Diadem class
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|---|---|
| Diadem class | |
 HMS Ariadne |
|
| Overview | |
| Type | Protected cruiser |
| units | 8th |
| Shipyard |
Pembroke Dockyard (2) |
| Keel laying | December 1895 to May 1897 |
| Launch | October 1896 to October 1898 |
| Commissioning | July 1898 to March 1903 |
| Whereabouts |
Ariadne sunk in 1917, all canceled until 1956 |
| Technical specifications | |
| displacement |
11,000 t |
| length |
140.97 m over everything, |
| width |
21.05 m |
| Draft |
7.77 m |
| crew |
677 men |
| drive |
2 triple expansion |
| speed |
20.25-20.75 kn |
| Range |
2,000 nm at 19 knots, |
| Armament |
|
| Armor |
Harvey type |
| Armored deck |
65 to 102 mm |
| Casemates and protective shields |
114 mm |
| Ammunition lifts |
52 mm |
| Command tower |
305 mm |
| Sister ships |
HMS Diadem , HMCS Niobe , HMS Andromeda , HMS Europa , HMS Argonaut , HMS Amphitrite , HMS Ariadne , HMS Spartiate |
The eight Diadem class cruisers built from 1895 to 1903 were the last "1st class cruisers" of the Royal Navy to be built as protected cruisers . The "1st class cruisers" were built as armored cruisers after them .
The HMS Niobe became one of the first ships in the newly formed Canadian Navy in 1910 . At the beginning of the war , the cruisers were considered obsolete and too weakly armed. They served as training ships and only three were put back into active service with the 9th Cruiser Squadron.
The only loss of the class in war occurred on July 20, 1917, when a German submarine sank the HMS Ariadne, which was now serving as a mine- layer . Until 1922 all ships except for two training ships were sold as totally out of date for demolition. HMS Spartiate followed in 1932, HMS Andromeda only in 1956.
Building history
Since the Blake class of 1889, the Royal Navy had procured their "1st class cruisers" as protected cruisers. The new ships had four large chimneys and like their predecessors of Edgar - and Powerful class high freeboard. The cruisers of the Diadem class designed by Sir William White , however, lacked the usual armament with a heavy bow and stern gun.
_Plan_and_Elevation.JPG)
Instead of these 234-mm single turrets, two 152-mm cannons were placed side by side. This was repeated on the Monmouth-class armored cruisers and later recognized as a defect. The remaining twelve 152-mm guns were all placed in casemates. At the ends of the superstructure, two casemates were installed one above the other, with the lower casemates being near the waterline, which also applied to the side casemates of the remaining four guns. This deep setup of the middle artillery offered good protection for the guns and allowed them to be more numerous. It was also retained on all armored cruisers, but its use was significantly hindered in rough seas. All guns in the casemates had a separate ammunition elevator, also in the "double-decker" casemates. The bow and stern guns were supplied with ammunition via just one elevator. In addition to the sixteen 152 mm cannons, the cruisers received fourteen 12 pdr (76 mm) rapid-fire guns for anti- torpedo boats, three 3 pdr (47 mm) Hotchkiss cannons and two British 18-inch (450 mm) -Underwater torpedo tubes.
The Diadem class, like the preceding Powerful class, should primarily serve trade protection. For this reason, the steel hulls were all coated with wood and copper to improve their use in the tropics. They were a cheaper variant of the Powerfuls . The reduced engine power and speed, the lower armor and the waiver of the heavy artillery reduced the costs per ship by about 15%. In addition, the maintenance with the smaller crew was cheaper. With eight ships, the Diadem class was relatively important, but its use was controversial. In particular, the lack of stronger armament of the very large ships and the only average speed were criticized. The poor protection of the guns with the best fields of fire was also criticized.
Surprisingly, the equipment with the then new Belleville boilers was relatively problem-free, even if the use of a French boiler type was constantly discussed. The maintenance and coal consumption of the tubular boilers were considered too expensive. A trip of the Diadem in December 1898 in 69 hours from Gibraltar to the Nore with an average of 19.27 knots was considered by the government as proof of the reliability of the boiler type. However, Diadem had to get new boilers as early as 1902.
The vibrations in the drive of the first ships led to a change in the engine rooms of the second ships of the shipyards, all of which also received an engine power of 1500 PSi higher. All ships exceeded the required speed performance in their tests, whereby the Europa achieved the lowest with 20.4 kn and the Ariadne with 21.5 kn the best. Initially, the Europa and later the Niobe had relatively frequent propulsion problems.
Mission history
The Diadem -class cruisers mostly served in their home waters, but there were also stations on the China Station , in the Mediterranean Fleet and in the Caribbean .
On October 20, 1899, HMS Niobe ran as part of the requested reinforcements to South Africa , where it arrived on November 25. On December 4, 1899, she supported the rescue of the troops in St. Helena Bay from the steamer Ismore, which had run aground at St Columbine Point . The Niobe remained stationed at the Cape until August 23, 1900 .
The HMS Argonaut came into service in Chatham for the China Station until July 1904. It was followed by HMS Amphitrite from April 1903 to 1905 and HMS Diadem from 1905 to 1907 at this station .
