Courageous-class battlecruiser
Courageous as a battlecruiser during the First World War
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Class overview | |
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Name | Courageous class |
Operators | Royal Navy |
Preceded by | Renown class |
Succeeded by | Admiral class |
Subclasses | HMS Furious |
Cost | £2,038,225 (Courageous) |
Built | 1915–1917 |
In service | 1916–1944 |
In commission | 1916–1944 |
Planned | 3 |
Completed | 3 |
Lost | 2 |
Scrapped | 1 |
General characteristics (Courageous) | |
Type | Large light cruiser/battlecruiser |
Displacement |
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Length | 786 ft 9 in (239.8 m) |
Beam | 81 ft (24.7 m) |
Draught | 25 ft 10 in (7.9 m) |
Installed power |
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Propulsion | 4 shafts; 4 geared steam turbines |
Speed | 32 knots (59 km/h; 37 mph) |
Complement | 842 officers and men |
Armament |
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Armour |
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The Courageous class consisted of three
The first two ships, Courageous and Glorious, were commissioned in 1917 and spent the war patrolling the North Sea. They participated in the Second Battle of Heligoland Bight in November 1917 and were present when the High Seas Fleet surrendered a year later. Their half-sister Furious was designed with a pair of 18-inch (457 mm) guns, the largest guns ever fitted on a ship of the Royal Navy, but was modified during construction to take a flying-off deck and hangar in lieu of her forward turret and barbette. After some patrols in the North Sea, her rear turret was removed and another flight deck added. Her aircraft attacked the Zeppelin sheds during the Tondern raid in July 1918.
All three ships were laid up after the war, but were rebuilt into the Courageous-class aircraft carriers during the 1920s. Glorious and Courageous were sunk early in the Second World War and Furious was sold for scrap in 1948.
Design and description
The first two Courageous-class battlecruisers were designed in 1915 to meet a set of requirements laid down by the
Their half-sister Furious was designed a few months later to meet a revised requirement specifying an armament of two
The Baltic Project was only one justification for the ships. Admiral Fisher wrote in a letter to the DNC on 16 March 1915: "I've told the First Lord that the more that I consider the qualities of your design of the Big Light Battle Cruisers, the more that I am impressed by its exceeding excellence and simplicity—all the three vital requisites of gunpower, speed and draught so well balanced!"[2] In fact they could be considered the epitome of Fisher's belief in the paramount importance of speed over everything else. Fisher's adherence to this principle is highlighted in a letter he wrote to Churchill concerning the battleships of the 1912–13 Naval Estimates. In the letter, dated April 1912, Fisher stated: "There must be sacrifice of armour ... There must be further VERY GREAT INCREASE IN SPEED ... your speed must vastly exceed [that of] your possible enemy!"[3]
Fisher's desire for a shallow draught was not merely based on the need to allow for inshore operations; ships tended to operate closer to
General characteristics
The Courageous-class ships had an
Their half-sister Furious was the same length, but had a beam of 88 feet (26.8 m) and a
Propulsion
To save weight and space the Courageous-class ships were the first large warships in the Royal Navy to have geared steam turbines and small-tube boilers despite the latter's significantly heavier maintenance requirements. Furthermore, to save design time, the turbine installation used in the light cruiser Champion, the navy's first cruiser with geared turbines, was simply doubled. The Parsons turbines were arranged in two engine rooms and each of the turbines drove one of the four propeller shafts. Furious's propellers were 11 feet 6 inches (3.5 m) in diameter. The turbines were powered by eighteen Yarrow boilers equally divided among three boiler rooms. They were designed to produce a total of 90,000 shaft horsepower (67,113 kW) at a working pressure of 235 psi (1,620 kPa; 17 kgf/cm2), but achieved slightly more than that during Glorious's trials, although she did not reach her designed speed of 32 knots (59 km/h; 37 mph).[6]
They were designed to normally carry 750 long tons (762 t) of fuel oil, but could carry a maximum of 3,160 long tons (3,211 t). At full capacity, they could steam for an estimated 6,000 nautical miles (11,110 km; 6,900 mi) at a speed of 20 knots (37 km/h; 23 mph).[7]
Armament
The Courageous-class ships mounted four
The Courageous-class ships were designed with 18
Each ship mounted a pair of
The
Furious's secondary armament consisted of 11 BL 5.5-inch Mk I guns. The guns had a maximum elevation of 25° on their pivot mounts. They fired 82-pound (37 kg) projectiles at a muzzle velocity of 2,790 ft/s (850 m/s) at a rate of 12 rounds per minute. Their maximum range was 16,000 yd (15,000 m) at 25° elevation.[14]
Fire control
The main guns of the Courageous-class ships could be controlled from either of the two fire-control directors. The primary director was mounted above the conning tower in an armoured hood and the other was in the fore-top on the foremast.[15] The secondary armament was also director-controlled.[16] Each turret was provided with a 15-foot (4.6 m) rangefinder in an armoured housing on the turret roof. The fore-top was equipped with a 9-foot (2.7 m) rangefinder as was the torpedo control tower above the rear superstructure. The anti-aircraft guns were controlled by a simple 2-metre (6 ft 7 in) rangefinder mounted on the aft superstructure.[17]
Protection
