HMS Carnarvon

	Carnarvon at anchor
History
United Kingdom
Name	HMS Carnarvon
Namesake	Caernarfonshire
Builder	William Beardmore & Company, Dalmuir
Laid down	1 October 1902
Launched	7 October 1903
Completed	29 May 1905
Fate	Sold for scrap, 8 November 1921
General characteristics
Class and type	armoured cruiser
Displacement	10,850 long tons (11,020 t) (normal)
Length	473 ft 6 in (144.3 m) (o/a)
Beam	68 ft 6 in (20.9 m)
Draught	24 ft (7.3 m)
Installed power	21,000 ihp (16,000 kW); 17 Niclausse boilers; 6 cylindrical boilers;
Propulsion	2 × Shafts; 2 × triple-expansion steam engines;
Speed	22 knots (41 km/h; 25 mph)
Complement	610
Armament	4 × single BL 7.5-inch Mk I guns; 6 × single BL 6-inch Mk VII guns; 2 × single 12-pounder 8 cwt guns; 18 × single QF 3-pounder Hotchkiss guns; 2 × single 18-inch torpedo tubes;
Armour	Belt: 2–6 in (51–152 mm); Decks: .75–2 in (19–51 mm); Barbettes: 6 in (152 mm); Turrets: 5 in (130 mm); Conning tower: 12 in (305 mm); Bulkheads: 5 in (127 mm);

HMS Carnarvon was one of six

5th Cruiser Squadron

of the reserve Second Fleet in 1912.

When World War I began in August 1914, she was assigned to the

Battle of the Falklands. She was assigned to the North America and West Indies Station in 1915 and continued to patrol against German raiders and escort convoys to the end of the war. In 1919, she became a training ship and was then sold for scrap

in 1921.

Design and description

Carnarvon was designed to

Niclausse and six cylindrical boilers.^[1] She carried a maximum of 1,033 long tons (1,050 t) of coal and her complement consisted of 610 officers and ratings.^[2]

Her main armament consisted of four

12-pounder 8 cwt guns could be dismounted for service ashore.^[3]

At some point in the war, the main deck six-inch guns of the Devonshire-class ships were moved to the upper deck and given gun shields. Their casemates were plated over to improve seakeeping and the four 3-pounder guns displaced by the transfer were landed.^[7]

The ship's waterline armour belt ranged from two to six inches (51 to 152 mm) in thickness and was closed off by five-inch (127 mm) transverse bulkheads. The armour of the gun turrets was also five inches thick whilst that of their barbettes was six inches thick. The protective deck armour ranged in thickness from .75–2 inches (19–51 mm) and the conning tower was protected by twelve inches (305 mm) of armour.^[1]

Construction and service

submarines H5, H6, H7, H8, H9, and H10

in 1915

Carnarvon, named to commemorate the

launched on 7 October 1903. She was completed on 29 May 1905^[1] and was initially assigned to the 3rd Cruiser Squadron of the Mediterranean Fleet. She was transferred to the 2nd Cruiser Squadron of the Atlantic Fleet in June 1907 and was then assigned to the reserve Third Fleet at Devonport in April 1909. The ship was transferred to the Second Fleet at Devonport in March 1912 and subsequently became the flagship of the 5th Cruiser Squadron until the start of World War I.^[9] She participated in the fleet manoeuvres in July–August 1913 as well as those in July 1914. On 31 July, a few days before war was declared on Germany, she encountered the German light cruiser Strassburg in the English Channel returning home and the two ships saluted each other.^[10]

When news of the outbreak of hostilities was received on 5 August, Carnarvon, now the flagship of

Vice-Admiral Doveton Sturdee.^[12]

Battle of the Falklands

Upon arrival at

predreadnought battleship Canopus when they came within range around 09:20. Carnarvon completed recoaling at 08:00 and the squadron cleared the harbour by 10:30. Sturdee ordered "general chase" at that time, but Carnarvon could only manage 18 knots (33 km/h; 21 mph) and fell behind the other British ships. His two battlecruisers were the fastest ships present and inexorably began to close on the German cruisers, opening fire at 12:55 that straddled the light cruiser Leipzig, the rear ship in the German formation. It was clear to Spee that his ships could not outrun the battlecruisers and that the only hope for any of his ships to survive was to scatter. So he turned his two armoured cruisers around to buy time by engaging the battlecruisers and ordered his three light cruisers to disperse at 13:20. Carnarvon, now 10 nautical miles (19 km; 12 mi) behind, had no hope of catching the scattering German ships and continued to trail the battlecruisers.^[13]

