HMS Glasgow (1909)
Glasgow about 1911
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History | |
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United Kingdom | |
Name | Glasgow |
Namesake | Glasgow |
Builder | Fairfield Shipbuilding & Engineering, Govan |
Laid down | 25 March 1909 |
Launched | 30 September 1909 |
Completed | September 1910 |
Fate | Sold for scrap, 29 April 1927 |
General characteristics (as built) | |
Class and type | Town-class light cruiser |
Displacement | 4,800 long tons (4,877 t) |
Length | |
Beam | 47 ft (14.3 m) |
Draught | 15 ft 3 in (4.65 m) (mean) |
Installed power |
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Propulsion | 4 × shafts; 2 × steam turbines |
Speed | 25 kn (46 km/h; 29 mph) |
Range | 5,830 nautical miles (10,800 km; 6,710 mi) at 10 knots (19 km/h; 12 mph) |
Complement | 480 |
Armament |
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Armour |
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HMS Glasgow was one of five ships of the Bristol sub-
The ship fell back to the coast of
Glasgow spent the next two years searching for commerce raiders and protecting Allied shipping off the South American coast, although she was unsuccessful in locating one commerce raider active in the South Atlantic in early 1916. The ship was transferred to the Adriatic Sea in mid-1918 and played a minor role in the Second Battle of Durazzo a few months later. She was reduced to reserve after the war ended, but later served as a training ship in 1922–1926 before she was sold for scrap in 1927.
Design and description
The Bristol sub-class
The main armament of the Bristols was two
The Bristols were considered protected cruisers, with an armoured deck providing protection for the ships' vitals. The deck was 2 inches (51 mm) thick over the magazines and machinery, 1 inch (25 mm) over the steering gear and 0.75 inches (19 mm) elsewhere. The conning tower was protected by 6 inches of armour, with the gun shields having 3-inch (76 mm) armour, as did the ammunition hoists.[8] As the protective deck was at waterline, the ships were given a large metacentric height so that they would remain stable in the event of flooding above the armoured deck. This, however, resulted in the ships rolling badly making them poor gun platforms.[7] One problem with the armour of the Bristols which was shared with the other Town-class ships was the sizable gap between the bottom of the gun shields and the deck, which allowed shell splinters to pass through the gap, giving large numbers of leg injuries in the ships' gun crews.[9]
Construction and career
Glasgow, the sixth ship of her name to serve in the Royal Navy,
When the First World War began on 3 August 1914, she was in
Battle of Coronel
The squadron departed two days later, just as the elderly battleship Canopus arrived, Cradock ordering her to follow as soon as possible. He sent Glasgow to scout ahead and to enter Coronel, Chile to pick up any messages from the Admiralty and acquire intelligence regarding German activities. The cruiser began to pick up radio signals from the light cruiser SMS Leipzig on the afternoon of 29 October and delayed entering Coronel for two days with Cradock's permission to avoid being trapped by the fast German ships. A German supply ship was already there and radioed Spee that Glasgow had entered the harbour around twilight. The cruiser departed on the morning of 1 November, but Spee had already made plans to catch her when informed of her presence the previous evening.[16]
Glasgow departed Coronel at 09:15 after having picked up the squadron's mail and rendezvoused with the rest of the squadron four hours later. Cradock ordered his ships to form line abreast with a distance of 15 nautical miles (28 km; 17 mi) between ships to maximise visibility at 13:50 and steered north at a speed of 10 knots (19 km/h; 12 mph). At 16:17 Leipzig spotted Glasgow, the easternmost British ship, to its west and she spotted Leipzig's funnel smoke three minutes later. At 17:10 Cradock ordered his ships to head for Glasgow, the closest ship to the Germans. Once gathered together, he formed them into line astern, with Good Hope in the lead, steering south-easterly at 16 knots (30 km/h; 18 mph) at 18:18. As the sixteen 21-centimetre (8.3 in) guns aboard the armoured cruisers Scharnhorst and Gneisenau were only matched by the two 9.2-inch (234 mm) guns on his flagship, he needed to close the range to bring his more numerous 6-inch guns to bear. The Force 7 winds and high seas, however, prevented the use of half of those guns as they were too close to the water. He also wanted to use the setting sun to his advantage so that its light would blind the German gunners. Vizeadmiral (Vice-Admiral) Maximilian von Spee, commander of the East Asia Squadron, was well aware of the British advantages and refused to allow Cradock to close the range. His ships were faster than the British, slowed by the 16-knot (30 km/h; 18 mph) maximum speed of Otranto, and he opened up the range to 18,000 yards (16,000 m) until conditions changed to suit him. The sun set at 18:50, which silhouetted the British ships against the light sky while the German ships became indistinguishable from the shoreline behind them.[17]
Spee immediately turned to close and signalled his ships to open fire at 19:04, when the range closed to 12,300 yards (11,200 m). Spee's flagship, Scharnhorst, engaged Good Hope while Gneisenau fired at Monmouth. The German shooting was very accurate, with both armoured cruisers quickly scoring hits on their British counterparts while still outside six-inch gun range, starting fires on both ships. Cradock, knowing his only chance was to close the range, continued to do so despite the battering that Spee's ships inflicted. After disabling Monmouth around 19:35, Spee ordered his armoured cruisers to concentrate their fire on Good Hope when she continued to try to close the range. About 19:50 her forward magazine exploded and blew off her
