Admiral class (1882)
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| Builder: |
Portsmouth Dockyard Pembroke Dockyard Chatham Dockyard |
| Construction time: | 1880-1889 |
| Period of service: | 1888-1910 |
| Ships planned: | 1 (6) |
| Ships built: | 6th |
| Displacement: |
Collingwood / Anson / Camperdown / Benbow : 10,600 tons Howe / Rodney : 11,200 tons |
| Length: |
Collingwood / Howe / Rodney / Benbow : 101 m. Anson / Camperdown : 102.5 m |
| Width: | 21 m |
| Draft: |
Collingwood / Anson / Camperdown / Benbow : 8 m Howe / Rodney : 8.5 m |
| Drive: | 2 double composite steam engines 2 screws |
| Speed: | 18.9 kn maximum |
| Crew: | 515 |
| Armament: |
Collingwood : Guns:
Benbow :
Anson / Camperdown / Howe / Rodney :
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| Armor: | * Belt (side): 467mm (max) |
The Admiral class was a class of battleships in the Royal Navy . As with the Devastation class , the main armament was placed in the center line of the ship. The secondary armament was stationed in the middle part of the ship, protected by armor. This concept was retained on all subsequent battleships of the Royal Navy until the commissioning of the HMS Dreadnought in 1906. The ships were named after British admirals .
history
The first ship of the class to be built, HMS Collingwood , was not originally intended as a type ship of its own class. The design was originally created as a response to the French Formidable class. The Formidable carried three heavy guns of large caliber positioned in the center line and several smaller caliber guns in the broadside. Barnaby proposed several designs to the Board of Admiralty , including an improved inflexible and an improved dreadnought . The final proposal, which was ultimately implemented as HMS Collingwood , provided for muzzle-loading cannons in barbeds, which were set up in the center line of the ship. This list of main artillery was then used on every British battleship up to the HMS Dreadnought in 1906. The ship should not displace more than 10,000 tons and reach a maximum speed of 16 knots. Given the given displacement, this speed could only be achieved with a low freeboard . In headwinds and at full speed, however, the forecastle was pushed down and took over water, which again consumed the additional engine power.
At the time the class was designed, the torpedo boat was emerging as a serious threat to battleships. While the ships were being built, the Royal Navy introduced the triple composite steam engine as a drive in 1886, and nickel steel as the material for the armor in 1889. The development of rapid fire cannons reduced the threat posed by the torpedo boats. Unfortunately, ships of this class did not have any of these innovations and were not the optimal weapon when they were commissioned that had been expected when they were ordered.
construction
The arrangement of the main armament in open barbeds meant that the guns were about 6.6 m above the water surface. That was a good 3 m more than the Colossus class . The elevated position made it possible to bombard the weaker armored decks of enemy ships. The installation in two twin barbeds, which were far apart, prevented the failure of the entire main armament with only one enemy hit. Each barbette was an eleven-sided polygon about 18 m long and 13.5 m wide. The cannons were mounted on a turntable mount. They could only be charged if they were standing lengthways with a pipe elevation of 13 degrees. The cannons had to be swiveled into the loading position for reloading and then realigned again. This led to a slow rate of fire. The swivel range was 270 degrees. The secondary artillery was in a central broadside battery, the smaller calibers, each protected only by a protective shield, one deck above.
The main armament of the HMS Howe , the HMS Rodney , the HMS Anson and the HMS Camperdown was increased to 13.5 inches. The caliber was chosen because the French battleships Formidable and Amiral Baudin carried the same caliber. Cannons of this caliber were more powerful than the 12 inch caliber used on the Collingwood . In theory, it could penetrate the strongest armor known at the time. During the test, a 68 cm thick iron plate was punctured at a distance of 910 m. The projectile had a weight of 1,250 pounds (566 kg), 285 kg of black powder or 85 kg of cordite were used as propellant charge . The problems in the production of these guns delayed the completion of the Howe and her sister ships; There were six to seven years between launch and commissioning.
Since the dimensions of the surface part of the Collingwood were retained in the Howe and her sister ships , the displacement had to be increased by 800 tons. The draft grew from 8 to 8.5 m. However, this meant that when fully loaded and with full coal bunkers, the entire belt armor was under water. It was assumed that the ships could only enter the battle when a substantial part of the fuel had been consumed and the belt armor had at least partially surfaced.
