HMS Queen Elizabeth (1913)

HMS Queen Elizabeth

Ship data flag  United Kingdom Ship type Battleship class Queen Elizabeth class Shipyard Portsmouth Dockyard , Portsmouth Keel laying October 21, 1912 Launch October 16, 1913 Commissioning January 19, 1915 Whereabouts Wrecked in 1948

Ship dimensions and crew length 195.0 m ( Lüa ) 193.4 m ( KWL ) width 27.6 m Draft Max. 9.3 m displacement Construction: 29,150 tn.l. maximum: 33,000 tn.l.   crew 925 to 951

Machine system machine 24 Babcock & Wilcox - Yarrow boiler 4 Parsons turbines from 1940: 8 boilers 4 Parsons turbines Machine performance 75,130 hp (55,258 kW) Top speed 24 kn (44 km / h) propeller 4 three-leaf

Armament 8 × BL 15-inch Mk I (38.1 cm L / 42 ) 16 × BL 6-inch Mk XII (15.2 cm L / 45) 2 × QF 3-inch 20 cwt (7.6 cm L / 45) flak 4 torpedo tubes ∅ 53.3 cm from 1940: 8 × BL 15-inch Mk I (38.1 cm L / 42 ) 20 × QF 4.5-inch Mk II (11.3 cm L / 45) 32 × QF 2-pounder (40 mm L / 39) flak 16 × Vickers 12.7 mm Fla- MG Armor Belt: 102-330 mm Citadel: 152 mm Upper deck: 25 mm upper armored deck : 32–45 mm lower armored deck: 25-76 mm Towers : 127-330 mm Barbettes : 102-254 mm Casemate : 152 mm Front command tower: 102-279 mm aft control station: 102–152 mm Transverse bulkheads : 51–152 mm Torpedo bulkhead : 51 mm Chimneys: 38 mm

The HMS Queen Elizabeth was the first dreadnought battleship of the Queen Elizabeth class . It was launched in Portsmouth , Hampshire on October 16, 1913 , and entered service during World War I, 1915.

The Queen Elizabeth was involved in the attempted capture of the Dardanelles on February 19, 1915 . She was part of a British-French naval association that had the task of destroying the Turkish coastal guns. The attack was unsuccessful, however, as the Turks fought fiercely.

The battleship was ultimately recalled to the North Sea, but missed the Skagerrak Battle . After David Beatty had taken command of the Grand Fleet , the Queen Elizabeth served as a fleet flagship . The ship retained this task even after the end of the war.

In the years 1926 and 1927, the Queen Elizabeth was subjected to a renovation, which was externally noticeable by merging the two chimneys and adding a torpedo bulge. From 1937 to 1941, the ship, like her sister ship HMS Valiant , underwent a total conversion. Among other major improvements, a powerful anti-aircraft battery was installed that enabled the Queen Elizabeth to withstand the increasing threat of air raids during World War II .

During the Second World War , the Queen Elizabeth strengthened the British Mediterranean fleet in order to prevent supplies from the Axis powers . On December 18, 1941, some Italian torpedo riders reached the Allied military port of Alexandria , where they damaged the Queen Elizabeth so badly that she touched the bottom of the port. Because of the shallow water it could be lifted in a short time. It was repaired in Norfolk , Virginia and then dispatched to the Pacific .

There she was used in the British Eastern Fleet as escort for the British aircraft carriers. From July 1945 she was reassigned to the Home Fleet . From March 1946, the ship was transferred to reserve status. In June 1948, the Queen Elisabeth was removed from the list of the Royal Navy and from July 7, 1948, she was scrapped in Dalmuir .

literature

• Edward H. Archibald: The Metal Fighting Ship in the Royal Navy 1860-1970 . Blandford Press, London 1971, ISBN 0-7137-0551-5 , pp. 72-76 .
• Siegfried Breyer: Battleships and battle cruisers. 1905-1970 . JF Lehmanns Verlag, Munich 1970, p. 300-302 .

Web links

Commons : HMS Queen Elizabeth  - Collection of Pictures, Videos and Audio Files

Individual evidence

1. ^ Archibald, p. 72.
2. ^ Archibald, p. 73.