HMS Collingwood (1908)
Collingwood at anchor, 1912
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History | |
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United Kingdom | |
Name | Collingwood |
Namesake | Vice-Admiral Cuthbert Collingwood, 1st Baron Collingwood |
Ordered | 26 October 1907 |
Builder | Devonport Royal Dockyard |
Laid down | 3 February 1908 |
Launched | 7 November 1908 |
Commissioned | 19 April 1910 |
Fate | Sold for scrap, 12 December 1922 |
General characteristics (as built) | |
Class and type | dreadnought battleship |
Displacement | 19,700 long tons (20,000 t) (normal) |
Length | 536 ft (163.4 m) (o/a) |
Beam | 84 ft 2 in (25.7 m) |
Draught | 28 ft (8.5 m) |
Installed power |
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Propulsion | 4 × shafts; 2 × steam turbine sets |
Speed | 21 knots (39 km/h; 24 mph) |
Range | 6,900 nmi (12,800 km; 7,900 mi) at 10 knots (19 km/h; 12 mph) |
Complement | 758 |
Armament |
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Armour |
HMS Collingwood was a
Design and description
The design of the St Vincent class was derived from that of the previous
Collingwood was powered by two sets of
Armament and armour
The St Vincent class was equipped with ten
The St Vincent-class ships had a
The three centreline barbettes were protected by armour 9 inches (229 mm) thick above the main deck that thinned to 5 inches (127 mm) below it. The wing barbettes were similar except that they had 10 inches of armour on their outer faces. The gun turrets had 11-inch (279 mm) faces and sides with 3-inch (76 mm) roofs. The three armoured decks ranged in thicknesses from .75 to 3 inches (19 to 76 mm). The front and sides of the forward conning tower were protected by 11-inch plates, although the rear and roof were 8 inches and 3 inches thick, respectively.[9]
Alterations
The guns on the forward turret roof were removed in 1911–1912 and the upper forward pair of guns in the superstructure were removed in 1913–1914. In addition,
By April 1917, Collingwood mounted thirteen 4-inch anti-torpedo boat guns as well as single 4-inch and 3-inch AA guns. Approximately 50 long tons (51 t) of additional deck armour had been added after the Battle of Jutland. Before the end of the war the AA guns were moved from the deckhouse between the aft turrets to the stern and the stern torpedo tube was removed. In 1918, a high-angle
Construction and career
Collingwood, named after
On 19 April 1910, Collingwood was
World War I
Between 17 and 20 July 1914, Collingwood took part in a test
The Grand Fleet, including Collingwood, conducted gunnery drills on 10–13 January 1915 west of
The Grand Fleet conducted sweeps into the central North Sea on 17–19 May and 29–31 May without encountering any German vessels. During 11–14 June the fleet conducted gunnery practice and battle exercises west of Shetland.[25] Collingwood was briefly docked at Invergordon from 23 to 25 June. King George V inspected the ship on 8 July,[23] and the Grand Fleet conducted training off Shetland beginning three days later.[26] Rear-Admiral Ernest Gaunt temporarily used Collingwood as his flagship from 24 August to 24 September and from 10 December to 16 January 1916.[27] On 2–5 September 1915, the fleet went on another cruise in the northern end of the North Sea and conducted gunnery drills. Throughout the rest of the month, the Grand Fleet conducted numerous training exercises. The ship, together with the majority of the Grand Fleet, conducted another sweep into the North Sea from 13 to 15 October. Almost three weeks later, Collingwood participated in another fleet training operation west of Orkney during 2–5 November.[28] On 21 November, she sailed for Devonport Royal Dockyard for a minor overhaul and arrived back at Scapa on 9 December.[29]
The Grand Fleet departed for a cruise in the North Sea on 26 February 1916; Jellicoe had intended to use the
Battle of Jutland
In an attempt to lure out and destroy a portion of the Grand Fleet, the German High Seas Fleet, composed of 16 dreadnoughts, 6 pre-dreadnoughts, 6 light cruisers, and 31 torpedo boats, departed the Jade Bight early on the morning of 31 May. The fleet sailed in concert with Rear Admiral Franz von Hipper's five battlecruisers and supporting cruisers and torpedo boats. The Royal Navy's Room 40 had intercepted and decrypted German radio traffic containing plans of the operation. In response, the Admiralty ordered the Grand Fleet, totalling some 28 dreadnoughts and 9 battlecruisers, to sortie the night before to cut off and destroy the High Seas Fleet.[31] Collingwood was the eighteenth ship from the head of the battle line after the Grand Fleet deployed for battle.[14]
The initial action was fought primarily by the British and German battlecruiser formations in the afternoon, but by 18:00,
Following the German destroyer attack, the High Seas Fleet disengaged, and Collingwood and the rest of the Grand Fleet saw no further action in the battle. This was, in part, due to confusion aboard the fleet flagship over the exact location and course of the German fleet; without this information, Jellicoe could not bring his fleet to action. At 21:30, the Grand Fleet began to reorganise into its night-time cruising formation. Early on the morning of 1 June, the Grand Fleet combed the area, looking for damaged German ships, but after spending several hours searching, they found none. Collingwood fired a total of 52
