Queen Elizabeth class battleship
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.jpg "HMS Warspite") HMS Warspite in action during the Second World War | |
| General characteristics |
|
|---|---|
| Displacement: | 27,500 tons standard, 33,000 tons full load |
| Length: | 645 ft 9 in (197 m) |
| Beam: | 90 ft 6 in (27.6 m) |
| Draught: | 30 ft 2 in (9.2 m) |
| Propulsion: | Steam turbines, 24 boilers, 4 shafts, 75,000 shp |
| Bunkerage: | 3,400 tons oil |
| Speed: | 24 knots (44 km/h) |
| Range: | 5,000nm at 12kts |
| Complement: | 950–1300 |
| Armament: | As built: 4 × twin Mk I 15-inch/42 guns 12 × single Mk XII 6-inch guns 2 × single 3-inch high-angle guns 4 × single 3-pdr (47 mm) saluting guns 4 × 21-inch submerged torpedo tubes |
| Protection: | As built armour: Belt: 11 inch tapering to 6 inch forward and 4 inch aft Upper belt: 6 inches Bulkheads: 6 inch and 4 inch forward; 6 in ch and 4 inch aft 15 inch Turrets: 11 inch sides; 13 inch faces; 4.25 inch top Barbettes: 10 to 7 inches above belt; 6 to 4 inches below belt 6 inch guns: 6 inch Conning tower: 11 inch side; 3 inch roof; 4 inch revolving hood Conning tower tube: 6 inches to upper deck; 4 inches below Torpedo conning tower: 6 inch Torpedo conning tower tube: 4 inches to upper deck As built protective plate: Vertical: Torpedo bulkheads: 1 inch + 1 inch Magazine-end bulkheads: 1 inch + 1 inch (extra 1 inch layer added after Battle of Jutland) Funnel uptakes: 1.5 inches Horizontal: Forecastle: 1 inch over 6 inch battery Upperdeck 2 to 1.25 inches from A–Y barbettes Main deck: 1.25 inches at forward and aft ends Middle deck: 1 inch (2 inches after Battle of Jutland) Lower deck: 3 inches at extreme ends; 2.25 inches over steering gear; 1 inch forward |
Origins
Following the success of the 13.5 inch gun, the Admiralty decided to develop a 15 inch gun to equip the battleships of 1912 construction programme. The move to the larger gun was accelerated by one or two years by the intervention of Winston Churchill, now at the Admiralty. Rather than waiting for prototype guns, the entire design was optimized on paper for the new weapon, and construction commenced immediately. In making this decision, the Admiralty ran a considerable risk, as a forced reversion to the 13.5-in (343 mm) gun would have resulted in a much weaker ship.The initial intention was that the new battleships would have the same configuration as the preceding Iron Duke class, with five twin turrets and the then-standard speed of 21 knots. However, it was realised that, by dispensing with the so-called "Q" turret amidships, it would be possible to free up weight and volume for a much enlarged powerplant, and still fire a heavier broadside than the Iron Duke. The original 1912 programme envisaged three battleships and a battlecruiser. However, given the speed of the new ships, envisaged as 25 knots, it was decided that a new battlecruiser would not be needed. When the Federation of Malay States offered to fund a further capital ship, it was decided to add a fifth unit to the new battleship class ( Malaya), rather than restore the battlecruiser.
The Director of Naval Construction (DNC) advised that the concept would be feasible only if the ships were powered solely by oil. Previous classes, including those still in construction, used fuel oil – still relatively scarce - as a supplement to coal, of which the UK then commanded huge reserves. However, the then First Lord of the Admiralty, Winston Churchill, undertook to guarantee a supply of oil in wartime, thereby allowing the programme to proceed. The oil eventually was guaranteed by the negotiation of the Anglo-Persian Oil Convention Churchill, The World Crisis .
Meanwhile, an investigation lead by Admiral Jackie Fisher had worked through all the logistical problems associated with oil fuel instead of coal, and so oil fuel was installed. Oil has a much greater energy density, vastly simplified refuelling arrangements, requires no stokers, and emits much less smoke to obscure gun laying, and makes the ships less visible on the horizon.
Overview of the Design
The 15-inch (381 mm) gun turned out to be a complete success in service. It was reliable and extremely accurate, being able to drop tight groups of shells at 20,000 yards (18 km). Poor shell design reduced its effectiveness at the Battle of Jutland, but this was addressed with the arrival of the superior "Green Boy" shells in 1918. The gun even remained competitive in World War II, after receiving further shell upgrades, and mountings with greater elevation.Armour protection was modified from the previous Iron Duke class, with a thicker belt and improved underwater protection. The scale of deck armour was less generous, though typical of contemporary practice. However, the ships survived a considerable pounding at the Battle of Jutland while serving as the 5th Battle Squadron, so it should be judged as sufficient for its time.
