Battles at Sea in World War I - LOST BATTLESHIPS E-Book

Jürgen Prommersberger

• Herausgeber: Jürgen Prommersberger
• Kategorie: Geisteswissenschaft
• Sprache: Englisch
• Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2016

Beschreibung

Many historians describe the First World War as the primary catastrophy of the 20th century. One of the many reasons that led to the outbreak of war, was the maritime arms race between Germany and Britain.

Although there was only one great battle between the German High Seas Fleet and the Royal Navy, the navies of all belligerent parties suffered some losses of heavy naval units. However, these were mainly pre-Dreadnought ships, which were deployed in secondary theaters of war. In particular during the battle of the Dardanelles, the French and the British lost a couple of big ships during the campaign. The German submarine warfare and also German mines took their toll as well.

This illustrated book is about these ships. It introduces the warships, describes the technical details and is in a certain way also an interesting insight into the battleship classes from 1890 to 1915 of the navies involved. Original pictures are completing the book.

Leseprobe

Battles at Sea in World

War I

LOST BATTLESHIPS

Jürgen Prommersberger: Battles at Sea in World War I - Lost Battleships

Regenstauf August 2016 All rights reserved: Jürgen Prommersberger Händelstr 17 93128 Regenstauf

Introduction

Many historians describe the First World War as the primary catastrophe of the 20th century. One of the many reasons that led to the outbreak of war, was the maritime arms race between Germany and Britain. At the latest with the commissioning of the british „all-big-gun“ battleship HMS Dreadnought in the year 1906, the clocks were set back to zero. All previous battleships were then only second class war ships in regard of armor and firepower. England still had a certain advantage, but now the distance to Germany was significantly lower. And when the hostilities were opened in August 1914, everybody expected soon a fierce battle between the german Hochseeflotte and the british Royal Navy.

But except for some "skirmishes" happened..... Nothing. The costly battle fleets remained in the harbor. Only once they met each other during the entire war. Namely on 31.05.1916 in the Battle of Jutland. After that, the two fleets took their roles up again. The Hochseeflotte (High Seas Fleet) as "Fleet in Being" and the Royal Navy with its wide blockade of the German supply.

But it is not the case, that the war parties did not loose any of their big battleships. However, these were mainly pre-Dreadnought ships, which were sunk at side theaters of the war. In particular during the battle of the Dardanelles in Turkey, the French and English lost some of their capital ships in the turkish fire. Also German submarines and mines took their toll.

This illustrated book is about these ships and their fate. It introduces the warships, describes the technical details and are in this way also an interesting insight into the battleship classes from 1890 to 1915 of the navies involved. Original pictures are completing this book.

27 October 1914: HMS Audacious (1912)

HMS Audacious was a King George V-class battleship of the Royal Navy. The vessel did not see any combat in the First World War, being sunk by a German naval mine off the northern coast of Donegal, Ireland in 1914.

Design

The four ships of the King George V class of the 1910 building programme were to have been repeats of the Orion class. However, the battle-cruiser HMS Lion, completed in May 1912 with her foremast ahead of the fore funnel, showed that this was a far better arrangement than that in the Orions, where it was the other way round. This modification produced a new and much improved class of battleship, a rare case where a battle-cruiser design influenced that of a battleship. Although the Orion and King George V classes were very similar, the position of the mast easily distinguishes the two types. The first two ships of the class, King George V and Centurion, were initially fitted with pole type foremasts, but the advent of director firing required a more substantial mast, so they were refitted with heavier tripod masts. Audacious and Ajax were fitted with tripod masts from the outset.

