Indefatigable class
| Indefatigable class | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Overview | |
| Type: | Battle cruiser |
| Units: | 3 |
| Predecessor class: | Invincible class |
| Successor class: | Lion class |
| Technical specifications | |
| Displacement: | normal: 18,800 tons |
| Length: | over everything: 179.8 m |
| Width: | 24.4 m |
| Draft: | Testing: 8.2 m |
| Speed: | 25.8 kn |
| Range: | 6690 nautical miles at 10 knots |
| Drive: | 4 screws over 4 shafts |
The Indefatigable class was a class of three battle cruisers of the Royal Navy , in the First World War were used. Originally planned as a single ship, two more ships were added through the procurement of a battle cruiser each by Australia and New Zealand .
planning
The planning of the class, like numerous constructions of the time, went back to the German-British naval competition. Alerted by the supposed war preparations of the German Reich, the Royal Navy demanded that several new armored cruisers be built, but in 1908 the government under Prime Minister Asquith only allowed the financing of one ship. As a result of the public debate, the Commonwealth of Australia and New Zealand decided to make funds available for one ship each. In return, the Australian ship was to serve in the Royal Australian Navy until further notice , the New Zealand ship was a gift.
Admiral Fisher decided on an enlarged Invincible class , but wanted to achieve better fields of fire for the main artillery. For this purpose, the two wing towers in the middle of the ship were pulled further apart so that they could work better on the opposite side of the ship. The weight available for the armor, however, remained the same, so that the Indefatigable was less protected than the previous class in relation to its larger dimensions. Fisher advocated the motto “ Speed is armor ”, but since the predecessor class had already been mocked by the British public because of its weak armor, Fisher determined that the Indefatigable class placed great value on secrecy and not the armor data were published.
Armament
Main artillery
Like its predecessor class, the Indefatigable class carried four main gun turrets each weighing around 500 tons, each with two BL 12 inch Mk X naval guns (305 mm L / 45 guns). The weapons could fire a 386 kg armor-piercing grenade at targets up to 22 kilometers away. The rate of fire was up to two rounds per minute. The three front towers were installed at the same height, one on the forecastle and two wing towers amidships. The single tower on the stern was one deck below.
Middle artillery
The middle artillery of the Indefatigable class was housed in the two deck superstructures of the ships. Six of sixteen 102 mm guns were installed below the bridge, the other ten were in the rear structure, four of them in casemates, the other six were open. However, two of the openly built guns were later removed and the others retrofitted with splinter protection. The BL 4 inch naval gun Mk VII (102 mm L / 50) could fire a 14 kg high explosive grenade about 10 kilometers away.
Further on, the ships were armed with only five machine guns.
Torpedoes
As was common at that time, these battlecruisers were also equipped with torpedo tubes that were built into the hull, one on port and the other on starboard. The tubes could fire 18- inch (450-mm) torpedoes from openings below the waterline. 18 torpedoes could be carried on board.
Armor protection
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The Indefatigable class was provided on the sides with a belt armor made of armor steel 102 mm thick, which was reinforced in the particularly endangered areas of the ships to 152 mm thick. At its thickest point, it extended about a meter below the waterline and about 2.4 meters above it. The barbeds under the turrets were armored down to the armored deck with 178 mm, the turrets of the main artillery themselves were armored on the front and sides with 178 mm and on the top with 76 mm.
As usual with battle cruisers, the horizontal armored deck was less armored than that of a battleship and only 38 mm thick. The upper deck above was mostly 25 mm thick.
The best protected position was the armored battle bridge, 254 mm thick on the sides and a roof about 70 mm thick.
Changes
The armor of the ships HMAS Australia and HMS New Zealand was changed by shortening the belt armor and investing the weight saved in reinforcing the belt at the level of the turrets. The armored deck was also reinforced by half an inch and extended beyond the aft tower.
machinery
The Indefatigable class was powered by 31 Babcock & Wilcox water-tube boilers in which coal was burned to evaporate water. The steam then drove four Parsons steam turbines, which transmitted their power to four propellers via four shafts . The machines were designed for around 45,000 shaft horsepower , which should be sufficient for up to 25 knots. In tests in 1913 even 55,800 wave horsepower and almost 27 knots were achieved for a short time.
The ships of the class carried up to 3400 tons of coal.
Indefatigable class ships
Indefatigable
The HMS Indefatigable was laid on February 23, 1909 in Devonport and was launched in October 1909. In 1914 she was initially involved in the hunt for the SMS Goeben in the Mediterranean . In May 1916 she took part in the Battle of the Skagerrak . There she was hit by the cruiser SMS Von der Tann below the rear gun turret during the duel between the German and British battlecruisers, and exploded three minutes later. 1017 sailors were killed.
Australia
The HMAS Australia was laid down on June 26, 1910 and launched in October 1911. During the war it was initially used in Australian waters to defend it against possible attacks by the German East Asia Squadron. She was later deployed to pursue him and, after the squadron had been defeated, ordered to the North Sea in January 1915 . Since she had rammed her sister ship New Zealand and was damaged in the process, the ship missed the Skagerrak Battle because of necessary repair work. In December 1917 she collided with the HMS Repulse and had to dock again. In April 1919, the ship left England for Australia. Since Australia's Navy was assigned to the Royal Navy in the Washington Naval Conference of 1922 and the ship was already considered obsolete, it was sunk off Sydney in 1924 .
New Zealand
The HMS New Zealand was laid down on June 20, 1910 and launched in July 1911. During the war she took part in the naval battle near Helgoland in 1914 and was part of the British battlecruiser squadron in the battle on the Dogger Bank in January 1915 , where she played a major role in the sinking of the SMS Blücher . It was slightly damaged in the Battle of the Skagerrak. After the war, she transported Admiral Jellicoe on his diplomatic mission through the Empire. Like her sister HMAS Australia, she fell victim to the Washington fleet treaties and was canceled in 1922.
literature
- RA Burt: British Battleships of World War One. Seaforth Publishing, 1986, ISBN 978-1-84832-147-2 .
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b c R.A. Burt: British Battleships of World War One. Pp. 103 to 106
- ↑ a b c d R.A. Burt: British Battleships of World War One. P. 109
- ↑ "12" / 45 (30.5 cm) Mark X " on navweaps.com
- ↑ "4/50 (10.2 cm) BL Mark VII" from February 14, 2014 on navweaps.com
- ↑ a b c d R.A. Burt: British Battleships of World War One. Pp. 110 and 111
- ↑ a b R.A. Burt: British Battleships of World War One. P. 112