HMS Achilles (1905)
 HMS Achilles
| |
| History | |
|---|---|
 United Kingdom | |
| Name | HMS Achilles |
| Namesake | Achilles |
| Builder | Elswick |
| Laid down | 22 February 1904 |
| Launched | 17 June 1905 |
| Completed | 22 April 1907 |
| Reclassified | Training ship, 1918 |
| Fate | Sold for scrap, 9 May 1921 |
| General characteristics | |
| Class and type | armoured cruiser |
| Displacement |
|
| Length | 505 ft 4 in (154.0 m) |
| Beam | 73 ft 6 in (22.4 m) |
| Draught | 27 ft 6 in (8.4 m) (maximum) |
| Installed power | 23,650 ihp (17,640 kW) |
| Propulsion |
|
| Speed | 23 knots (43 km/h; 26 mph) |
| Range | 7,960 nmi (14,740 km; 9,160 mi) at 10 knots (19 km/h; 12 mph) |
| Complement | 712 |
| Armament |
|
| Armour | |
HMS Achilles was a
First World War. The ship did not participate in the Battle of Jutland in 1916, but did sink the German raider Leopard in 1917. Achilles became a training ship in 1918 and was sold for scrap
in 1921.
General description
Achilles displaced 13,550 long tons (13,770 t) as built and 14,500 long tons (14,700 t) fully loaded. The ship had an
draught of 27 feet 6 inches (8.4 m). She was powered by four-cylinder triple-expansion steam engines, driving two shafts, which developed a total of 23,650 indicated horsepower (17,640 kW) and gave a maximum speed of 23.3 knots (43.2 km/h; 26.8 mph).[1] The engines were powered by 19 Yarrow water-tube boilers and six cylindrical boilers. The ship carried a maximum of 2,050 long tons (2,080 t) of coal and an additional 600 long tons (610 t) of fuel oil that was sprayed on the coal to increase its burn rate. At full capacity, she could steam for 7,960 nautical miles (14,740 km; 9,160 mi) at a speed of 10 knots (19 km/h; 12 mph).[2]
Armament
Her main armament consisted of six
18-inch (457 mm) torpedo tubes, one of which was mounted in the stern.[2]
Wartime modifications
A single
Hotchkiss QF 6-pounder anti-aircraft gun on a high-angle Mark Ic mounting was mounted on the quarterdeck in 1915.[1] It had a maximum depression of 8° and a maximum elevation of 60°. The gun fired a 6-pound (2.7 kg) shell at a muzzle velocity of 1,765 ft/s (538 m/s) at a rate of fire of 20 rounds per minute. They had a maximum ceiling of 10,000 ft (3,000 m), but an effective range of only 1,200 yards (1,100 m).[4] Achilles's foremast was converted to a tripod mast to support the weight of a fire-control director after the Battle of Jutland in 1916, but when the director was actually fitted is not known.[5]
Construction and career
Achilles was ordered as part of the 1903–04 naval construction programme as the third of four armoured cruisers. She was
Shetland Islands on 2 August 1914, days before the start of the First World War.[10] She, and her squadron, was assigned to the Grand Fleet after the beginning of the war.[8]
Achilles missed the
Sunderland on 19 August, with extensive reconnaissance provided by airships and submarines. The Germans broke off their planned attack to pursue a lone British battle squadron reported by an airship, which was in fact the Harwich Force under Commodore Tyrwhitt. Realising their mistake, the Germans then set course for home. During the Grand Fleet's sortie, Achilles spotted a U-boat.[11] During another sortie by the High Seas Fleet on 18 October 1916, Achilles and three other armoured cruisers were ordered to patrol the northern end of the North Sea, between the approaches to Pentland Firth and Hardangerfjord in Norway, but they saw no German ships.[12]
On
auxiliary cruiser Leopard. The latter ship heaved to when commanded, but manoeuvred to prevent Dundee from boarding her and then fired two torpedoes which missed. Dundee retaliated by raking Leopard's stern, badly damaging the German ship and then Achilles opened fire herself. The German ship sank an hour later with no survivors.[13] Achilles was transferred to the North America and West Indies Station in August 1917 for convoy escort duties,[14] but returned to Britain for a refit between February and December 1918. Upon completion of this refit Achilles became a stoker's training ship at Chatham.[9] The ship was sold for scrap on 9 May 1921.[15]
Footnotes
- ^ a b c Roberts, p. 34
- ^ a b Parkes, p. 445
- ^ Roberts, pp. 34, 36
- ^ "Britain 6-pdr / 8cwt (2.244"/40 (57 mm)) QF Marks I and II". navweaps.com. 16 May 2008. Retrieved 11 November 2009.
- ^ Parkes, p. 446
- ^ Chesneau and Kolesnik, p. 72
- ^ Parkes, p. 444
- ^ a b c Preston, p. 13
- ^ a b Parkes, p. 447
- ^ Corbett, p. 31
- ^ Newbolt, IV, p. 42
- ^ Newbolt, IV, p. 50
- ^ Newbolt, IV, pp. 192–94
- ^ Newbolt, V, p. 135
- ^ Preston, p. 10
References
- Chesneau, Roger; Kolesnik, Eugene M., eds. (1979). Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships 1860–1905. Greenwich: Conway Maritime Press. ISBN 0-8317-0302-4.
- ISBN 0-89839-256-X.
- Newbolt, Henry (1996) [1928]. Naval Operations. History of the Great War Based on Official Documents. Vol. IV (repr. ed.). Nashville, TN: Battery Press. ISBN 0-89839-253-5.
- Newbolt, Henry (1996) [1931]. Naval Operations. History of the Great War: Based on Official Documents. Vol. V (repr. ed.). London and Nashville, TN: Imperial War Museum and Battery Press. ISBN 1-870423-72-0.
- Parkes, Oscar (1990). British Battleships (reprint of the 1957 ed.). Annapolis, MD: Naval Institute Press. ISBN 1-55750-075-4.
- ISBN 0-85177-245-5.
- Roberts, John (1 October 1989). "HMS Cochrane". Warship. Warship. Vol. III. London: Conway Maritime Press. pp. 34–36. ISBN 0-85177-204-8. Retrieved 5 August 2009.
External links
Wikimedia Commons has media related to HMS Achilles (1905).
- "HMS Achilles (1905)". www.tynebuiltships. Retrieved 2 March 2017.
- "Royal Navy Log Books - HMS Achilles". naval-history.net. Retrieved 22 December 2013.OldWeather.org transcription of ship's logbooks September 1916 to December 1918