Propulsion

The machinery arrangement was very similar to that of the

earlier Orion class: quadruple propellers driven by Parsons direct drive steam turbines. The machinery spaces were split into three, with the inboard shafts leading to the centre engine room, and the outer shafts to the port and starboard wing engine rooms. The two inboard shafts were driven by the high pressure ahead and astern turbines, with the ahead turbines having an extra stage for cruising. This was separated from the main turbine by a bypass valve. The outer shafts were driven by the ahead and astern low pressure turbines. For cruising, the outboard turbines would be shut down, the ship relying on the inboard shafts alone. The Yarrow boilers remained in three groups of six, eighteen boilers in total. Although primarily coal-fired, Audacious was equipped with oil spraying equipment for quickly raising steam. Normal power was 31,000 SHP, giving 21 knots (39 km/h). Bunker capacity was up to 3,180 tons of coal and 800 tons of oil, which gave a range of 6,370 miles (10,250 km) at 10 knots (19 km/h).

Main armament

Ten 13.5" C45 Mk5 guns were carried in five twin turrets, all on the centre line, with the "B" and "X" turrets superfiring over the "A" and "Y". "Q" turret, sited amidships, was the only one with restricted firing arcs, although "B" and "X" were still restricted from firing directly over "A" and "Y", due to the very real possibility of muzzle blast entering the lower turrets' sighting hoods, which were still placed in the forward ends of the turret roofs. Because of this, the "B" and "X" guns were restricted from firing over from right ahead/astern to 30 degrees either side. The main battery of the King George V class was very similar to that of the preceding Orion battleships. The 13.5" gun, which had reappeared in the Royal navy after a gap of many years, and was first fitted in the Orion class, was an excellent weapon with very good range, accuracy and hitting power. It also had a good safety margin, allowing it to fire a heavier shell. The increase from the 1,260 pounds (570 kg) early shells fired by the Orions to the 1,410 pounds (640 kg) heavy shell did not increase the range; even though the propellant charge was now four quarter charges of almost 106 pounds (48 kg) of MD450 (rod based) cordite, the gun still had a maximum range of just under 24,000 yards (22,000 m). The barrel construction consisted of a liner in an inner tube (A) which was wire wound with many miles of flat wire. Over this was shrunk a steel jacket. There were problems with the wire winding; the barrel could droop, and it is often quoted that the German solid guns were better made. Solid guns took a lot longer and much more machining to make, whereas the wire wound gun was much quicker to manufacture. With a navy with such a large number of weapons, speed of manufacture was of the essence and the Royal Navy never had supply problems for replacement barrels that the German navy had. There were five main magazines and an associated shell room, each serving its own gun. There were 112 rounds for each gun, so each magazine would hold 896 106 pounds (48 kg) quarter charges of cordite, for a total of 474,880 pounds (215,400 kg) of explosive, and a total of 1,120 shells weighing 1,568,000 pounds (711,000 kg) or 700 tons. The barrel life of 400 rounds for the lighter shell was reduced to 220 rounds, which was still good for the time.

Secondary battery

It was widely known that the 4" secondary guns of these and all preceding Dreadnought types were far too light to deal with the newer and larger torpedo boats and destroyers and the increasing range of torpedoes, but 6" guns would have added 2,000 tons of weight and increased the cost substantially, so the Liberal government of the day vetoed this improvement. Sixteen 4" C50 Mk8 guns were carried, mainly in casemate mounts, and mainly in the forward end of the vessel. Most of the guns were mounted in the deck houses, but four were mounted in hull casemates forwards below the forecastle deck. These were found to be useless in any kind of sea, so they were removed from ships of this class in 1915, reducing the battery to 12 guns. Although these guns were a bit ineffectual in size, the deck-house mounted weapons could at least be used in most weathers. The class were also fitted with four 3-pounder signalling guns.

Torpedo armament

Three 21" submerged torpedo tubes were fitted, with one on either beam and the third fitted in the stern. The torpedoes carried were the 21" Mk2 with a 515 pounds (234 kg) explosive charge of TNT. At 45 knots (83 km/h), they had a range of just 4,500 yards (4,100 m), rising to nearly 11,000 yards (10,000 m) at 30 knots (56 km/h).