As cruisers of the Channel Squadron, Diadem and Niobe accompanied the yacht Ophir with the heir to the throne from Portsmouth to Gibraltar from March 1901 on the journey to Australia and again from São Vicente (Cape Verde) on the return journey to Canada and home. In Gibraltar the HMS Andromeda stationed in the Mediterranean took over the care together with the HMS Diana in order to hand it over to HMS St.George and HMS Juno in Colombo (?) . The Diadem later also served in the Mediterranean Fleet .
The HMS Ariadne was the flagship of the North America and West Indies station in 1902, where she stayed until mid-1905.
In addition to the few foreign stations, there were trips by individual ships with exchange crews to the foreign stations, such as the HMS Europe 1900 to Australia or the HMS Spartiate to China in 1912. From 1906 the cruisers were active on these tasks and in reserve maneuvers. For this purpose, they were increasingly used as stationary training ships.
The Andromeda , which existed until 1956, was renamed the ship boy training ship in Devonport , renamed the Powerful II on September 23, 1913, and Impregnable II in November 1919 . It then became part of the torpedo school, renamed HMS Defiance again on January 20, 1931 and only canceled in 1956. The fact that the Spartiate was not canceled until 1932 was also due to its use in the Plymouth training center, from 1915 under the name Fisgard .
Canadian Navy cruiser
The decision to build up their own navies in the larger Commonwealth of Nations led to the sale of the Niobe and HMS Rainbow to the newly founded Royal Canadian Navy in 1910 . It is considered their first ship. It entered service in Devonport on September 6, 1910 and reached Halifax on October 21. Rainbow put into service in Portsmouth on August 4, 1910, but only became a Canadian ship when it arrived in Esquimalt on November 7.
On the night of 30/31/1911, the Niobe ran aground off Sable Island , Nova Scotia . With the support of HMS Cornwall , which ran aground and the high tide, the Niobe was released, but the repairs took 18 months and the cruiser's top speed was permanently reduced. She continued to serve as a training ship.
War effort
Only three ships of the Diadem class returned to active service when the war broke out; the large ships were too labor-intensive and not powerful enough to be used effectively. The Europa , Argonaut and Amphitrite came to the 9th Cruiser Squadron, which as Cruiser Force I was supposed to monitor the eastern North Atlantic from about the northwest corner of Spain at Cap Finisterre to the Azores and Madeira. The base of the squadron was to be Gibraltar. On August 4, 1914, Rear Admiral John de Robeck , reactivated as squadron commander, ran out of Plymouth with HMS Vindictive as the squadron flagship and HMS Highflyer . Already on the approach, the cruisers brought up a number of German ships, some of which they accompanied back. Argonaut and HMS Challenger followed as the next cruiser, then Europa and Amphitrite . In August, the HMS Minerva was handed over to Gibraltar by the 11th cruiser squadron.
In November, de Robeck took over the leadership of a newly formed squadron off the West African coast with the HMS Warrior coming from the Mediterranean as the flagship, the HMS Black Prince , the HMS Donegal and the Highflyer , which gathered on November 12 outside Sierra Leone . The old cruisers stayed in the north. The Sierra Leone squadron, which had been set up as additional security against the Spee squadron , was soon disbanded and the armored cruisers were released back home. The Europa was de Robeck's flagship at Finisterre Station until February 1915. Admiral de Robeck was assigned to the commander-in-chief of the Mediterranean Fleet as a deputy and was supposed to prepare the advance through the Dardanelles. His former flagship Europa escorted the transporter to the operational area. She then remained in Mudros as a work ship for the staffs until the end of the war with Turkey . Argonaut and Amphitrite returned home by the summer, as no German cruisers or auxiliary cruisers were active in the Atlantic.
The now Canadian HMCS Niobe joined the Royal Navy 's 4th Cruiser Division at the North America and West Indies station after the start of the war . She tried to land German ships off the US coast. After a year of service, the rather worn ship was decommissioned on September 6, 1915 in Halifax. It then served as a stationary training ship. It was badly damaged in the great Halifax explosion in 1917 and many crew members died on it. The damaged ship continued to be used until 1920 when it was finally decommissioned and sold for demolition, which took place in Philadelphia in 1922 .
In 1917 Amphitrite and Ariadne were converted into mine layers , as the mine barriers on the canal were intended to be strengthened against submarines in particular. The armament was reduced to four 152 mm guns and one 76 mm (12 pdr) anti-aircraft gun. There was also space for 354 mines.
The Ariadne became the only war casualty of the class when she sank off Beachy Head on July 26, 1917 , after being torpedoed by the German UC 65 submarine under Otto Steinbrinck . 38 men of the crew died in the sinking.
The Amphitrite collided on September 8, 1918 with the destroyer HMS Nessus of the Admiralty-M-class , which sank immediately.
