HMS Caroline (1914)


history
Keel laying:	January 28, 1914
Launch:	September 29, 1914
Commissioning:	4th December 1914
Decommissioning:	March 31, 2011
Data
Displacement:	Normal: 4219 ts maximum: 4733 ts
Length:	135.9 m
Width:	12.6 m
Draft:	4.9 m
Drive:	8 Yarrow cauldrons 2 × Parsons steam turbines with 20,000 HP each on 4 shafts
Speed:	28.5 knots
Bunker amount:	916 t of heating oil
Range:	5,900 nautical miles at 10 knots
Crew:	301
Armament (removed today):	2 × 6 "/ 45 BL Mk VII (152 mm guns ) 8 × 4 "/ 45 QF HA Mk V (102 mm guns) 4 × 3-pdr / 50 QF (47 mm guns) 8 × 21 "(533-mm) torpedo tube
Armor:	Belt: 1–3 in (25.4–76.2 mm) Deck: 1 in (25.4 mm) Command tower : 6 in (152 mm)

HMS Caroline was a light cruiser in the British Navy and served as a training ship in Belfast until 2011 . She is the last surviving warship that took part in the Battle of the Skagerrak . After her retirement, she was taken over by the National Museum of the Royal Navy .

The ship has been open to the public as a museum ship in Belfast since June 2016 and can be viewed both inside and out.

history

The Caroline was built by Cammell, Laird & Company in Birkenhead in just nine months and officially entered service on December 4, 1914 as the first ship of her class. During the First World War , she was in service with the Grand Fleet in the North Sea and took part in the Battle of the Skagerrak in 1916. From 1918 she was stationed in Aden and operated in the Indian Ocean . In 1924, the Caroline was converted to the naval reserve training ship and moored in Belfast, with the armament removed.

On December 1, 2009, the Royal Naval Reserve Unit HMS Caroline was officially dissolved and at the same time re-established as the Royal Naval Reserve Unit HMS Hibernia in the Thiepval Barracks in Lisburn. In July 2009, the Department of Defense announced that talks were being held with the Portsmouth Naval Museum to accommodate the Caroline . However, the commander of the Caroline stated in December 2009 that the Royal Navy preferred to leave the ship in Belfast.

The Caroline was officially decommissioned on March 31, 2011 and handed over to the National Museum of the Royal Navy . It is to be preserved as a museum ship in the long term, but the location question remains unresolved. At the time of her retirement, the Caroline was the oldest active warship in the Royal Navy after the HMS Victory and the third oldest in the world after the Victory and the Constitution .

Remarks

↑ BL is the abbreviation for "breech loader" and means that it is a breech loader with a drawn barrel, but - unlike the QF (see below) - with a propellant charge separate from the grenade.
↑ QF is the abbreviation for "quick fire" and means that the grenade and cartridge were connected to one another, which shortened the loading time. HA stands for "high angle" and means that such a gun is mounted on a high base mount and can therefore also be aimed at a steep angle (for air defense ).

Individual evidence

↑ HMS Caroline plans afoot , Belfast Telegraph. August 18, 2009.
^ Battle of Jutland veteran HMS Caroline to stay in Belfast , Belfast Telegraph. December 1, 2009.
^ HMS Caroline options considered by Royal Navy museum , BBC. April 13, 2011.

[1] BL is the abbreviation for "breech loader" and means that it is a breech loader with a drawn barrel, but - unlike the QF (see below) - with a propellant charge separate from the grenade.

[2] QF is the abbreviation for "quick fire" and means that the grenade and cartridge were connected to one another, which shortened the loading time. HA stands for "high angle" and means that such a gun is mounted on a high base mount and can therefore also be aimed at a steep angle (for air defense ).

[3] HMS Caroline plans afoot , Belfast Telegraph. August 18, 2009.

[4] Battle of Jutland veteran HMS Caroline to stay in Belfast , Belfast Telegraph. December 1, 2009.

[5] HMS Caroline options considered by Royal Navy museum , BBC. April 13, 2011.