Armour

The armour scheme of the King George V class was basically that of the Orion, but with slight improvements. The relatively narrow beam of British capital ships (to maintain high speeds) restricted underwater protection, which was certainly deficient in comparison to their German counterparts. The torpedo (screen) bulkheads were still discontinuous over their length and rather too close to the outer hull, but did cover a greater length than those on the Orion class. The side armour belt was, as in the Orion class, carried up to the upperdeck, thus protecting the ship a little better from long range plunging shell fire. The lower belt was of 12" thickness and the upper 8" of Krupp cemented armour. The transverse armoured bulkheads were of 10" Krupp non-cemented armour (KNC), whilst the torpedo bulkheads were a maximum of 3" KNC plate over the magazine and engine room areas, but down to 1" in other areas. This deficient underwater protection was to prove critical in the sinking of the Audacious. The barbettes protecting the turret training gear and shell/charge handling spaces was of 10" Krupp cemented armour whilst outside other armour, and tapering to 3" Krupp cemented armour when inside of other armour plating. The gun houses (turrets) had 11" faces. The decks amounted to a maximum of 4" of non-cemented armour over the magazines, machinery and other vulnerable spaces, but tapering to just 1" in other areas.

Service history

Ordered under the 1910 naval estimates, Audacious was built by Cammell Laird Limited of Birkenhead, Merseyside, England. She was laid down on 23 March 1911 and launched on 14 September 1912. She commissioned into the 1st Division of the 2nd Battle Squadron on 21 October 1913. At the beginning of the First World War, the lack of a fleet base lead to the majority of the Grand Fleet being assigned to the West Coast on various exercises whilst the anchorage at Scapa Flow in Orkney was being made secure against German U-boats. Audacious was part of the 2nd Battle Squadron of the Grand Fleet. On 27 October 1914, the 2nd Battle Squadron – consisting of the 'super-dreadnoughts' King George V, Ajax, Centurion, Audacious, Monarch, Thunderer and Orion – left Lough Swilly to conduct gunnery exercises at Loch na Keal in Ireland.

In the middle of a turn, at 08:45, Audacious ran upon a mine laid by the German auxiliary minelayer Berlin off Tory Island. The explosion occurred 16 feet (4.9 m) under the bottom of the ship, approximately 10 feet (3.0 m) forward of the transverse bulkhead at the rear of the port engine room. The port engine room, machine room, X turret shell room and compartments below them flooded immediately, with water spreading more slowly to the central engine room and adjoining spaces. Captain Cecil F. Dampier, thinking that the ship had been attacked by a submarine, hoisted the submarine warning; in accordance with instructions the rest of the squadron steamed away to safety. The ship rapidly took on a list of 10-15 degrees to port, which was reduced by counter flooding compartments on the starboard side, so that by 09:45, the list ranged from 1-10 degrees as she rolled in rough seas. At this point, the starboard engine was still operational. The ship could make 9 kn (10 mph; 17 km/h) and Dampier believed that he had a chance of making the 25 mi (40 km) to land and beaching the ship. However, water was still entering the central engine room, probably because of damage to the bottom of the longitudinal bulkhead. At 10:00, the decision was taken to abandon the central engine room, but water was also rising in the starboard engine room, so that engine too was stopped. By 11:00, the central turbine was submerged and the port side deck was dipping under water as the ship rolled to that side.

The light cruiser Liverpool stood by, while Audacious broadcast distress signals by wireless. The Commander-in-Chief of the Grand Fleet, Sir John Jellicoe, ordered every available destroyer and tug out to assist, but did not dare send out battleships to tow Audacious because of the apparent submarine threat. Meanwhile, the White Star liner Olympic, elder sister of the famous Titanic, arrived on the scene. Dampier brought the bow of the ship round to sea and ordered all non-essential crew off, boats from Liverpool and Olympic assisting, so that only 250 men remained by 14:00. At 13:30, the captain of Olympic, Captain Haddock, suggested that his ship attempt to take Audacious in tow. Dampier agreed, and with the assistance of the destroyer Fury, a tow line was passed within 30 minutes. The ships began moving toward Lough Swilly, but Audacious was so unmanageable that the tow line parted. Liverpool and the collier Thornhill attempted to take the battleship in tow, but to no avail. By 16:00, the forward deck was 4 feet (1.2 m) above water, while the stern had no more than 1 foot (0.30 m) clearance.