Glasgow fought almost an entirely separate battle as the German armoured cruisers generally ignored her and she inconclusively duelled the light cruisers Leipzig and Dresden. Glasgow broke contact with the German squadron at 20:05 and discovered Monmouth, listing and down by the bow, having extinguished her fires, 10 minutes later. She was trying to turn north to put her stern to the heavy northerly swell and was taking water at the bow. There was little that Glasgow could do to assist the larger ship as the moonlight illuminated both ships and the Germans were searching for them. He broke contact with her at 20:50 and was finally able to report to Canopus the results of the battle. Around 21:20, the ship's crew spotted a searchlight beam and gun flashes behind them and knew that the Germans had finished off Monmouth. Considering that an estimated 600 shells were fired at her, Glasgow was only lightly damaged by five hits, of which the most serious was a shell that detonated on the waterline and tore a hole about 6 square feet (0.56 m2) in size that flooded one compartment. The ship's casualties numbered four lightly wounded ratings and some parrots that the crew had purchased. In return, she failed to hit any of the German ships.[19]
Battle of the Falkland Islands
Glasgow passed through the Strait of Magellan on 4 November and awaited Canopus at its eastern entrance. The battleship rendezvoused with her two days later and they steamed for
Upon arrival at Port Stanley on 7 December, Sturdee informed his captains that he planned to recoal the entire squadron the following day from the two available
The Germans were driven off by 12-inch (305 mm) shells fired by Canopus when they came within range around 09:20. Glasgow cleared the harbour by 09:45 and was ordered by Sturdee to trail Spee's ships, keeping out of range, and to inform him of their actions. The last of the British ships left the harbor by 10:30 and Sturdee ordered "General chase". The battlecruisers were the fastest ships present and inexorably began to close on the German ships. They opened fire at 12:55 and started near-missing Leipzig, the rear ship in the German formation, 15 minutes later. 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. As soon as Luce spotted the light cruisers turn away, he turned to pursue them, followed by Kent and Cornwall.[23]
Glasgow, the fastest of the British ships, slowly increased her lead over the two armoured cruisers and Luce opened fire on Leipzig with his forward six-inch gun at 14:45 at a range of about 12,000 yards (11,000 m). One of his shells struck the German ship and she turned to allow her broadside guns to fire back. The first salvo narrowly missed Glasgow and she was hit twice in the next salvo, forcing Luce to fall back. This was repeated several times which allowed the two armoured cruisers to make up some of the distance. An hour later, the Germans scattered in different directions; Cornwall and Glasgow pursued Leipzig while Kent went after
Battle of Más a Tierra
Sturdee's ships continued to search for Dresden even after he returned to England. The German cruiser successfully evaded the searching British for months by hiding in the maze of bays and channels surrounding Tierra del Fuego. She began moving up the Chilean coast in February 1915 until she was unexpectedly spotted by Kent on 8 March when a fog burned off. The British cruiser tried to close the distance, but Dresden managed to break contact after a five-hour chase. Kent, however, intercepted a message during the pursuit from Dresden to one of her colliers to meet her at Robinson Crusoe Island in the Juan Fernández Islands. Dresden arrived there the next day, virtually out of coal.[25]
International law allowed the German ship a stay of 24 hours before she would have to leave or be
Subsequent activities
After re-coaling at Vallenar, Glasgow moved to the Atlantic coast of South America and searched for German ships, mostly around the estuary of the River Plate. On 9 October she departed for Simon's Town, South Africa, to begin a refit and arrived there on the 20th. The refit was completed on 24 December and the ship departed that day for the Abrolhos Rocks where she arrived on 11 January 1916. Glasgow then cruised to São Vicente, Cape Verde, where Luce was promoted to Commodore, 2nd Class on the 29th. Three days later, the ship set sail for the South American coast where she resumed patrolling for German ships. On 14 October, Glasgow arrived back in Simon's Town for another refit that was completed on 27 December, after which the ship returned to South America after a diversion to Sierra Leone.[14] Commodore Aubrey Smith relieved Luce on 8 November.[13]
When Glasgow arrived at Abrolhos Rocks on 22 January 1917, Smith had to coordinate the search for the commerce raider SMS Möwe that was ultimately unsuccessful, with his own ship patrolling off the Brazilian coast.[28] At the beginning of January 1918, the ship was en route to Sierra Leone, where she arrived on the 16th. Departing four days later, the ship reached Gibraltar on 30 January and continued onwards to Portsmouth where she began a refit on 18 February.[14] By July Glasgow was assigned to the 8th Light Cruiser Squadron in the Adriatic Sea.[29] On 2 October the ship covered the bombardment of Durazzo, Albania, by Allied forces.[30]
By April 1919, Glasgow was en route home,
In 1964 a Falklands Islands commemorative stamp incorrectly pictured Glasgow instead of HMS Kent.[37]
Notes
Footnotes
- ^ Lyon, Part 1, p. 56
- ^ a b c d Gardiner & Gray, p. 51
- ^ Lyon, Part 2, pp. 59–60
- ^ Friedman 2010, p. 383
- ^ Lyon, Part 2, pp. 55–57
- ^ Lyon, Part 1, p. 53
- ^ a b Brown, p. 63
- ^ Lyon, Part 2, p. 59
- ^ Lyon, Part 2, p. 57
- ^ Colledge & Warlow, pp. 141–142
- ^ a b c Morris, p. 122
- ^ Friedman 2010, p. 411
- ^ a b c "H.M.S. Glasgow (1909)". www.dreadnoughtproject.org. The Dreadnought Project. Retrieved 30 May 2019.
