HMS Indefatigable (1909)
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.jpg) HMS Indefatigable sailing through coastal waters shortly before the Battle of the Skagerrak |
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| Overview | |
| Type | Battle cruiser |
| Shipyard | |
| Order | 1908 |
| Keel laying | February 23, 1909 |
| Launch | October 28, 1909 |
| delivery | February 24, 1911 |
| period of service |
1911-1916 |
| Whereabouts | Sunk May 31, 1916 |
| Technical specifications | |
| displacement |
19,100 ts , max. 22,800 ts |
| length |
179.8 m |
| width |
24.4 m |
| Draft |
9.1 m |
| crew |
820-1017 men |
| drive |
31 Yarrow boilers |
| speed |
26.8 kn , |
| Range |
6,300 nm at 10 kn |
| Armament |
from 1915:
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| Armor | |
| Belt armor |
4–6 in (102–152 mm) |
| Towers |
7 in (178 mm) |
| Armored deck |
1–2 in (25–51 mm) |
| Command tower |
10 in (254 mm) |
| Barbeds |
7 in (178 mm) |
| Sister ships | |
The HMS Indefatigable (German: Die Unflüdliche) was a battle cruiser of the Royal Navy and the lead ship of the Indefatigable class . This was an enlarged and elongated version of the Invincible class . Initially used in the Mediterranean, she was assigned to the Grand Fleet in Scapa Flow in 1915 and took part in the Battle of the Skagerrak on May 31, 1916. There she was sunk by the German battle cruiser SMS Von der Tann . With the exception of two men, the entire crew of over 1000 were killed.
description
The Indefatigable was ordered as the only battle cruiser in the 1908/09 budget. It was a slightly enlarged version of the HMS Invincible with a modified artillery line-up. She was 179.8 m (590 feet ) overall, a width of up to 24.4 m (80 feet) and a draft of 8.2 m (29 feet 9 inches ) when fully equipped. The extension allowed the 'P' and 'Q' center towers to fire on either side of the ship. It displaced 18,797 ts and with a full load 22,485 ts. Its turbines were supposed to produce 43,000 PS (32,065 kW ), but in tests they achieved 55,000 PS (41,013 kW) in 1911. With this drive power it also exceeded the construction speed of 25 knots and reached 26.89 knots in the tests.
The main armament of the Indefatigable consisted of eight 30.5 cm (12 inch) type BL 12-inch Mark X guns in four hydraulically powered twin turrets of the type BVIII *. Two towers were arranged fore and aft in the midship line, designated 'A' and 'X', respectively. The other two towers were in the central nave and were offset diagonally. 'P' was the forward one on the port side approximately level with the middle funnel, 'Q' was a little further aft on the starboard side. The 'P' and 'Q' towers had limited ability to fire to the opposite side as well. The secondary armament of the battle cruiser consisted of sixteen 10.2 cm (4 inch) type MK VII guns in the superstructures. For this purpose, the Indefatigable had two 45 cm (18 inch) underwater broadside torpedo tubes on each side of tower X. Twelve torpedoes were available for the two torpedo tubes.
Even before the war, the Indefatigable on Tower A was equipped with a 2.7 m (9-foot) range finder on the tower roof. In March 1915, the Indefatigable received a single 3-inch QF 3-inch 20 cwt anti- aircraft gun on a Mark II anti- aircraft mount. This could be used at angles of -10 ° to + 90 ° , 7 kg projectile with a muzzle velocity of 760 m / s and could fire 12-14 rounds per minute. The maximum effective altitude range was 7200 m and 500 rounds were available for the gun. In November 1915, the secondary armament was reduced by two guns. The remaining fourteen 10.2 cm guns were installed in casemates and the protection of the operators from weather and fire was improved.
Before May 1916, the Indefatigable was equipped with a fire control station, whose officer now centrally controlled the use of the main armament. This improved the aiming accuracy considerably, since the shots could be assessed better than from the individual turrets.
commitment
Pre-war period
On February 23, 1909, the Indefatigable was laid in Devonport Dockyard in Plymouth . It was launched on October 28, 1909 and completed on February 24, 1911. When commissioned, the Indefatigable was assigned to the 1st Cruiser Squadron , which was renamed the 1st Battlecruiser Squadron in January 1913 . In December 1913, the ship moved to the Mediterranean, where it joined the 2nd Battlecruiser Squadron .