In the meantime, at 13:08, a message had arrived from the coastguard station at Mulroy that the steamer Manchester Commerce had been mined in the same area the day before. At 16:60, Malin Head reported that the sailing vessel Cardiff had also been mined the previous night. Upon learning this, at 17:00, Jellicoe ordered the pre-dreadnought battleship Exmouth out to attempt to tow Audacious in. In case the ship was saved, he also requested an officer from the Construction Department at the Admiralty, in anticipation of major repairs. Vice-Admiral Sir Lewis Bayly, commander of the 1st Battle Squadron, arrived on the scene in the boarding vessel Cambria and took over the rescue operation. With dark approaching, Bayly, Dampier and the remaining men on Audacious were taken off at 19:15. As the quarterdeck flooded, the ship's whaler broke loose and, slithering across the deck, caused further damage to hatches and ventilators, leading to rapid flooding of the stern.

At 20:45, with the decks underwater, the ship heeled sharply, paused, and then capsized. The ship floated upside down with the bow raised until 21:00, when an explosion occurred throwing wreckage 300 feet (91 m) into the air, followed by two more. The explosion appeared to come from the area of B magazine and was possibly caused by high-explosive shells falling from their racks and exploding, then igniting the cordite magazine. A piece of armour plate fell on and killed a petty officer on Liverpool, which was 800 yd (730 m) away. This was the only casualty in connection with the sinking.

Aftermath

Jellicoe immediately proposed that the sinking be kept a secret, to which the Board of Admiralty and the British Cabinet agreed, an act open to ridicule later on. For the rest of the war, Audacious' name remained on all public lists of ship movements and activities. Many Americans on board Olympic were beyond British jurisdiction and discussed the sinking. Many photos, and even one moving film, had been taken. By 19 November, the loss of the ship was accepted in Germany. Jellicoe's opposite number in Germany, Reinhard Scheer, wrote after the war, "In the case of the Audacious we approve of the English attitude of not revealing a weakness to the enemy, because accurate information about the other side's strength has a decisive effect on the decisions taken."

On 14 November 1918, shortly after the war ended, a notice officially announcing the loss appeared in The Times:

H.M.S. Audacious.

A Delayed Announcement.

The Secretary of the Admiralty makes the following announcement:—

H.M.S. Audacious sank after striking a mine off the North Irish coast on October 27, 1914. This was kept secret at the urgent request of the Commander-in-Chief, Grand Fleet, and the Press loyally refrained from giving it any publicity.

A Royal Navy review board judged that a contributory factor in the loss was that Audacious was not at action stations, with water-tight doors locked and damage control teams ready. Attempts were made to use the engine circulating pumps as additional bilge pumps, but the rapid rise of water prevented this. Although hatches were open at the time of the explosion, it was claimed that all were closed before rising water reached them. Apart from the damage to the bottom of the ship, water was found to have spread through bulkheads because of faulty seals around pipes and valves, broken pipes and hatches which did not close properly. HMS Marlborough, of the subsequent (but fairly similar) Iron Duke class, was torpedoed at Jutland and for a time continued to steam at 17 knots (20 mph; 31 km/h) despite damage.

The wreck of Audacious was found 24 miles (39 km) north of the Irish coast, and filmed for the television show Deep Wreck Mysteries on the History Channel. The programme featured an investigation of the wreck and the circumstances of its loss by nautical archaeologist Innes McCartney and battleship expert Bill Jurens. The wreck lies upside down on the sea bed, with the starboard propeller shafts bent and rudder detached, but in clear water 17 miles (27 km) north east of Tory island

Next page: HMS Liverpool and HMS Fury try together with passenger liner RMS Olympic to tow the sinking Audacious into safety. These two pictures were taken on board RMS Olympic.

(Author: Edith and Mabel Smith / Mr. Nigel Aspdin).

