Dominion, Hibernia, Hindustan, and Zealandia) were assigned to form the 3rd Battle Squadron, assigned to the First Fleet, Home Fleet. King Edward VII commissioned at Sheerness as Flagship, Vice Admiral, 3rd Battle Squadron, First Fleet, Home Fleet, on 14 May 1912.

The 3rd Battle Squadron was detached to the Mediterranean in November 1912 because of the First Balkan War (October 1912-May 1913); it arrived at Malta on 27 November 1912 and subsequently participated in a blockade by an international force of Montenegro and in an occupation of Scutari. The squadron returned to the United Kingdom in 1913 and rejoined the Home Fleet on 27 June 1913[14]

Upon the outbreak of World War I, the 3rd Battle Squadron was assigned to the Grand Fleet and based at Rosyth, with King Edward VII continuing her service as squadron flagship. The squadron was used to supplement the Grand Fleet's cruisers on the Northern Patrol. On 2 November 1914, the squadron was detached to reinforce the Channel Fleet and was rebased at Portland. The squadron returned to the Grand Fleet on 13 November 1914, although King Edward VII remained behind temporarily, not returning to the Grand Fleet until 30 November 1914.[15]

King Edward VII served in the Grand Fleet until her loss in January 1916.[16] During sweeps by the fleet, she and her sister ships often steamed at the heads of divisions of the far more valuable dreadnoughts, where they could protect the dreadnoughts by watching for mines or by being the first to strike them.[17]

On 6 January 1916, King Edward VII, having transferred her flag temporarily, departed Scapa Flow at 0712 hours on a voyage around the northern coast of Scotland to Belfast, where she was scheduled to undergo a refit. At 1047 hours she struck a mine that had been laid by the German auxiliary cruiser SMS Möwe off Cape Wrath. The explosion occurred under the starboard engine room, and King Edward VII listed eight degrees to starboard. Her commanding officer, Captain MacLachlin, ordered her helm put over to starboard to close the coast and beach the ship if necessary, but the helm jammed hard to starboard and the engine rooms quickly flooded, stopping the engines. Counterflooding reduced her list to five degrees.[18]

Signals to the passing collier Princess Melita induced her to close with King Edward VII and attempt to tow the battleship; soon flotilla leader HMS Kempfenfelt also arrived and joined the tow attempt. Towing began at 1415 hours, but King Edward VII settled deeper in the water and took on a 15-degee list in a rising sea and strong winds and proved unmanageable. Princess Melita's towline parted at 1440 hours, after which Captain MacLachlin ordered Kempfenfelt to slip her tow as well.[19]

King Edward VII sinking off Cape Wrath on the afternoon of 6 January 1916.

With flooding continuing and darkness approaching, Captain MacLachlin ordered King Edward VII abandoned. Destroyer Musketeer came alongside at 1445 hours, and she and destroyers Fortune and Marne, took off the crew without loss of life, the last man off being Captain MacLachlin, who boarded destroyer Nessus at 1610 hours. Fortune, Marne, and Musketeer departed to take the battleship's crew to port, while Nessus stayed on the scene until 1720 hours with tugs that had arrived to assist. After Nessus departed, the tugs continued to stand by, and saw King Edward VII capsize at 2010 hours and sink around nine hours after the explosion.[20]

At the time it was not clear whether King Edward VII had hit a naval mine or a been torpedoed. The presence of the minefield was determined from an examination of German records after the war.

The wreck of King Edward VII, in 115 meters (377 ft) of water, was first visited by divers in April 1997.

Notes

  1. ^ Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships, 1860-1905, p. 38, although Burt, p. 232, claims she had 10 Babcock and Wilcox water-tube boilers and 3 cylindrical boilers
  2. ^ Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships, p. 38, says there were only four of these torpedo tubes
  3. ^ Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships, 1860-1905, p. 38
  4. ^ Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships, 1860-1905, p. 38
  5. ^ Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships, 1860-1905, p. 38
  6. ^ Conway's All the World's Fightig Ships, 1860-1905, p. 38
  7. ^ urt, p. 232
  8. ^ Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships, 1860-1905, p. 38
  9. ^ Burt, p. 235
  10. ^ Burt, p. 246
  11. ^ Burt, p. 246
  12. ^ Burt, p. 246
  13. ^ Burt, p. 246
  14. ^ Burt, p. 255
  15. ^ Burt, pp. 246-247
  16. ^ Burt, p. 247
  17. ^ Burt, p. 235
  18. ^ Burt, p. 247-248
  19. ^ Burt, p. 247-248
  20. ^ Burt, pp. 249, 251

References

  • Burt, R. A. British Battleships 1889-1904. Annapolis, Maryland: Naval Institute Press, 1988. ISBN 0870210610.
  • Chesneau, Roger, and Eugene M. Kolesnik, eds. Conway's All The World's Fighting Ships, 1860-1905. New York: Mayflower Books, Inc., 1979. ISBN 0831703024.
  • Dittmar, F. J. & Colledge, J. J. British Warships 1914-1919. London: Ian Allen, 1972. ISBN 0-7110-0380-7
  • Gibbons, Tony. The Complete Encyclopedia of Battleships and Battlecruisers: A Technical Directory of All the World's Capital Ships From 1860 to the Present Day. London: Salamander Books Ltd., 1983.
  • Gray, Randal, Ed. Conway's All The World's Fighting Ships 1906-1921. Annapolis, Maryland: Naval Institute Press, 1985. ISBN 0870219073.

External links

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