In some respects, the ships did not quite fulfil their extremely demanding requirement. They were seriously overweight, as a result of which the draught was excessive and they were unable to reach the planned 25 knots in service. In the event, the combination of oil fuel and more boilers provided for a service speed of about 24 knots, still a useful improvement on the traditional battle line speed of 21 knots and just fast enough to be thought of as the first fast battleships. However, after Jutland Admiral John Jellicoe was persuaded that the slowest ship of this class was good only for about 23 knots, and concluded that, since this should be considered as the speed of the squadron, it would not safe to risk them in operations away from the main battlefleet.
The mounting of the 6-inch secondary armament in hull casemates drastically reduced the reserve of buoyancy, since the casemates would not resist water if submerged. In practice, the casemates would be flooded even in normal steaming if the sea was heavy Conway’s, p 34. In addition, the ammunition supply arrangements for the 6-inch guns were relatively exposed; during the Battle of Jutland, this resulted in an ammunition fire aboard Malaya that nearly resulted in the loss of the ship Campbell, p 132.
Despite these problems, most of which were mitigated in service, the ships were well received and proved outstandingly successful in combat. The savings in weight, cost and manpower made possible by oil fuel only were convincingly demonstrated, as were the benefits of concentrating a heavier armament into fewer mountings.
The class was followed by the Revenge class, which took the Queen Elizabeth configuration and economized it back down to the standard 21-knot battle line.
The First World War
The class performed with distinction in World War I. At the Battle of Jutland, four of the ships formed Admiral Hugh Evan-Thomas's 5th Battle Squadron, and in the clash with the German 1st Scouting Group under Admiral Franz von Hipper they "fired with extraordinary rapidity and accuracy" (according to Reinhard Scheer), sinking Lützow and severely damaging Seydlitz and a number of other German warships. Three of the Queen Elizabeths received hits from German warships during the engagement, yet they all returned home, though Warspite was heavily damaged, taking fifteen hits and coming close to foundering.Between the Wars
Between the wars, the ships received considerable upgrade, in some cases amounting to a new ship inside the old hull. This included new machinery, small tube boilers, deck armour upgrades, torpedo belt armour, new superstructure, trunked funnels, new secondary armament and anti-aircraft armament, and many gunlaying and electronics upgrades.The Second World War
In World War II, the class also performed with distinction, though their age, and the increasing obsolescence of the battleship in the face of air power, was beginning to show. They would not have been able to face a well-handled modern battleship such as the German Bismarck with much chance of success. Modern torpedoes outclassed their torpedo belt protection: in November 1941, Barham, although admittedly the least modernized of the quintet, was torpedoed by a U-Boat and sank in just five minutes, with the loss of over 800 of her crew when her magazines detonated. On the other hand, they were extremely resiliant: Warspite survived a hit by a German glider bomb of a type that sank a modern Italian battleship, while Queen Elizabeth and Valiant were refloated and returned to service after being sunk in shallow water by Italian frogmen at Alexandria in 1941.Ships of the class
- Barham received five hits at Jutland and fired 337 shells. In World War II, she fought at Cape Matapan. On 25 November 1941 she was struck by three torpedoes from U-331 and sunk.
- Malaya was hit eight times at Jutland, but only suffered minor damage. In World War II she escorted convoys and was damaged by a torpedo from U-106 in 1941.
- Queen Elizabeth missed Jutland, but took part in the Dardanelles Campaign in World War I. In World War II she was mined and sunk by Italian frogmen at Alexandria in 1941. She was subsequently raised, repaired, and served in the far east until 1945.
- Valiant astonishingly received no hits at Jutland. In World War II, she took part in the destruction of the French Fleet at Mers-el-Kebir, and was mined and sunk at Alexandria in 1941. She was subsequently raised, repaired, and served in the far east until 1944.
- Warspite had perhaps the most distinguished career of any Royal Navy ship of the 20th century. She suffered severe damage at Jutland and nearly foundered. In World War II, she took part in many battles, including Narvik, Cape Matapan, Crete, and Salerno, where she was hit by a glider bomb. She was never fully repaired, and became a coastal bombardment ship, covering the Normandy landings, and further operations in other parts of France.
References
- DK Brown “The Grand Fleet: Warship Design and Development 1906-1922”. Caxton Editions 2003. ISBN 1-84067-5314
- Winston S Churchill “The World Crisis, 1911-1918”. Free Press 2005. ISBN 0-74328-3430
- Conway’s All the World’s Fighting Ships, 1906-1921 (Conway Maritime Press, 1985) ISBN 0-85177-245-5
- NJM Campbell Jutland: An Analysis of the Fighting (Conway Maritime Press, 1986) ISBN 0-85177-379-6
Notes
| Queen Elizabeth-class battleship |
| Queen Elizabeth | Warspite | Valiant | Barham | Malaya |
| List of battleships of the Royal Navy |
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