26 November 1914: HMS Bulwark (1899)

HMS Bulwark belonged to a sub-class of the Formidable-class of pre-dreadnought battleships of the Royal Navy known as the London class.

Technical description

HMS Bulwark was laid down at Devonport Dockyard on 20 March 1899 and launched on 18 October 1899. She began trials in May 1901 and was completed in March 1902. Like the first three Formidable-class ships, Bulwark and her four London-class sisters were similar in appearance to and had the same armament as the Majestic and Canopus classes that preceded them. The Formidables and Londons are often described as improved Majestics, but in design they were essentially enlarged Canopuses. The Formidables and Londons were larger than the two preceding classes, and enjoyed both advantages of their predecessors. A greater protection similar to the Majestics and the higher speed of the Canopuses. The armour scheme of the Formidables and Londons was similar to that of the Canopuses, although – unlike in the Canopuses – the armour belt ran all the way to the stern; it was 215 ft (66 m) long and 15 ft (4.6 m) deep and 9 in (23 cm) thick, tapering at the stem to 3 in (7.6 cm) thick and 12 ft (3.7 m) deep and at the stern to 1.5 in (3.8 cm) thick and 8 ft (2.4 m) deep. The main battery turrets had Krupp armour, 10 in (25 cm) on their sides and 8 in (20 cm) on their backs.

The Formidables and Londons improved on the main and secondary armament of previous classes, being upgunned from 35-calibre to 40-calibre 12 in (300 mm) guns and from 40-calibre to 45-calibre 6 in (150 mm) guns. The 12 in (300 mm) guns could be loaded at any bearing and elevation, and beneath the turrets the ships had a split hoist with a working chamber beneath the guns that reduced the chance of a cordite fire spreading from the turret to the shell and powder handling rooms and to the magazines. The Formidables and Londons had an improved hull form that made them handier at high speeds than the Majestics. They also had inward-turning screws, which allowed reduced fuel consumption and slightly higher speeds than in previous classes but at the expense of less manoeuvrability at low speeds. A change in design from that of the first three Formidables occurred in Bulwark and the other four Londons, which is why the Londons often are considered a separate class. The main difference in the Bulwarks and the other four Londons from the first three ships was thinner deck armour and some other detail changes to the armour scheme. Like all pre-dreadnoughts, Bulwark was outclassed by the dreadnought battleships that began to appear in 1906. And like other pre-dreadoughts, however, Bulwark took on some first-line duties during the early part of the First World War.

Operational history / Pre-First World War

Bulwark had a long refit immediately after completion for the installation of fire control, but finally commissioned at Devonport Dockyard by Captain Frederick Hamilton on 18 March 1902 for Mediterranean Fleet service. She left Plymouth on 6 May, and four days later arrived at Gibraltar, where she relieved the battleship HMS Royal Oak (this is of course not the Royal Oak, which was sunk in Scapa Flow in the World War II by german submarine U47) which returned home to pay off. Sir Compton Domvile had hoisted his flag on 1 May 1902 (while at Plymouth), and succeeded as Commander-in-Chief, Mediterranean Fleet when Bulwark relieved battleship Renown as fleet flagship on 20 May 1902. She underwent a refit at Malta in 1905–1906. Her Mediterranean Fleet service ended when she paid off at Devonport on 11 February 1907.

On 12 February 1907, Bulwark recommissioned to serve as Flagship, Rear-Admiral, Nore Division, Home Fleet, at the Nore. She grounded near Lemon Light in the North Sea on 26 October, and underwent a refit at Chatham Dockyard in 1907–1908. In 1908, Captain Robert Falcon Scott of Antarctic fame became Bulwark's commander, becoming the youngest battleship commander at that time. Bulwark joined the Channel Fleet on 3 October 1908. Under the fleet reorganisation of 24 March 1909, the Channel Fleet became the 2nd Division of the Home Fleet, and Bulwark thus became a Home Fleet unit. She underwent a refit later in 1909. On 1 March 1910, Bulwark commissioned into the reserve at Devonport with a nucleus crew as Flagship, Vice-Admiral, 3rd and 4th Divisions, Home Fleet, at the Nore. She began a refit at Chatham in September 1911, and grounded twice on Barrow Deep off the Nore during refit trials in May 1912, suffering bottom damage. Her refit complete in June 1912, she recommissioned and joined the 5th Battle Squadron.

