HMS Invincible (1907)

Invincible

Ship data flag  United Kingdom Ship type Battle cruiser class Invincible class Shipyard Armstrong-Whitworth , Elswick building-costs approximately 1,650,000 pounds Keel laying April 2, 1906 Launch April 13, 1907 Commissioning March 20, 1908 Whereabouts Sunk on May 31, 1916 during the Battle of the Skagerrak

Ship dimensions and crew length 172.8 m ( Lüa ) 161.5 m ( Lpp ) width 23.9 m Draft Max. 8.1 m displacement Construction: 17,420 tn.l. Maximum: 20,135 t   crew 784 to 1,032 men

Machine system machine 31 Yarrow boilers 4 Parsons turbines Machine performance 44,875 hp (33,006 kW) Top speed 26.2 kn (49 km / h) propeller 4 three-leaf

Armament 8 × 30.5 cm L / 45 Sk 16 × 10.2 cm L / 50 Sk 5 × torpedo tube ⌀ 45.7 mm (1 stern, 4 sides, under water) Armor Belt: 102-152 mm Deck : 38-64 mm Transverse bulkheads : 152–178 mm Torpedo bulkheads : 64 mm Towers : 178 mm Barbettes : 178 mm Front command tower: 102-254 mm aft command tower: 76–152 mm

HMS Invincible (Eng. "Invincible") was a battle cruiser of the Royal Navy . It was the fifth ship of this name and the lead ship of the three-ship Invincible class . With the Invincible , a new type of capital ship was created.

The ship was built by Sir WG Armstrong-Whitworth & Co., Ltd. in Elswick . The keel was laid on April 2, 1906, launched on April 13, 1907 and commissioned on March 20, 1908.

The Invincible belonged to the "1st Cruiser Squadron" from its commissioning until 1913, after which it was assigned to the "1st Battlecruiser Squadron".

At the beginning of the First World War she took part in missions in the German Bight and against Heligoland . She was later moved to the South Atlantic together with her sister ship Inflexible , where she was involved in the naval battle off the Falkland Islands .

Bow and stern of the broken Invincible, about to sink

During the Battle of the Skagerrak on May 31, 1916, she was the flagship of the "1st Battlecruiser Squadron" under Admiral Horace Hood . There she received a hit from the Lützow with heavy artillery in tower "Q", whereupon she exploded into two parts and went down with 1,026 men of her crew, including Admiral Hood. There were only six survivors.

The wreck of the battle cruiser was located in 1919 by a mine sweeper at the position 57 ° 2 ′ 24 ″  N , 6 ° 7 ′ 9 ″  E, coordinates: 57 ° 2 ′ 24 ″  N , 6 ° 7 ′ 9 ″  E at a water depth of about 60 meters . Since the 1990s it has been dived several times and its condition has been examined. The two parts of the fuselage are parallel to each other, the stern is upright. The gun turret "Y" is still largely intact, its cannons are still pointing towards the enemy on the starboard side . Overall, however , the Invincible is very badly damaged and continues to fall apart. Between 1990 and 2000 the hull collapsed about three to four meters.

Since May 31, 2006, the 90th anniversary of the battle, the remains of the battle cruiser have been protected as a "Protected Place" by the British " Protection of Military Remains Act " of 1986. Although divers may look at it from the outside, intruding, collecting souvenirs or carrying out salvage work is prohibited.

literature

• Robert Gardiner (Ed.): Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships 1906-1921 . Conway Maritime Press Ltd, London 1985, ISBN 0-85177-245-5 , pp. 24-25 .

Web links

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