Unlike on other British battlecruisers, the bulk of the armour of the Courageous-class ships was made from high-tensile steel, a type of steel used structurally in other ships. Their waterline belt consisted of 2 inches (51 mm) covered by a 1-inch (25 mm) skin. It ran from barbette to barbette with a one-inch extension forward to the two-inch forward bulkhead well short of the bow. The belt had a height of 23 feet (7.0 m), of which 18 inches (0.5 m) was below the designed waterline. From the forward barbette a three-inch bulkhead extended out to the ship's side between the upper and lower decks and a comparable bulkhead was in place at the rear barbette as well. Four decks were armoured with thicknesses varying from .75 to 3 inches (19 to 76 mm), with the greatest thicknesses over the magazines and the steering gear. After the loss of three battlecruisers to magazine explosions during the Battle of Jutland, 110 long tons (112 t) of extra protection was added to the deck around the magazines.[18]
The turrets, barbettes and conning tower were made from
All three ships were fitted with a shallow anti-torpedo bulge integral to the hull which was intended to explode the torpedo before it hit the hull proper and vent the underwater explosion to the surface rather than into the ship. However, later testing proved that it was not deep enough to accomplish its task as it lacked the layers of empty and full compartments that were necessary to absorb the force of the explosion.[20]
Ships
Ship | Builder | Laid down | Launched | Completed | Fate | Ultimate Fate |
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Courageous subgroup | ||||||
Courageous | Elswick[21]
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28 March 1915[21] | 5 February 1916[21] | 28 October 1916[21] | Taken for conversion to aircraft carrier, June 1924 | Sunk by U-29, 17 September 1939 |
Glorious | 1 May 1915[21] | 20 April 1916[21] | 14 October 1916[21] | Taken for conversion to aircraft carrier, February 1924 | Sunk by Scharnhorst and Gneisenau, 8 June 1940 | |
Furious subgroup | ||||||
Furious | Elswick[21]
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8 June 1915[21] | 18 August 1916[21] | 26 June 1917[21] | Taken for conversion to aircraft carrier, November 1917 | Sold for scrap, 1948 |
Service
During her
Even as she was being built, Furious was modified with a large hangar capable of housing ten aircraft on her forecastle replacing the forward turret. A 160-foot (49 m) flight deck was built along its roof. Aircraft were flown off and, less successfully, landed on this deck. Although the aft turret was fitted and the gun trialled, it was not long before Furious returned to her builders for further modifications. In November 1917 the rear turret was replaced by a 300-foot (91 m) deck for landing aircraft over another hangar.[28] Her funnel and superstructure remained intact, with a narrow strip of decking around them to connect the fore and aft flight decks.[26] Turbulence from the funnel and superstructure was severe enough that only three landing attempts were successful before further attempts were forbidden.[29] Her 18-inch guns were reused on the Lord Clive-class monitors General Wolfe and Lord Clive during the war.[30]
All three ships were in the 1st CS of which Courageous was flagship when the Admiralty received word of German ship movements on 16 October 1917, possibly indicating some sort of raid. Admiral Beatty, commander of the Grand Fleet, ordered most of his light cruisers and destroyers to sea in an effort to locate the enemy ships. Furious was detached from the 1st CS and ordered to sweep along the 56th parallel as far as 4° East and to return before dark. The other two ships were not initially ordered to sea, but were sent to reinforce the 2nd Light Cruiser Squadron patrolling the central part of the North Sea later that day.[31] Two German Brummer-class light cruisers managed to slip through the gaps in the British patrols and destroyed a convoy headed to Scandinavia during the morning of 17 October, but no word was received of the engagement until that afternoon. The 1st CS was ordered to attempt to intercept the German ships, but they proved to be too fast and the British ships were unsuccessful.[32]
Second Battle of Heligoland Bight
Over the course of 1917 the Admiralty was becoming more concerned about German efforts in the North Sea to sweep paths through the British-laid minefields intended to restrict the actions of the
The German ships, four light cruisers of II Scouting Force, eight destroyers, three divisions of minesweepers, eight Sperrbrechers (cork-filled trawlers, used to detonate mines without sinking) and two trawlers to mark the swept route, were spotted at 7:30 a.m.,
Both ships had taken minor damage from their own muzzle blasts, and Glorious required five days of repairs.[35] Courageous fired 92 rounds of 15-inch while Glorious fired 57, scoring only the single hit on Pillau between them. They also fired 180 and 213 four-inch shells respectively.[36] Courageous's mine fittings were removed after the battle and both ships received flying-off platforms on top of their turrets in 1918. A Sopwith Camel was carried on the rear turret and a Sopwith 1½ Strutter on the forward turret.[37]
Furious was recommissioned on 15 March 1918 and her embarked aircraft were used on anti-
Post-war history
Courageous was reduced to reserve at Rosyth on 1 February 1919 before being assigned to the Gunnery School at Devonport the following year as a turret drill ship. She became flagship of the Rear-Admiral Commanding the Reserve at Devonport in March 1920. Glorious was also reduced to reserve at Rosyth on 1 February and served as a turret-drill ship, but succeeded her sister as flagship between 1921 and 1922. Furious was placed in reserve 21 November 1919 before beginning reconstruction as an aircraft carrier in 1921.[40]
The Washington Naval Treaty of 1922 required the signatory nations to severely curtail their plans for new warships and scrap many existing warships to meet its tonnage limits. Up to 66,000 long tons (67,000 t) of existing ships, however, could be converted into aircraft carriers, and the Royal Navy chose to convert the Courageous-class ships because of their high speed. Each ship was reconstructed with a full-length flight deck during the 1920s. Their 15-inch turrets were placed into storage and later reused during the Second World War for HMS Vanguard, the Royal Navy's last battleship.[41]
As the first large, or "fleet", carrier completed by the Royal Navy, Furious was extensively used to evaluate aircraft handling and landing procedures, including the first ever carrier night-landing in 1926.