First World War

From the beginning of the First World War in August 1914, Bulwark and the 5th Battle Squadron, assigned to the Channel Fleet and based at Portland upon the outbreak of war, carried out numerous patrols in the English Channel under the command of Captain Guy Sclater. From 5 to 9 November 1914, while anchored at Portland, Bulwark hosted the court martial of Rear-Admiral Sir Ernest Charles Thomas Troubridge for his actions during the pursuit of the German battlecruiser SMS Goeben and light cruiser SMS Breslau in the Mediterranean Sea in August 1914. On 14 November 1914, the 5th Battle Squadron transferred to Sheerness to guard against a possible German invasion of England.

Loss

A powerful internal explosion ripped Bulwark apart at 07:50 on 26 November 1914 while she was moored at Number 17 buoy in Kethole Reach, 4 nmi (4.6 mi; 7.4 km) west of Sheerness in the estuary of the River Medway. Out of her complement of 750, no officers and only 14 sailors survived, two of whom subsequently died of their injuries in hospital. Most of the survivors were seriously injured. The only men to survive the explosion comparatively unscathed were those who had been in Number 1 mess-deck amidships, who were blown out of an open hatch. One of these men, Able Seaman Stephen Marshall, described feeling the sensation of "a colossal draught", being drawn "irresistibly upwards", and, as he rose in the air, clearly seeing the ship's masts shaking violently.

Witnesses on the battleship Implacable, the next ship in line at the mooring, reported that "a huge pillar of black cloud belched upwards... From the depths of this writhing column flames appeared running down to sea level. The appearance of this dreadful phenomenon was followed by a thunderous roar. Then came a series of lesser detonations, and finally one vast explosion that shook the Implacable from mastheads to keel."

The destruction of Bulwark was also witnessed on board battleship Formidable, where "when the dust and wreckage had finally settled a limp object was seen hanging from the wireless aerials upon which it had fallen. With difficulty the object was retrieved and found to be an officer's uniform jacket with three gold bands on the sleeves and between them the purple cloth of an engineer officer. The garment's former owner had been blasted into fragments." Perhaps the most detailed descriptions of the disaster came from witnesses on board battleships Prince of Wales and Agamemnon, both of whom stated that smoke issued from the stern of the ship prior to the explosion and that the first explosion appeared to take place in an after magazine.

On 29 November 1914 divers sent to find the wreck reported that the ship's port bow as far aft as the sick bay had been blown off by the explosion and lay 50 ft (15 m) east of the mooring. The starboard bow lay 30 ft (9.1 m) further away. The remainder of the ship had been torn apart so violently that no other large portions of the wreck could be found. In terms of loss of life, the incident remains the second most catastrophic accidental explosion in the history of the United Kingdom, exceeded only by the explosion of the dreadnought battleship Vanguard, caused by a stokehold fire detonating a magazine, at Scapa Flow in 1917.

Inquiry into loss

A naval court of enquiry into the causes of the explosion held on 28 November 1914 established that it had been the practice to store ammunition for Bulwark's 6 in (150 mm) guns in cross-passageways connecting her total of 11 magazines. It suggested that, contrary to regulations, 275 six-inch shells had been placed close together, most touching each other, and some touching the walls of the magazine, on the morning of the explosion. The most likely cause of the disaster appears to have been overheating of cordite charges stored alongside a boiler room bulkhead, and this was the explanation accepted by the court of enquiry. It has also been suggested that damage caused to one of the shells stored in the battleship's cross-passageways may have weakened the fusing mechanism and caused the shell to become 'live'. A blow to the shell, caused by it being dropped point down, could then have set off a chain reaction of explosions among the shells stored in Bulwark's cross-passageways sufficient to detonate the ship's magazines.

