King Edward VII class
| King Edward VII class | |
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| Builder: |
Chatham Dockyard, Devonport Dockyard , John Brown , Fairfield , Portsmouth Dockyard , Vickers |
| Period of service: | 1905-1921 |
| Displacement: | 16,350 tons standard 17,500 tons stake |
| Length: | 138.23 m |
| Width: | 24 m |
| Draft: | 8.15 m |
| Drive: |
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| Coal supply: | 2164-2238 tons of coal, 380 tons of oil |
| Range: | 5270 nm (9760 km) at 10 kn |
| Speed: | 18.5 kn |
| Crew: | 777 |
| Armament: | Guns:
Torpedo tubes:
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| Armor: |
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The King Edward VII class , named after Edward VII , was a class of pre-dreadnought battleships of the Royal Navy .
history
In 1901, a total of 29 battleships of different classes ( Majestic class , Canopus class , Formidable class , London class , Queen class and Duncan class ) were in service with the British Royal Navy , which were based on a uniform concept by William Henry White . The designs were criticized because the armament appeared inadequate compared to the size of the ships. All ships carried four guns of the 12 inch (305 mm) caliber in two twin turrets and a secondary armament of twelve 6 inch guns (152 mm), the displacement was between 13,000 and 15,000 tons . The equipment with 6-inch guns appeared questionable in view of the improved armor of foreign battleships. The Regia Marina of Italy and the United States Navy had begun to equip their new battleships with guns of the caliber 8 inch (203 mm). The King Edward VII class was designed in response to these developments with the intention of closing the firepower gap and ensuring the Royal Navy's dominance of the world's oceans. The unusual caliber of the medium artillery is due to the fact that the 15.2 cm guns did not have any penetration power compared to the new Krupp armor plates at a normal combat range. Therefore guns with a caliber of 23.4 cm were installed.
construction
Like all other battleship newbuildings of the Royal Navy following the Majestic class, the King Edward VII class corresponded to their basic design. At the same time, it was the first significant development since the Majestic class. The displacement was increased by around 1,000 tons, and for the first time in British shipbuilding a battery of the intermediate caliber 9.2 inch (234 mm) in addition to the main caliber 12 inch (305 mm) and secondary armament (caliber 6 inch, 152 mm) was introduced. At the time of its introduction, it was an excellent weapon due to its higher bullet weight. The four guns were set up in individual towers between the fore and main mast. With a broadside, two of these guns could be used. Even then, however, it was criticized that the secondary armament was not uniformly designed in caliber 9.2 inches. However, this fundamental change in the design would have increased the time required for construction considerably. The uniform secondary armament with the 9.2 inch caliber was only introduced with the Lord Nelson class . However, it turned out to be practically impossible to distinguish the impacts of the main and intermediate calibers, which made fire control considerably more difficult, although the ships of the King Edward VII class had fire control stations on the fore and mainmast, in contrast to the ships of earlier times Classes that only had one fire control station.
The first five ships of the class ( Commonwealth , Dominion , Hindustan , King Edward VII and New Zealand / Zealandia ) were equipped with the Mk IX 12-inch cannon, the last three ( Africa , Britannia and Hibernia ) with the improved version Mk X The installation of 6-inch guns in casemates was abandoned in this class, the secondary armament was placed amidships in a central battery, which was protected by 178 mm (7 inch) thick side armor. The armor basically corresponded to that of the London class, but some details were changed.
For the first time since the 1870s, battleships had balanced oars again. The ships were very maneuverable, at a speed of 13 knots the turning circle was only 311 m. The maneuverability was based on an instability of the ships around the longitudinal axis and therefore they received the nickname "the wobbling eight" (the wobbling eight) during their service time in the Grand Fleet from 1914 to 1916. The ships rolled faster than the previous class, but were still considered stable gun platforms, but took over a lot of water in rough seas.
All ships had coal-fired steam boilers and, with the exception of the New Zealand, had additional oil firing, which was introduced with this class in British battleship construction. This allowed a rapid increase in boiler pressure, which improved the acceleration of the ships. For comparison purposes, four different types of steam boilers were used on the eight ships. All ships reached their design speed between 18.1 and 19.3 knots (35.7 km / h) during testing.
At the time of their development, the ships of the class were powerful battleships. They met all expectations that were placed on them. Unfortunately, it was precisely during this period that major changes took place in the areas of armament, fire control, armor and ship propulsion. The ships entered service between 1905 and the first months of 1907. Soon after their commissioning, they were overtaken by the revolutionary design of the HMS Dreadnought , which entered service in late 1906. In the years that followed, a large number of these novel battleships were added to the fleet.
