HMS Carysfort (1914)
 Carysfort at anchor, 1920s
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| History | |
|---|---|
 United Kingdom | |
| Name | Carysfort |
| Namesake | Earl of Carysfort |
| Ordered | July–August 1913 |
| Builder | |
| Laid down | 25 February 1914 |
| Launched | 14 November 1914 |
| Completed | June 1915 |
| Decommissioned | September 1923 |
| Recommissioned | September 1924 |
| Decommissioned | April 1931 |
| Fate | Sold for scrap, August 1931 |
| General characteristics (as built) | |
| Class and type | C-class light cruiser |
| Displacement | 4,219 long tons (4,287 t) |
| Length | 446 ft (135.9 m) (o/a) |
| Beam | 41 ft 6 in (12.6 m) |
| Draught | 16 ft (4.9 m) (mean) |
| Installed power |
|
| Propulsion | 2 × shafts; 2 × steam turbines |
| Speed | 28.5 knots (52.8 km/h; 32.8 mph) |
| Range | 3,680 nmi (6,820 km; 4,230 mi) at 18 knots (33 km/h; 21 mph) |
| Complement | 301 |
| Armament |
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| Armour |
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HMS Carysfort was a
Mediterranean Fleet during the Chanak Crisis of 1922–23 to support British interests in Turkey. In 1922, she patrolled off the Irish coast during the Irish Civil War. The ship was placed in reserve after returning home in 1923 and, aside from ferrying troops overseas, remained in reserve until she was sold for scrap
in 1931.
Design and description
The C-class cruisers were intended to escort the fleet and defend it against enemy destroyers attempting to close within torpedo range.deep load.[4]
Carysfort was powered by four
kW) which gave her a speed of 28.5 knots (52.8 km/h; 32.8 mph). The ships carried enough fuel oil to give them a range of 3,680 nautical miles (6,820 km; 4,230 mi) at 18 knots (33 km/h; 21 mph).[5] They had a crew of 301 officers and ratings.[4]
The main armament of the Carolines consisted of two
amidships.[4] For anti-aircraft defence, she was fitted with one QF six-pounder (2.2-inch (57 mm)) Hotchkiss gun.[2] The ship also mounted two twin, above-water, mounts for 21-inch (533 mm) torpedoes, one on each broadside. The Carolines were protected by a waterline belt amidships that ranged in thickness from 1–3 inches (25–76 mm) and a 1-inch (25 mm) deck. The walls of their conning tower were 6 inches thick.[4]
Wartime modifications
A few weeks after completion, her six-pounder
two-pounder (1.6-inch (40 mm)) Mk II "pom-pom" AA guns on single mounts. All of these changes adversely affected the ship's stability and the additional 21-inch torpedo tubes and the aft control position were removed by the end of 1921.[6]
Construction and career
Carysfort, the fourth ship of her name in the Royal Navy, was
launched on 14 November 1914, and completed in June 1915. Commissioned into service in that same month, Carysfort was assigned to the 4th Light Cruiser Squadron (4th LCS) of the Grand Fleet in August 1915.[9]
Early that month, the squadron was dispatched to patrol off the Norwegian coast in search of the German
Coastal-class airship C 1.[12]
On the evening of 22 July, she was flagship of
minefield.[13]
On 19 August, the Harwich Force
Sunderland. The British had decoded German radio messages and knew the High Seas Fleet had sailed, but not its target or purpose and failed to locate the Germans. In contrast, German reconnaissance Zeppelins spotted the Harwich Force several times, but reported it as a force of battleships and cruisers, when, in actuality, it consisted of cruisers and destroyers. These reports, however, did persuade Admiral Reinhard Scheer, commander of the High Seas Fleet, to abandon his attack and turn for home. Losses to submarines and mines during the operation persuaded the British that it was too risky to deploy major forces in the southern part of the North Sea. This left the defence of the southern part of the English coast solely to local defence forces like the Harwich Force. This policy was tested when Scheer attempted another raid on 18–19 October; Tyrwhitt's force was ordered to sea based on German radio signals, but did not locate the Germans. Scheer turned around after one of his cruisers was torpedoed by a British submarine and the High Seas Fleet never again made a sortie into the North Sea in force.[14]
A few days later, the Harwich Force sortied on the night of 23–24 October in response to the German transfer of two
Vice-Admiral Reginald Bacon's Dover Patrol as they feared that the transfer was in preparation for a concerted attack on the shipping protected by the latter. Three nights later, the newly arrived German destroyers did exactly what the Admiralty feared and attacked. Carysfort played no role in the resulting action, but was kept in reserve and helped to search for damaged vessels the following morning. German destroyers made another attack on the night of 20/21 April 1917 and were driven off, losing two destroyers, without the cruiser's intervention.[15]
By October, she had rejoined the 5th LCS[16] and participated in the unsuccessful search for a pair of German light cruisers that destroyed a British convoy returning from Norway on 17 October.[17] In December, Carysfort collided with the merchant ship SS Glentaise in the North Sea off Orford Ness, Suffolk, England. By May 1918, she was the flagship of the 7th Light Cruiser Squadron[18] and remained with the squadron through the end of World War I in November 1918[11] and through at least 1 February 1919.[19]
Post-war activities
By 18 July 1919, Carysfort had been reassigned to the
In September 1924, Carysfort recommissioned for service transporting troops. She became the flagship of the Devonport Reserve in 1927. She carried troops to China from February to July 1929, and then again became flagship of the Devonport Reserve in January 1930, serving in that capacity until relieved by her sister Comus in April 1931, when Carysfort was decommissioned and placed under dockyard control at Devonport. The ship was sold for scrap four months later.[11]
Notes
- ^ "Cwt" is the abbreviation for hundredweight, 20 cwt referring to the weight of the gun.