Memorials

A memorial to those lost on Bulwark and Princess Irene (*1) was erected at the Dockyard Church, Sheerness in 1921. It was dedicated by Archdeacon Ingles, the Chaplain of the Fleet. It was unveiled by Hugh Evan-Thomas, Commander-in-Chief, The Nore. Victims of both ships are also commemorated on the Naval War Memorial at Southsea. Another memorial was placed in Woodlands Road Cemetery, Gillingham, as part of the Naval Burial Ground. Bulwark's wreck site is designated as a controlled site under the Protection of Military Remains Act.

(*1) HMS Princess Irene was a 5,394 GRT ocean liner which was built in 1914 by William Denny and Brothers Ltd, Dumbarton, Scotland for the Canadian Pacific Railway. She was requisitioned by the Royal Navy on completion and converted to an auxiliary minelayer. On 27 May 1915, she exploded and sank off Sheerness, Kent with the loss of 352 lives.

1 January 1915: HMS Formidable (1898)

HMS Formidable, the third of four ships of that name to serve in the Royal Navy, was the lead ship of her class of pre-dreadnought battleships. She was commissioned in 1904.

Technical characteristics

HMS Formidable was laid down at Portsmouth Dockyard on 21 March 1898 and launched on 17 November 1898. She was completed in September 1901, but due to difficulties with machinery contractors her readiness for service was delayed, and she was not commissioned for another three years. Formidable had the same-calibre armament and was similar in appearance to the Majestic and Canopus classes that preceded her. For further technical descriptions, please see details on pages 17/18 of her sistership Bulwark.

Operational history

Formidable commissioned on 10 October 1904 at Portsmouth Dockyard for service in the Mediterranean Fleet. She began a refit at Malta in 1904 which lasted until April 1905, and in April 1908 transferred to the Channel Fleet. Paid off at Chatham Dockyard on 17 August 1908, Formidable began another refit and recommissioned on 20 April 1909 for service in the 1st Division, Home Fleet stationed at the Nore. On 29 May, she transferred to the Atlantic Fleet. In May 1912, Formidable was reduced to a nucleus crew and transferred to the 5th Battle Squadron in the Second Fleet, Home Fleet, again at the Nore, where she served until the outbreak of war in August 1914. Hard steaming during this service led to her developing serious machinery problems. At the beginning of the First World War, Formidable and the 5th Battle Squadron were based at Portland and assigned to the Channel Fleet to defend the English Channel. After covering the safe transportation of the British Expeditionary Force to France in August 1914, Formidable took part in the transportation of the Portsmouth Marine Battalion to Ostend on 25 August. On 14 November, Formidable and the other ships of the 5th Battle Squadron were rebased at Sheerness because of concern that a German invasion of Great Britain was in the offing. The squadron was relieved by Duncan-class battleships of the 6th Battle Squadron and transferred to Portland on 30 December.

Loss

Under the command of Vice-Admiral Commanding, Channel Fleet, Sir Lewis Bayly, the 5th Battle Squadron spent 31 December participating in gunnery exercises off the Isle of Portland, supported by the light cruisers Topaze and Diamond. After the exercises, that night the fleet remained at sea on patrol even though submarine activity had been reported in the area. With rough sea conditions and the wind increasing, submarine attacks would have been difficult to carry out and so were not thought to be a significant threat. Formidable was steaming at 10 knots (19 km/h; 12 mph) at the rear of the squadron off Portland Bill just 20 nmi (37 km; 23 mi) from Start Point, when at 02:20 on 1 January 1915 a torpedo from U-24 struck the number one boiler port side. It was thought that she might be saved by reaching the coast but by about 02:40 she had taken a list of 20° to starboard and then Captain Noel Loxley gave the order to abandon ship. Darkness and worsening weather made it difficult to get the men and boats over the side; some small boats were thrown into the water upside down.