Notes
- ^ "cwt" is the abbreviation for hundredweight, 30 cwt referring to the weight of the gun.
- ^ The times used in this article are in UTC, which is one hour behind CET, which is often used in German works.
Footnotes
- ^ a b Burt, p. 303.
- ^ Roberts, p. 51.
- ^ Roberts, p. 46.
- ^ Roberts, p. 53.
- ^ a b Roberts, pp. 64–65.
- ^ Roberts, pp. 71, 74, 76, 79.
- ^ a b c d Burt, p. 306.
- ^ Burt, pp. 291, 308.
- ^ "British 15"/42 (38.1 cm) Mark I". NavWeaps.com. 1 April 2010. Retrieved 4 May 2010.
- ^ "Britain 4"/45 (10.2 cm) BL Marks IX and X". NavWeaps.com. 25 January 2010. Archived from the original on 17 February 2012. Retrieved 7 May 2010.
- ^ "British 12-pdr [3"/45 (76.2 cm)] 20 cwt QF HA Marks I, II, III and IV". NavWeaps.com. 27 February 2007. Retrieved 11 November 2009.
- ^ Roberts, p. 83.
- ^ "British 18"/40 (45.7 cm) Mark I". NavWeaps.com. 22 October 2009. Retrieved 10 May 2010.
- ^ Roberts, p. 93.
- ^ McBride, p. 106.
- ^ Burt, p. 307.
- ^ Burt, pp. 308, 313.
- ^ Roberts, pp. 54, 106, 113.
- ^ Roberts, p. 111.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l Roberts, p. 63.
- ^ Burt, p. 309.
- ^ Burt, pp. 309, 313.
- ^ Roberts, p. 54.
- ^ McBride, p. 109.
- ^ a b c Burt, p. 314.
- ^ Parkes, p. 621.
- ^ Parkes, p. 622.
- ^ Parkes, p. 624.
- ^ Buxton, p. 73.
- ^ Newbolt, pp. 150–151.
- ^ Newbolt, pp. 156–157.
- ^ Newbolt, pp. 164–165.
- ^ McBride, pp. 110–112.
- ^ McBride, p. 115.
- ^ Campbell, p. 67.
- ^ Campbell, p. 66.
- ^ Newbolt, p. 347.
- ^ "Operation ZZ". World War One: The Great War at Sea. Retrieved 13 May 2010.
- ^ Burt, p. 315.
- ^ Parkes, p. 647.
- ^ Jenkins, p. 274.
- ^ Rohwer, pp. 1–3.
- ^ Rohwer, p. 26.
- ^ Jenkins, pp. 277–288.
References
- Burt, R. A. (1986). British Battleships of World War One. Annapolis, MD: Naval Institute Press. ISBN 0-87021-863-8.
- Buxton, Ian (2008). Big Gun Monitors: Design, Construction and Operations 1914–1945 (2nd, revised and expanded ed.). Annapolis, Maryland: Naval Institute Press. ISBN 978-1-59114-045-0.
- Campbell, N. J. M. (1978). Battle Cruisers: The Design and Development of British and German Battlecruisers of the First World War Era. Warship Special. Vol. 1. Greenwich: Conway Maritime Press. ISBN 0-85177-130-0.
- Jenkins, C. A., Commander (1972). HMS Furious/Aircraft Carrier 1917–1948: Part II: 1925–1948. Warship Profile. Vol. 24. Windsor, Berkshire: Profile Publications. )
- McBride, Keith (1990). "The Weird Sisters". In Gardiner, Robert (ed.). Warship. Vol. 1990. Annapolis, Maryland: Naval Institute Press. pp. 102–117. ISBN 1-55750-903-4.
- ISBN 0-89839-255-1.
- ISBN 1-55750-075-4.
- Roberts, John (1997). Battlecruisers. Annapolis, Maryland: Naval Institute Press. ISBN 1-55750-068-1.
- ISBN 1-59114-119-2.
External links
- Dreadnought Project Technical material on the weaponry and fire control for the ships
- Photo gallery of Courageous and Glorious
- Photo gallery for Furious as both battlecruiser and aircraft carrier