The Diadem-class cruisers
| Surname | Shipyard | Keel laying | Launch | Commissioning | Mission history |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| diadem | Fairfield , Govan , BuildingN ° 390 | 01/23/1896 | 10/21/1896 | 07/19/1898 | 1899 Channel Squadron, March 1901 Accompaniment of the yacht Ophir with the heir to the throne from Portsmouth to Gibraltar, again from São Vicente (Cape Verde) to Canada and home, October 1903 Mediterranean, 1905 to 1907 China station, April 1909 4th Division, Home Fleet, in Portsmouth
1914 stoker training ship, out of service in October 1915, stoker training ship again in January 1918, sold to Morecambe for demolition on May 9, 1921 |
| Niobe | Vickers Ltd. , Barrow BauN ° 248 | December 16, 1895 | 02/20/1897 | December 6, 1898 | October 1899 relocation to South Africa, April 1900 transport of captured Boers to St. Helena , March 1901 escort of the yacht Ophir with the heir to the throne from Portsmouth to Gibraltar (Colombo?), Again from São Vicente (Cape Verde) to Canada and home, Sold to Canada in 1910,
1914 North America and West Indies Station , October 1915 Depot ship in Halifax , December 6, 1917 damaged in the Halifax explosion , sold for demolition in 1922 |
| Andromeda | Pembroke Dockyard | December 2, 1895 | 04/30/1897 | September 5, 1899 | March, April 1901 Accompaniment of the yacht Ophir with the heir apparent from Gibraltar to Malta (Port Said?), Reserve in Chatham,
23 September 1913 Young boy training ship Powerful II in Devonport , November 1919 renamed Impregnable II, 20 January 1931 HMS Defiance as part of the torpedo school, 1956 demolished in Belgium |
| Europe |
J. & G. Thompson , Clydebank , BuildingN ° 293 |
02/10/1896 | 03/20/1897 | 11/23/1899 | 1899 one of the first ships with radio during fleet maneuvers, 1900 with reliever teams to Australia,
1914 9th cruiser squadron, July 1915 to Mudros as a stationary flagship, 15 September 1920 for conversion, then sold to Genoa for demolition |
| Argonaut | Fairfield, BauN ° 398 | 11/23/1896 | 01/24/1898 | 04/19/1900 | July 1900 to July 1904 China Station, June 1907 Home fleet, April 1909 4th Division, Home Fleet in Portsmouth, April 1912 Training ship for stokers,
1914 9th cruiser squadron to Gibraltar, 1915 hospital ship in Portsmouth , 1918 barracks, sold 18 May 1920 for demolition to Ward in Milford Haven, arrived there on 4 September 1921 |
| Amphitrite | Vickers, Barrow, BauN ° 258 | December 8, 1896 | 5.01.1898 | 09/17/1901 | April 1903 to 1905 China Station, December 1907 Home Fleet, April 1909 4th Division, Home Fleet at Plymouth, April 1911 Training ship for stokers in Devonport,
1914 to June 1915 9th cruiser squadron, 1917 conversion to minelayer for the Nore Command , sold for demolition April 12, 1920 |
| Ariadne | J. & G. Thompson, Clydebank, BuildingN ° 303 |
October 29, 1896 | 04/22/1898 | 5.06.1902 | 1902 to July 1905 flagship of the North America and West Indies Squadron, April 1909 4th Division, Home Fleet in Portsmouth,
since March 1913 stoker training ship in Portsmouth, March 1917 conversion to a mine-layer for the Nore Command, 26 July 1917 torpedoed and sunk by UC 65 off Beachy Head , 38 dead |
| Spartiate | Pembroke Dockyard | 05/10/1897 | 10/27/1898 | 03/17/1903 | 1906 Home Fleet (accompanied Edward VII to Cherbourg), 1912 with reliever teams to China,
1914 Fireman training ship at Portsmouth, renamed Fisgard June 1915 , sold for demolition in 1932 |
swell
- David K. Brown: Warrior to Dreadnought. Warship Development 1860-1905. Caxton Editions, London 2003, ISBN 1-84067-529-2 .
- Roger Chesneau (Ed.): Conway's All The Worlds Fighting Ships, 1860-1905. Conway Maritime Press, London 1979, ISBN 0-85177-133-5 .
- James J. Colledge, Ben Warlow: Ships of the Royal Navy. The complete record of all fighting ships of the Royal Navy from the 15th century to the present. New revised edition. Chatham, London 2006, ISBN 1-86176-281-X .
- Fred T. Jane: The British Battle Fleet. Its Inception and Growth throughout the Centuries. Reprinted Edition. Conway Maritime Press, London 1997, ISBN 0-85177-723-6 .
Web links
- Diadem class in World War II (English)
- Pictures and résumés of the Diadem class (English)
- Ariadne's travels from May 1904 to May 1905
Footnotes
- ↑ a b Brown, p. 136
- ↑ British 6 "/ 40 (15.2 cm) Elswick QF Marks I, II and III
- ^ Conway's, 1860-1905, p. 68
- ↑ Jane, p. 284, British Parliamentary Records from July 1900
- ^ Conway's, 1860-1905, p. 68.
- ↑ requested several times in parliament since 1900
- ↑ Expiry of the last year of use ( page no longer available , search in web archives ) Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ^ Conway's, 1906-1921, p. 10