At about 03:05, Formidable was struck by a second torpedo on the starboard side. Amidst a 30 ft (9.1 m) swell the pinnaces and launch along with other boats (one of which capsized soon after) were launched and the two light cruisers came alongside and managed to pick up 80 men in the deteriorating weather. By 04:45, she seemed in imminent danger of capsizing and a few minutes later she rolled over onto many of the men in the water and sank quickly. Captain Loxley had remained on the bridge along with his Fox terrier Bruce, calmly overseeing the evacuation of the ship.

In rough seas near Berry Head, the crew of a Brixham trawler Provident BM291, Skipper William Pillar, First Hand William Carter, Second Hand John Clarke and Apprentice Daniel Taylor (né Ferguson), picked up the men from one pinnace before it sank, saving 71 members of the crew. The second pinnace took off another 70 men, of which 48 were brought ashore alive after it was eventually spotted from the shore the following night, 22 hours after the sinking. The loss of life of Formidable was 35 officers (including Captain Loxley) and 512 men from a complement of 780. The body of Captain Loxley's dog Bruce, a war dog washed ashore and was buried in a marked grave in Abbotsbury Gardens in Dorset. Formidable was the third British battleship to be sunk and the second to be sunk by enemy action, during the First World War.

Lassie

According to writer Nigel Clarke in the Shipwreck Guide to Dorset and South Devon, the original "Lassie" who inspired so many films was a rough-haired crossbreed who saved the life of a sailor during World War I. Half collie, Lassie was owned by the landlord of the Pilot Boat, a pub in the port of Lyme Regis. On New Year’s Day in 1915 the Royal Navy battleship Formidable was torpedoed by a German submarine off Start Point in South Devon, with the loss of more than 500 men. In a storm that followed the accident, a life raft containing bodies was blown along the coast to Lyme Regis. In helping to deal with the crisis, the local pub in Lyme Regis, called the Pilot Boat, offered its cellar as a mortuary.

When the bodies had been laid out on the stone floor, Lassie, a crossbred collie owned by the pub owner, found her way down amongst the bodies, and she began to lick the face of one of the victims, Able Seaman John Cowan. She stayed beside him for more than half an hour, nuzzling him and keeping him warm with her fur. To everyone’s astonishment, Cowan eventually stirred. He was taken to hospital and went on to make a full recovery. He visited Lassie again when he returned to thank all who saved his life.

The sinking of the ship was a severe blow to Britain during these early years of the war. When the officers heard the story of Lassie and what she did to rescue Cowan, they told it again and again to any reporter who would listen as it was inspirational and heart-warming. In 1938 the novel 'Lassie come home' was published by author Eric Knight and might have been inspired by this tale. Hollywood got hold of the story, and so a star was born.

24 January 1915: SMS Blücher (1908)

SMS Blücher was the last armored cruiser built by the German Empire. She was designed to match what German intelligence incorrectly believed to be the specifications of the British Invincible-class battlecruisers. Blücher was larger than preceding armored cruisers and carried more heavy guns, but was unable to match the size and armament of the battlecruisers which replaced armored cruisers in the British Royal Navy and German Imperial Navy (Kaiserliche Marine). The ship was named after the Prussian Field Marshal Gebhard von Blücher, the commander of Prussian forces at the Battle of Waterloo in 1815.

Design

German armored cruisers—referred to as Große Kreuzer (large cruisers)—were designed for several tasks. The ships were designed to engage the reconnaissance forces of rival navies, as well as fight in the line of battle. The earliest armored cruiser—Fürst Bismarck—was rushed through production specifically to be deployed to China to assist in the suppression of the Boxer Rebellion in 1900. Subsequent armored cruisers—with the exception of the two Scharnhorst-class ships—served with the fleet in the reconnaissance force. On 26 May 1906, the Reichstag authorized funds for Blücher, along with the first two Nassau-class battleships. Though the ship would be much larger and more powerful than previous armored cruisers, Blücher retained that designation in an attempt to conceal its more powerful nature. The ship was ordered under the provisional name "E". For new [...]