Hunt for the Mediterranean division
The commander of the British Mediterranean Fleet , Admiral Sir Archibald Berkeley Milne , had pulled the ships at his disposal into Malta as there were increasing signs of an impending war . On August 2, he sent his representative, Rear Admiral Ernest Troubridge, with two battlecruisers, four armored cruisers, a light cruiser and eight destroyers towards the Adriatic to prevent the Austrian Navy from breaking out . Another light cruiser, the Chatham , was dispatched to Messina to observe the German Mediterranean Division , consisting of the battle cruiser Goeben and the small cruiser Breslau , which had been reported to have entered there. Chatham couldn't find the Germans there and searched the north coast of Sicily for them.
The British Admiralty now fears that the Germans will break out into the Atlantic and ordered the relocation of battlecruisers to Gibraltar . Milne then radioed the Indefatigable and Indomitable from Troubridge's Association and sent them west. On August 4 at 10:32 a.m. they met the Germans north of Bône on their march back to Messina. That morning they shot at the Algerian ports of Philippeville and Bône. Since Germany and Great Britain were not yet at war, the British battlecruisers turned to follow the Goeben , which tried to escape at top speed. However, with its damaged boiler it only reached 22 to 24 knots. The faster Breslau tried several times to pull the British apart by running away to the side, which did not succeed. From Bizerte brought commanded Dublin was added as a further pursuers noon. But the British battle cruisers also had boiler problems. Goeben and Breslau kept running away from them and from 4:45 p.m. only the Dublin was in contact with the Germans. In fog and falling darkness, she too lost it at 19:37 in front of Cape San Vito on the north coast of Sicily. The Germans had proven they had the faster ships and convinced the British of it.
The Breslau entered Messina on August 5 at 5:15 am to prepare for the coal takeover. The Goeben followed at 7.45 a.m. after having ordered three coal steamers over the radio for the route to Constantinople . The German commander, Rear Admiral Wilhelm Souchon , assumed that there was not enough coal in Messina. Meanwhile, there was also a state of war with Great Britain and the Italians made it clear immediately after arriving that the neutrality regulations were to be observed. The British Mediterranean fleet also had instructions from the Admiralty to observe Italian neutrality and to stay outside a six-mile zone, which ruled out entering the Strait of Messina . Milne therefore left Indomitable and Indefatigable at the northern end of the Strait of Messina, as he expected another attack by the Germans on the French troop transports from North Africa to France. Troubridge had left his light cruiser, the Gloucester south of Messina, and continued its march towards the Adriatic, as its destroyers needed coal. Milne also released the Indomitable to Bizerta for Coals, as it was better positioned there to counter a German advance into the western Mediterranean after he had joined the other two battlecruisers with his flagship Inflexible .
The Germans left Messina on the evening of August 6, pretending to march towards the Adriatic for a while, and then walk east towards the Aegean Sea and Turkey. The Gloucester provided continuous instruction on the course. Milne believed in a turn to the west and stayed with the battle cruisers Inflexible and Indefatigable west of Sicily, ran to Malta to replenish coal and then with all three battle cruisers shortly after midnight on August 8 at a leisurely 12 knots. Souchon had passed Cape Matapan more than eight hours earlier . When Milne received another radio message that night, which wrongly stated that they were at war with Austria-Hungary , he continued to secure against the Adriatic, although he learned in the morning that the news of the state of war was false. It was not until August 9, two days after the Goeben had disappeared in the Aegean, that he received clear orders to pursue her. Milne did not believe that Souchon was marching to the Dardanelles and only guarded the exits of the Aegean Sea. The Germans had gained enough lead to meet with a coal steamer in the Aegean, replenish their scarce supplies, and await the political decision to move to Turkey. They entered the Dardanelles on August 10th.
The handover of the German ships to the Turkish Navy and the seizure of the Turkish battleships Reshadije and Sultan Osman I , which were due for delivery in Great Britain , contributed significantly to Turkey's rapid entry into the war on the side of the Central Powers .
Further use in the Mediterranean
On November 3, 1914, Winston Churchill ordered the first British attack on the Dardanelles after the war between Turkey and Russia broke out. The attack led the British battle cruisers Indomitable and Indefatigable with the older French liners Suffren and Vérité . The attack was intended to determine the strength of the fortifications and the extent of the Turkish reaction. The results were not very encouraging. During the 20-minute bombardment, only one projectile hit the magazine of Fort Sedd el Bahr at the tip of the Gallipoli peninsula , which exploded and temporarily disabled ten guns due to the rubble and the shock wave and killed 86 Turkish soldiers.