Fleet use
The ships of the King Edward VII class were mostly used in closed formation during their service life. They were used by the Atlantic Fleet , Channel Fleet and Home Fleet before the First World War . In 1912 they formed the 3rd Battle Squadron, individual ships were assigned to other units between 1916 and 1918. The squadron was used in the Mediterranean during the First Balkan War 1912–1913 and was mostly assigned to the Grand Fleet during the first half of the First World War. In 1914 it was subordinated to the Channel Fleet for a short time, two ships were used in the Mediterranean during the Dardanelles campaign 1915/16. At the beginning of World War I, the ships of the King Edward VII class were so obsolete that they were used as union leaders for more modern battleships. Running at the head of a battleship formation, they should identify and fight sea mines in order to protect the more valuable modern battleships that follow. The 3rd Battle Squadron was spun off from the Grand Fleet in 1916 and then dissolved, some ships were briefly deployed in the Adriatic and the Atlantic , the other ships were transferred to the reserve and were used in local waters for auxiliary services. The Commonwealth was rebuilt in 1917/18 and equipped with all the elements of modern battleships to serve as a training ship. Two ships of the class were lost during the First World War, the rest were sold for scrapping between 1920 and 1922.
Ships
HMS Africa
HMS Africa was used in the Atlantic Fleet (1906–1907), Channel Fleet (1907–1908) and in the Home Fleet (1908–1914). In 1912 the use of airplanes was tested on it. HMS Africa was the first major British warship to be launched from an aircraft. A temporary runway was installed on the deck for this purpose. As part of the 3rd Battle Squadron, she was deployed to the Mediterranean during the First Balkan War 1912–1913. With the squadron she served in the Grand Fleet (1914), the Channel Fleet (1914) and again the Grand Fleet (1914-1916). 1917–1918 it was used in the Atlantic, was then transferred to the reserve and sold in 1920 for scrapping.
HMS Britannia
HMS Britannia was used in the Atlantic Fleet (1906-1907), Channel Fleet (1907-1909) and in the Home Fleet (1909-1914). As part of the 3rd Battle Squadron, she was deployed to the Mediterranean during the First Balkan War 1912–1913. After returning to the squadron, she served in the Grand Fleet (1914), the Channel Fleet (1914) and again the Grand Fleet (1914-1916). 1916–1917 it was used in the Atlantic and 1917/18 in the Adriatic . On November 9, 1918, immediately before the armistice came into force, it was torpedoed by the German submarine UB 50 off Cape Spartel and sank. 51 seamen were killed and 80 injured. HMS Britannia was the last British warship lost in World War I.
HMS Commonwealth
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HMS Commonwealth was used in the Atlantic Fleet (1906-1907), Channel Fleet (1907-1909) and in the Home Fleet (1909-1914). As part of the 3rd Battle Squadron, she was deployed to the Mediterranean during the First Balkan War 1912–1913. After returning to the squadron, she served in the Grand Fleet (1914), the Channel Fleet (1914) and again the Grand Fleet (1914-1916). 1916–1917 she came to the Nore Command . In 1918 she served in the Northern Patrol and then until 1921 as a seagoing training ship. In 1921, HMS Commonwealth was sold for scrapping.
HMS Dominion
HMS Dominion was used in the Atlantic Fleet (1905-1907), Channel Fleet (1907-1909) and in the Home Fleet (1909-1914). As part of the 3rd Battle Squadron, she was deployed to the Mediterranean during the First Balkan War 1912–1913. After returning to the squadron, she served in the Grand Fleet (1914), the Channel Fleet (1914) and again the Grand Fleet (1914-1916). 1916–1917 she came to the Nore Command. In 1918/19 it was used for auxiliary services and in 1921 it was sold for scrapping.
HMS Hibernia
HMS Hibernia was used in the Atlantic Fleet (1906-1907), Channel Fleet (1907-1909) and in the Home Fleet (1909-1914). In 1912 she was involved in testing the use of aircraft for battleships. Commander C. Samson of the Royal Naval Air Service carried out the first launch from a warship at sea with a modified Short S.38 T.2 seaplane . The runway was installed over the pipes of the front tower of the main armament, the landing was in the water. As part of the 3rd Battle Squadron from 1912 to 1917, she was deployed to the Mediterranean during the First Balkan War 1912–1913. With the squadron she served in the Grand Fleet (1914), the Channel Fleet (1914) and again the Grand Fleet (1914-1916). 1915-1916 she was used in the Dardanelles Campaign, 1916/17 in the Nore Command. It was used in the reserve 1917-1919 and sold in 1921 for scrapping.