- ^ a b c d e f Transcript
- ^ Fayle, pp. 154, 165, 170
- ^ Massie, pp. 221–224
- ^ Massie, pp. 223–228
- ^ Massie, pp. 228–230
- ^ Massie, pp. 232–233, 236
- ^ Massie, pp. 242–243
- ^ Massie, pp. 249–250
- ^ Massie, pp. 251, 258–259, 261
- ^ Massie, pp. 262, 264–265
- ^ Massie, pp. 274–277
- ^ Massie, pp. 283–284
- ^ Massie, pp. 284–285
- ^ Mount, Colin. "Pig in the Post". Royal Philatelic Society London. Archived from the original on 27 June 2011.
- ^ Newbolt, pp. 187–189, 191
- ^ "Supplement to the Monthly Navy List Showing the Organisation of the Fleet, Flag Officer's Commands, &c". National Library of Scotland. London: Admiralty. July 1918. p. 23. Retrieved 4 June 2019 – via Internet Archive.
- ^ Cernuschi & O'Hara, p. 69
- ^ "Supplement to the Monthly Navy List Showing the Organisation of the Fleet, Flag Officer's Commands, &c". National Library of Scotland. London: Admiralty. April 1919. p. 21. Retrieved 4 June 2019 – via Internet Archive.
- ^ "Supplement to the Monthly Navy List Showing the Organisation of the Fleet, Flag Officer's Commands, &c". National Library of Scotland. London: Admiralty. 1 May 1919. p. 21. Retrieved 4 June 2019 – via Internet Archive.
- ^ "Supplement to the Monthly Navy List Showing the Organisation of the Fleet, Flag Officer's Commands, &c". National Library of Scotland. London: Admiralty. 1 July 1919. p. 19. Retrieved 4 June 2019 – via Internet Archive.
- ^ "The Navy List". National Library of Scotland. London: Admiralty. 18 July 1919. p. 707. Retrieved 4 June 2019 – via Internet Archive.
- ^ "The Navy List". National Library of Scotland. London: Admiralty. 18 December 1920. p. 780. Retrieved 4 June 2019 – via Internet Archive.
- ^ Lyon, Part 3, p. 51
- ^ "Queen Elizabeth II rarities". Stamp Magazine. 4 October 2006. Archived from the original on 4 October 2006. Retrieved 27 November 2010.
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- Cernuschi, Enrico & O'Hara, Vincent (2016). "The Naval War in the Adriatic, Part 2: 1917–1918". In Jordan, John (ed.). Warship 2016. London: Conway. pp. 62–75. ISBN 978-1-84486-326-6.
- ISBN 978-1-86176-281-8.
- Fayle, C. Earnest (1920). Seaborne Trade. History of the Great War: Based on Official Documents. Vol. I: The Cruiser Period. London: John Murray. OCLC 223720130.
- Friedman, Norman (2010). British Cruisers: Two World Wars and After. Barnsley, South Yorkshire, UK: Seaforth. ISBN 978-1-59114-078-8.
- 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.
- Lyon, David (1977). "The First Town Class 1908–31: Part 1". ISBN 0-85177-132-7.
- Lyon, David (1977). "The First Town Class 1908–31: Part 2". Warship. 1 (2). London: Conway Maritime Press: 54–61. ISBN 0-85177-132-7.
- Lyon, David (1977). "The First Town Class 1908–31: Part 3". Warship. 1 (3). London: Conway Maritime Press: 46–51. ISBN 0-85177-132-7.
- ISBN 0-224-04092-8.
- Morris, Douglas (1987). Cruisers of the Royal and Commonwealth Navies Since 1879. Liskeard, UK: Maritime Books. ISBN 0-907771-35-1.
- 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.
- "Transcript: HMS Glasgow – March 1914 to December 1916, January to February 1918, South America, Battle of Coronel, Battle of the Falklands, South America continued". Royal Navy Log Books of the World War 1 Era. Naval-History.net. Retrieved 30 May 2019.