The main armament of the HMS Benbow was increased to 16.25 inches. The long delivery time of the 13.5-inch cannons for the predecessor had led to considerable delays. In order to keep the construction time within reasonable limits, only a return to the 12 inch caliber or the installation of another large-caliber cannon came into question. The 16.25 caliber was chosen, although the 12-inch cannon could penetrate any known armor. However, only one cannon was installed per barbette. The 16.25-inch cannons were the largest caliber ever installed on ships of the Royal Navy (with the exception of a few monitors ). They were lighter than the 13.5-inch guns. The gained weight was used to strengthen the secondary armament. In use, however, the cannons could not satisfy. The rate of fire was only one shot every four to five minutes. The chance of hitting a moving target was much lower because of the smaller number of cannons. The cannons tended to rupture the muzzle, the life of the barrels was limited to approx. 75 rounds each, but changing the barrel was difficult and time-consuming.
The thickness and length of the belt armor on the HMS Anson and HMS Camperdown have been increased. Since an increase in displacement should be avoided, the ships were 1.5 m longer and 0.15 m wider than the earlier ships of the class.
For the first time, the ships of the class were equipped with a system for increasing the power of the steam engines. Compressed air was blown into the furnace, burning more coal, which led to higher steam production.
commitment
Characteristic is the eventful history of operations with frequent lay times in the reserve, as the ships were overtaken shortly after or when they were commissioned. The low freeboard restricted the use of the ships in the Atlantic and North Sea . They were therefore mainly used in the English Channel or the Mediterranean , in later times mainly as coastal defense and guard ships.
All ships of the class were decommissioned before the beginning of World War I.
Ships of the class
HMS Collingwood
HMS Collingwood entered service on July 1, 1887, in the Portsmouth Jubilee Parade. In August it was transferred to the reserve. From November 1889 to March 1897 she served in the Mediterranean, then as a coast guard ship in Bantry until June 1903. In the same month she was placed in the reserve, where she remained until it was sold.
HMS Howe
The HMS Howe was delivered from the shipyard in Portsmouth on November 15, 1885 and was anchored there for four years for completion. In July 1889 she was put into service with the Channel Fleet and remained there until May 1890. Then she came to the Mediterranean. On November 2, 1892, she ran aground near Ferrol Rock and was only recovered with great difficulty on March 30, 1893. It was launched in Chatham for repair and overhaul and served again in the Mediterranean until 1896. After that she was a guard ship in Queenstown . In 1901 it was put into the reserve, in which it remained until it was sold in 1910.
HMS Rodney
The HMS Rodney entered service with the Home Fleet on June 20, 1888. She was kept in reserve until July 1889. After participating in fleet maneuvers until September 1889, she came to the Channel Fleet. She stayed there until May 1894, when she came to the Mediterranean. She returned in 1897 to serve as a guard ship in Queensferry until February 1901. After that it was finally put into reserve and was sold in 1909.
HMS Anson
The HMS Anson was delivered from the shipyard in Portsmouth in March 1887 and was anchored there for two years for completion. On May 28, 1889, she was commissioned as the flagship of the Rear Admiral of the Channel Fleet . In September 1893 she was transferred to the Mediterranean Sea and overhauled in Malta in 1896. In 1901 it was launched in Devonport . It was put back into service in March of the same year for the newly established Home Fleet . In May 1904 it was finally placed in the reserve, where it remained until it was sold on July 13, 1909.
HMS Camperdown
HMS Camperdown was identical to the HMS Anson . It was put into service on July 18, 1889 and immediately transferred to the reserve. In December 1889 she came as the flagship of the Mediterranean fleet , in May 1890 as the flagship of the Channel Fleet. In May 1892 she was launched in the reserve for the first time, in July of that year she was put back into service for the Mediterranean fleet. On May 22, 1893, she collided with HMS Victoria , HMS Victoria sank in this collision. In September 1899 she was in reserve category B, in May 1900 in the Dockyard Reserve. From July 1900 to May 1903 she was back in service as a guard ship in Lough Swilly , before returning to the reserve in Chatham until 1908. From 1908 to 1911 she was used as a mother ship for submarines, only to be sold in 1911.
HMS Benbow
HMS Benbow was put into service on June 14, 1888 for the Mediterranean fleet and remained in the Mediterranean until October 1891. She then remained in reserve until March 1894, only briefly interrupted twice for participation in maneuvers. Until April 1904 she served as a guard ship in Greenock , after which she returned to the reserve. It was sold in 1909.
HMS Collingwood
HMS Howe
HMS Rodney
HMS Anson
HMS Camperdown
HMS Benbow
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Web links
literature
- Oscar Parkes: British Battleships . ISBN 0-85052-604-3
- Conway: All the World's Fighting Ships . ISBN 0-85177-133-5