Carnarvon finally came within range of the German armoured cruisers and opened fire shortly before Scharnhorst rolled over and capsized at 16:17. She then engaged Gneisenau until Sturdee ordered "cease fire" at 17:50. The German captain had started to scuttle his ship 10 minutes earlier when it was clear that the situation was hopeless and his ship sank at 18:00. Carnarvon rescued 20 survivors from Gneisenau, but only wreckage was visible when she later steamed through the area where Scharnhorst had sunk.^[14]

After the battle she participated in the hunt for the light cruiser

colony of Bermuda, she resumed her duties protecting British shipping for the rest of the war.^[9] After the United States Navy destroyer USS Stewart grounded at Bermuda on 16 August 1917, a cricket team from Carnarvon played a match against one from Stewart at the Bermuda dockyard. In 1919, she began serving as a cadet training ship, remaining in that role until she was listed for sale in March 1921.^[9] Carnarvon was sold for scrap on 8 November 1921 and subsequently broken up in Germany.^[8]

Notes

^ "Cwt" is the abbreviation for hundredweight, 12 cwt referring to the weight of the gun.

References

^ ^a ^b ^c ^d Chesneau & Kolesnik, p. 71
^ Friedman 2012, p. 336
^ ^a ^b Friedman 2012, p. 256
^ Friedman 2011, pp. 75–76
^ Friedman 2012, pp. 256, 260–61
^ Friedman 2011, pp. 80–81
^ Friedman 2012, p. 280
^ ^a ^b Silverstone, p. 220
^ ^a ^b ^c Gardiner & Gray, p. 13
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d Transcript
^ HMS CARNARVON – July 1913 to November 1918
^ Massie, pp. 244, 249
^ Massie, pp. 258–265
^ Massie, pp. 270–273

Bibliography

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
.

Friedman, Norman (2012). British Cruisers of the Victorian Era. Barnsley, South Yorkshire, UK: Seaforth.
ISBN 978-1-59114-068-9
.

Friedman, Norman (2011). Naval Weapons of World War One. Barnsley, South Yorkshire, UK: Seaforth.
ISBN 978-1-84832-100-7
.

Gardiner, Robert & Gray, Randal, eds. (1985). Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships 1906–1921. Annapolis, Maryland: Naval Institute Press.
ISBN 0-85177-245-5
.

ISBN 0-679-45671-6
.

Silverstone, Paul H. (1984). Directory of the World's Capital Ships. New York: Hippocrene Books.
ISBN 0-88254-979-0
.

"Transcript: HMS CARNARVON – July 1913 to December 1915, British Waters, Central and South Atlantic, Battle of the Falklands, North Atlantic (Part 1 of 2)". Royal Navy Log Books of the World War 1 Era. Naval-History.net. Retrieved 21 May 2014.

External links

HMS Carnarvon Memoir 1914–1915 – annotated transcript of a diary kept by George H. J. Hanks, a sick bay attendant.

[1] "Cwt" is the abbreviation for hundredweight, 12 cwt referring to the weight of the gun.

[ck8-2] Chesneau & Kolesnik, p. 71

[f6-3] Friedman 2012, p. 336

[f56-4] Friedman 2012, p. 256

[5] Friedman 2011, pp. 75–76

[6] Friedman 2012, pp. 256, 260–61

[7] Friedman 2011, pp. 80–81

[8] Friedman 2012, p. 280

[s1-9] Silverstone, p. 220

[gg3-10] Gardiner & Gray, p. 13

[tr-11] Transcript

[12] HMS CARNARVON – July 1913 to November 1918

[13] Massie, pp. 244, 249

[14] Massie, pp. 258–265

[15] Massie, pp. 270–273

[Note 1]

[1]

[2]

[3]

[7]

[9]

[10]

[12]

[13]

[14]

[8]

Devonshire-class cruisers
Antrim Argyll Carnarvon Devonshire Hampshire Roxburgh
Preceded by: Monmouth class Followed by: Duke of Edinburgh class
List of cruisers of the Royal Navy