Citations
- ^ Friedman, pp. 38, 42
- ^ a b c Raven & Roberts, p. 402
- ^ Friedman, p. 42
- ^ a b c d e Preston, p. 56
- ^ Raven & Roberts, p. 403
- ^ Raven & Roberts, pp. 46, 48–50
- ^ Colledge, p. 76
- ^ Friedman, p. 412
- ^ Preston, pp. 56–57
- ^ Corbett, pp. 122–126
- ^ a b c d e Preston, p. 57
- ^ Layman, p. 167
- ^ Newbolt, IV, pp. 27–29
- ^ Newbolt, IV, pp. 32–51
- ^ Newbolt, IV, pp. 52–55, 58, 373
- ^ "Supplement to the Monthly Navy List Showing the Organisation of the Fleet, Flag Officer's Commands, &c". National Library of Scotland. Admiralty. October 1917. p. 13. Retrieved 30 March 2016.
- ^ Newbolt V, pp. 149–155
- ^ "Supplement to the Monthly Navy List Showing the Organisation of the Fleet, Flag Officer's Commands, &c". National Library of Scotland. Admiralty. May 1918. p. 10. Retrieved 30 March 2016.
- ^ "Supplement to the Monthly Navy List Showing the Organisation of the Fleet, Flag Officer's Commands, &c". National Library of Scotland. Admiralty. February 1919. p. 10. Retrieved 30 March 2016.
- ^ "The Navy List for August 1919". National Library of Scotland. Admiralty. 18 July 1918. p. 703. Retrieved 30 March 2016.
- ^ "The Navy List for January 1921". National Library of Scotland. Admiralty. 18 December 1920. p. 701. Retrieved 30 March 2016.
- ^ Halpern, pp. 400, 423, 439
References
- Colledge, J. J.; Warlow, Ben & Bush, Steve (2020). Ships of the Royal Navy: The Complete Record of all Fighting Ships of the Royal Navy from the 15th Century to the Present (5th revised and updated ed.). Barnsley, UK: Seaforth Publishing. ISBN 978-1-5267-9327-0.
- ISBN 1-870423-50-X.
- ISBN 978-1-59114-078-8.
- Halpern, Paul, ed. (2011). The Mediterranean Fleet 1920–1929. Navy Records Society Publications. Vol. 158. Farnham, Surrey, UK: Ashgate. ISBN 978-1-4094-2756-8.
- Layman, R. D. (1996). Naval Aviation in the First World War: Its Impact and Influence. Annapolis, Maryland: Naval Institute Press. ISBN 1-55750-617-5.
- Newbolt, Henry (1996). Naval Operations. History of the Great War Based on Official Documents. Vol. IV (reprint of the 1928 ed.). Nashville, Tennessee: Battery Press. ISBN 0-89839-253-5.
- Newbolt, Henry (1996). Naval Operations. History of the Great War Based on Official Documents. Vol. V (reprint of the 1931 ed.). Nashville, Tennessee: Battery Press. ISBN 0-89839-255-1.
- ISBN 0-85177-245-5.
- Raven, Alan & Roberts, John (1980). British Cruisers of World War Two. Annapolis, Maryland: Naval Institute Press. ISBN 0-87021-922-7.
Further reading
- Dunn, Steve R. (2022). The Harwich Striking Force: The Royal Navy's Front Line in the North Sea, 1914-1918. Barnsley, UK: Seaforth Publishing. ISBN 978-1-3990-1596-7.
Shipwrecks and maritime incidents in December 1917 | |
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| Shipwrecks |
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| Other incidents |
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