Subsequent activity
After the battle the ship was transferred to the
Collingwood received a brief refit at Rosyth in early September before rejoining the Grand Fleet. On 29 October Sturdee came aboard to present the ship with her battle honour, "Jutland 1916". Captain Wilmot Nicholson briefly assumed command on 1 December before transferring to the new battlecruiser Glorious upon his relief by Captain Cole Fowler on 26 March 1917. Together with the rest of the 4th Battle Squadron, Collingwood put to sea for tactical exercises for a few days in February 1917. The ship was present at Scapa Flow when her sister ship Vanguard's magazines exploded on 9 July and her crew recovered the bodies of three men killed in the explosion. In January 1918, Collingwood and other of the older dreadnoughts cruised off the coast of Norway for several days, possibly to provide distant cover for a convoy to Norway.[37] Along with the rest of the Grand Fleet, she sortied on the afternoon of 23 April after radio transmissions revealed that the High Seas Fleet was at sea after a failed attempt to intercept the regular British convoy to Norway. The Germans were too far ahead of the British, and no shots were fired.[38] By early November, Collingwood was at Invergordon to receive a brief refit in the floating dock based there, and missed the surrender of the High Seas Fleet on the 21st. She was slightly damaged on 23 November while attempting to come alongside the oiler RFA Ebonol.[39]
In January 1919, Collingwood was transferred to Devonport and assigned to the Reserve Fleet. Upon the dissolution of the Grand Fleet on 18 March, the Reserve Fleet was redesignated the Third Fleet and Collingwood became its flagship. She became a
Relics
Footnotes
- quick-firing QF Mark III guns. In addition, he lists a 12-pounder (three-inch (76 mm)) gun.[3] Preston concurs on the number of 4 inchers, but does not list the 12 pounder.[2] Parkes says twenty 4-inch guns; while not identifying the type, he does say that they were 50-calibre guns[5] and Preston agrees.[6] Friedman shows the QF Mark III as a 40-calibre gun and states that the 50-calibre BL Mark VII gun armed all of the early dreadnoughts.[7]
- ^ The times used in this section are in UT, one hour behind CET, which is often used in German works.
Citations
- ^ Burt, pp. 75–76
- ^ a b c Preston 1972, p. 125
- ^ a b c Burt, p. 76
- ^ Burt, pp. 76, 80
- ^ a b c Parkes, p. 503
- ^ Preston 1985, p. 23
- ^ Friedman, pp. 97–98
- ^ Burt, pp. 76, 78; Parkes, p. 503
- ^ Burt, pp. 76, 78; Parkes, p. 504
- ^ a b Burt, p. 81
- ^ Silverstone, p. 223
- ^ a b c Burt, p. 86
- ^ a b c Brady, Part One, p. 29
- ^ a b c d Burt, p. 88
- ^ Judd, p. 28
- ^ Massie, pp. 15–20
- ^ Preston 1985, p. 32
- ^ Jellicoe, pp. 163–165
- ^ Brady, Part One, p. 32; Jellicoe, pp. 172, 179, 183–184
- ^ Jellicoe, pp. 190, 194–196
- ^ Brady, Part One, p. 32
- ^ Jellicoe, p. 206
- ^ a b Brady, Part One, p. 33
- ^ Jellicoe, pp. 211–212
- ^ Jellicoe, pp. 217, 218–219, 221–222
- ^ Jellicoe, p. 228
- ^ Brady, Part One, pp. 33–34
- ^ Jellicoe, pp. 243, 246, 250, 253
- ^ Brady, Part One, p. 34
- ^ Jellicoe, pp. 271, 275, 279–280, 284, 286–290
- ^ Tarrant, pp. 54–55, 57–58
- ^ Campbell, pp. 37, 116, 146, 157, 205, 208, 212, 214, 229–230
- ^ Campbell, pp. 256, 274, 309–310, 346, 348, 358
- ^ Gordon, pp. 454, 459
- ^ Brady, Part Two, p. 19
- ^ Halpern, pp. 330–332
- ^ Brady, Part Two, pp. 19–22
- ^ Massie, p. 748
- ^ a b Brady, Part Two, pp. 23–24
- ^ Gordon, p. 417
Bibliography
- Burt, R. A. (1986). British Battleships of World War One. Annapolis, Maryland: Naval Institute Press. ISBN 0-87021-863-8.
- Brady, Mark (May 2014). "HMS Collingwood War Record, Part One". Warship (176). London: World Ship Society: 29–35. ISSN 0966-6958.
- Brady, Mark (September 2014). "HMS Collingwood War Record, Part Two". Warship (177). London: World Ship Society: 19–24. ISSN 0966-6958.
- Campbell, N. J. M. (1986). Jutland: An Analysis of the Fighting. Annapolis, Maryland: Naval Institute Press. ISBN 0-87021-324-5.
- ISBN 978-1-84832-100-7.
- Gordon, Andrew (2012). The Rules of the Game: Jutland and British Naval Command. Annapolis, Maryland: Naval Institute Press. ISBN 978-1-59114-336-9.
- ISBN 1-55750-352-4.
- OCLC 13614571.
- Judd, Denis (1982). King George VI: 1895–1952. London: Michael Joseph. ISBN 0-7181-2184-8.
- ISBN 0-679-45671-6.
- ISBN 1-55750-075-4.
- ISBN 0-88365-300-1.
- Preston, Antony (1985). "Great Britain and Empire Forces". In Gray, Randal (ed.). Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships 1906–1921. Annapolis, Maryland: Naval Institute Press. pp. 1–104. ISBN 0-85177-245-5.
- Silverstone, Paul H. (1984). Directory of the World's Capital Ships. New York: Hippocrene Books. ISBN 0-88254-979-0.
- Tarrant, V. E. (1999) [1995]. Jutland: The German Perspective: A New View of the Great Battle, 31 May 1916. London: Brockhampton Press. ISBN 1-86019-917-8.