The main consequence of the bombardment was that the Turks realized where to strengthen their fortifications and that they widened their minefields. The attack preceded the formal declaration of war, which Britain did not make until November 6th. The Indefatigable remained in the Mediterranean until it was replaced by the Inflexible on January 24, 1915 and could run to Malta for overhaul. After graduation, she was transferred to England on February 14th.
Use in the Grand Fleet
In Great Britain the Indefatigable was subordinated to the 2nd Battlecruiser Squadron . She was temporarily the flagship of the 2nd BCS in April and May 1916 , as her sister ship Australia was under repair after a collision with the New Zealand . The Indefatigable was part of the Battlecruiser Fleet of Vice Admiral David Beatty in May 1916. In the Skagerrak Battle on May 31, 1916, the 2nd BCS consisted of the New Zealand (flagship of Rear Admiral William Christopher Pakenham ) and the Indefatigable under Captain CF Sowerby. The Australia was still being repaired due to the April 22 collision.
Hipper's battle cruiser spotted the Battlecruiser Fleet heading west at 3:20 p.m. about ten minutes ahead of the British, who then immediately changed course to cut off the return route for the Germans. At the same time, Beatty ordered the leading 2nd BCS to fall back to the end. Hipper ordered a port turn to take a south-easterly course away from the British squadrons. He also reduced the speed to 18 knots in order to make it easier for the three small cruisers of the 2nd reconnaissance group to catch up. On his new course, Hipper marched towards the deep sea fleet , which was about 60 nm (111 km) in front of him. Beatty also changed course again because he was still too north to actually cut off Hipper. The phase of the battle began, which is known in English as 'Run to the South' and in which the battle cruisers ran almost parallel. When the distance had shortened to 16 km, the Germans opened fire at 3:48 p.m., which was answered immediately. Only the two leading ships, Lion and Princess Royal , had reached their positions, while the others were still moving somewhat offset.
The Indefatigable was already behind, but was farthest to the west and the New Zealand a little further east in front of her. The German fire was precise, while the English had somewhat overestimated the distance to the Germans. The Indefatigable shot at the Von der Tann , while the New Zealand aimed at the Moltke without being shot at itself. At 3:54 p.m. the distance had fallen below 12 km. Beatty ordered a drop to starboard to keep the distance. At around 4 p.m. the Indefatigable was hit by two or three shells from Von der Tann in the area of the rear tower, fell to starboard and was listed. During the next volley, she was hit again in the forecastle and on the forward tower and exploded at 4:03 p.m., as all the magazines were obviously hit. The Von der Tann had previously fired 52 28-cm projectiles.
The Indefatigable sank and took 1,015 men with it.
Only two survivors could be picked up by the German torpedo boat S 68 .
The wreck
The wreck of the Indefatigable is difficult to locate today. Demolition work during the 1950s is said to have left only a pile of small pieces of metal today. Like other wrecks of the Battle of the Skagerrak, the wreck of the Indefatigable has been a "protected place" since May 31, 2006 under the Protection of Military Remains Act of 1986 to prevent further searches at the grave of over 1,000 sailors. It may be viewed from the outside by divers, but entering, collecting souvenirs or performing salvage work is prohibited.
In 1917, Mount Indefatigable in the Canadian Rockies was named after the battle cruiser .
literature
- EHH Archibald: The Metal Fighting Ship in the Royal Navy 1860-1970. London 1971, ISBN 0-7137-0551-5 .
- Siegfried Breyer: Battleships and battle cruisers 1905–1970. Munich 1970, ISBN 3-88199-474-2 .
- NJM Campell: Battlecruisers . Conway Maritime Press, 1978.
- Hans H. Hildebrand, Albert Röhr, Hans-Otto Steinmetz: The German warships. Biographies - a mirror of naval history from 1815 to the present. Koehlers Verlagsgesellschaft, Herford.
- Jane's Fighting Ships of World War One. Jane's Publishing Company, 1919.
- Anthony Preston, Randal Gray (Ed.): Conway's All the World Fighting Ships 1906-1921. Conway Maritime Press Ltd, London 1985, ISBN 0-85177-245-5 .