HMS Hindustan
HMS Hindustan was used in the Atlantic Fleet (1905-1907), Channel Fleet (1907-1909) and in the Home Fleet (1909-1914). As part of the 3rd Battle Squadron, she was deployed to the Mediterranean during the First Balkan War 1912–1913. After returning to the squadron, she served in the Grand Fleet (1914), the Channel Fleet (1914) and again the Grand Fleet (1914-1916). 1916-1918 she came to the Nore Command . In 1918 it was used for auxiliary services, was added to the reserve in 1918/19 and was sold for scrapping in 1921.
HMS King Edward VII
_in_early_1907.jpg)
HMS King Edward VII was used as the flagship throughout the service . It was used in the Atlantic Fleet (1905-1907), Channel Fleet (1907-1909) and in the Home Fleet (1909-1914). As part of the 3rd Battle Squadron, she was deployed to the Mediterranean during the First Balkan War 1912–1913. After returning to the squadron, she served in the Grand Fleet (1914), the Channel Fleet (1914) and again the Grand Fleet (1914-1916). In 1916 she came to the Nore Command . On January 6, 1916, she ran into a mine shortly before laid by SMS Möve near Cape Wrath . The engine rooms were flooded. Nine hours after the mine hit, the ship capsized and sank, there were no human lives to be complained about.
HMS New Zealand
HMS New Zealand was used in the Atlantic Fleet (1905-1907), Channel Fleet (1907-1909) and the Home Fleet (1909-1914). In 1911 it was renamed HMS Zealandia , and the battle cruiser HMS New Zealand has borne its name since then . As part of the 3rd Battle Squadron, she was deployed to the Mediterranean during the First Balkan War 1912–1913. After returning to the squadron, she served in the Grand Fleet (1914), the Channel Fleet (1914) and again the Grand Fleet (1914-1916). 1915-1915 she was used with part of the battle squadron in the Dardanelles campaign. In 1916/17 it was part of the Nore Command, from 1917 to 1919 part of the reserve and in 1921 it was sold for scrapping.
Individual evidence
- ^ Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships, 1860-1905. P. 38; Burt gives the same information for the Commonwealth and Dominion , but gives the boiler equipment for the other seven ships as follows: King Edward VII 10 Babcock & Wilcox and 3 cylindrical; Africa , Britannia , Hibernia and Hindustan 18 Babcock & Wilcox and 3 cylindrical; New Zealand ( Zealandia ) 18 Niclausse and 3 cylindrical
- ↑ Burt, p. 233
- ↑ In various sources, the London class and the Queen class are listed as subclasses of the Formidable class.
- ↑ Burt, p. 229
- ↑ Hugh and David Lyon; Siegfried Greiner: Warships 1900 to today . Buch und Zeit Verlagsgesellschaft mbH, Cologne 1979, p. 27 .
- ↑ a b c d Conway’s All the World's Fighting Ships, 1860–1905. P. 38.
- ↑ a b Burt, p. 235
- ↑ a b Burt, pp. 246-258
- ↑ a b c Burt, pp. 257-258
- ↑ Burt, pp. 251, 253; Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships, 1906-1921 , p. 9
- ↑ a b c Burt, pp. 255-256
- ↑ Burt, pp. 246-249, 251
literature
- RA Burt: British Battleships 1889-1904. Naval Institute Press, Annapolis, Maryland 1988, ISBN 0-87021-061-0 .
- Roger Chesneau, Eugene M. Kolesnik (Eds.): Conway's All The World's Fighting Ships, 1860-1905. Mayflower Books, Inc., New York 1979, ISBN 0-8317-0302-4 .
- Tony Gibbons: The Complete Encyclopedia of Battleships and Battlecruisers: A Technical Directory of All the World's Capital Ships From 1860 to the Present Day. Salamander Books Ltd., London 1983.
- EHH Archibald, Ray Woodward: The Metal Fighting Ship in the Royal Navy 1860-1970. Arco Publishing Co., New York, ISBN 0-668-02509-3 .
Web links
- MaritimeQuest King Edward VII Class Overview
- MaritimeQuest Royal Navy Battleship Index
- World War 1 Naval Combat
King Edward VII | Commonwealth | Dominion | Hindustan | New Zealand , Zealandia | Britannia | Africa | Hibernia