HMS Gloucester (1909)

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For other ships with the same name, see HMS Gloucester.

Gloucester at anchor, 1918
History
United Kingdom
NameGloucester
NamesakeGloucester
BuilderWilliam Beardmore and Company, Dalmuir
Laid down15 April 1909
Launched28 October 1909
CommissionedOctober 1910
Out of serviceMarch 1920
FateSold for scrap, 9 May 1921
General characteristics (as built)
Class and typeTown-class light cruiser
Displacement4,800 long tons (4,877 t)
Length
  • 430 ft (131.1 m) p/p
  • 453 ft (138.1 m) o/a
Beam47 ft (14.3 m)
Draught15 ft 3 in (4.65 m) (mean)
Installed power
Propulsion4 × shafts; 2 × Parsons steam turbines
Speed25 kn (46 km/h; 29 mph)
Range5,830 nautical miles (10,800 km; 6,710 mi) at 10 knots (19 km/h; 12 mph)
Complement480
Armament
  • 2 × single
    BL 6 in (152 mm) Mk XI guns
  • 10 × single
    BL 4 in (102 mm) Mk VII guns
  • 4 ×
    QF 3-pounder 47 mm (1.9 in) guns
  • 2 × 18 in (457 mm) torpedo tubes
Armour

HMS Gloucester was a

commerce raiders, but her only success was the capture of one supply ship in early 1915. She played a minor role in the Battle of Jutland in mid-1916 and then spent most of the rest of the war in the Adriatic Sea. The ship was placed in reserve in 1919 and was sold for scrap
in 1921.

Design and description

The Bristol sub-class

sea trials from 22,406 shp (16,708 kW).[3] The boilers used both fuel oil and coal, with 1,353 long tons (1,375 t) of coal and 256 long tons (260 t) tons of oil carried, which gave a range of 5,830 nautical miles (10,800 km; 6,710 mi) at 10 knots (19 km/h; 12 mph).[4] The ship had a crew of 480 officers and ratings.[2]

The main armament of the Bristol class was two

torpedo tubes were fitted.[5] This armament was considered rather too light for ships of this size by the Royal Navy,[6] while the waist guns were subject to immersion in a high sea, making them difficult to work.[7]

The Bristols were considered protected cruisers, with an armoured deck providing protection for the ships' vitals. The armoured deck was 2 inches (51 mm) thick over the magazines and machinery, 1 inch (25 mm) over the steering gear and 3⁄4 inch (19 mm) elsewhere. The conning tower was protected by 6 inches (150 mm) of armour, with the gun shields having 3 inches (76 mm) armour, as did the ammunition hoists.[8] As the protective deck was at the 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 and made the guns' crews vulnerable to leg injuries in combat.[9]

Construction and career

Gloucester was the eighth ship in the Royal Navy to be named after the

Mediterranean.[2]

Pursuit of Goeben and Breslau

Main article: Pursuit of Goeben and Breslau

As tensions rose with Germany in the first few days of August 1914, before Britain declared war, Gloucester was deployed at the mouth of the Adriatic Sea, together with the bulk of the Mediterranean Fleet, by its commander,

Philippeville. But Britain and Germany were not yet at war so Milne turned to shadow the Germans as they headed back to Messina, Sicily, to recoal. All three battlecruisers had problems with their boilers, but Goeben and Breslau were able to break contact and reached Messina by the morning of the 5th. By this time war had been declared, after the German invasion of Belgium, but an Admiralty order to respect Italian neutrality and stay outside a six-mile (10 km) limit from the Italian coast precluded entrance into the passage of the Strait of Messina where they could observe the port directly. Therefore, Milne stationed the battlecruisers Inflexible and Indefatigable at the northernwestern exit of the Strait of Messina as he still expected the Germans to break out to the west where they could attack French troop transports. He positioned Gloucester at the southeastern exit and sent Indomitable to recoal at Bizerte where she was better positioned to react to a German sortie into the Western Mediterranean.[11]

The Germans sortied from Messina on 6 August and headed east, towards

Rear Admiral Wilhelm Souchon ordered Breslau to turn about and pretend to lay mines in an effort to scare off Gloucester. Captain Howard Kelly decided to attack the German ship in an effort to force Goeben to turn around to support her consort as the British ship was more heavily armed than Breslau. Kelly opened fire at a range of 11,500 yards (10,500 m) with his forward six-inch gun at 13:35 on the 7th and then increased speed when the German ship replied with her 105-millimetre (4.1 in) guns. When he had closed the range to 10,000 yards (9,100 m), he turned to unmask Gloucester's broadside. This caused Souchon to turn and open fire on the British cruiser and Kelly disengaged, having accomplished his goal. Gloucester fired 18 six- and 14 four-inch shells during the brief engagement, but only hit Breslau once to little effect. She was not hit in return. Kelly was forced to break off his pursuit at 16:40 as Milne had strictly forbidden him to pass Cape Matapan, Greece, and his coal was running low.[12]

After the German ships safely reached

3rd Light Cruiser Squadron of the Battle Cruiser Fleet.[17] On 28 March, Gloucester captured the German raider's supply ship, SS Macedonia, in the Central Atlantic[16] and Kronprinz Wilhelm was forced to intern herself a few weeks later for lack of supplies.[18] Gloucester remained on patrol through the end of April, although it is likely that she rejoined her squadron in May.[16] It has been long rumoured that she shelled Galway, Ireland during the Easter Rising in April 1916,[2] but she was probably confused with the sloop Laburnum, which did shell the outskirts of Galway a day before Gloucester arrived in Galway Bay landing 100 Royal Marines.[19]

Battle of Jutland

The British fleet sailed from northern Britain to the east while the Germans sailed from Germany in the south; the opposing fleets met off the Danish coast
Maps showing the manoeuvres of the British (blue) and German (red) fleets on 31 May – 1 June 1916
Main article: Battle of Jutland

Almost a year later, Gloucester participated in the Battle of Jutland on 31 May–1 June 1916. As the battle began, the 3rd LCS was screening

1st Light Cruiser Squadron after they had spotted the German ships. This put them out of position when Beatty turned south to pursue the German battlecruisers. After he turned north on encountering the main body of the German High Seas Fleet, the 3rd LCS were the first to encounter the screen of the Grand Fleet at 17:33. As Beatty turned east to rendezvous with them, Gloucester was unable to reach the head of the Grand Fleet's line and was forced to steer for the unengaged side to avoid fouling the range with her funnel smoke. The cruiser briefly engaged the disabled light cruiser SMS Wiesbaden about 18:15. By 18:40, the squadron was in position to escort the 3rd Battlecruiser Squadron of the Grand Fleet.[20]

By 20:10, Beatty's ships were in front of the Grand Fleet and the 3rd LCS was screening them when the flagship, Falmouth, spotted five cruisers of the 4th Scouting Group and the squadron closed to engage at full speed. The British ships were not spotted in return until 20:17 and Falmouth opened fire a minute later at a range of 9,600 yards (8,800 m). By 20:38, the British lost sight of the Germans and turned away to assume their position at the head of Beatty's battlecruisers. The cruiser fired a total of 37 shells and was not damaged during the battle.[21]

Subsequent operations

After the battle, the ship was reassigned to the

2nd Battle Squadron,[22] and had been transferred to the 8th Light Cruiser Squadron in the Adriatic by December.[23] Gloucester was detached to the Indian Ocean in March 1917 to search for the German commerce raider SMS Wolf, but was recalled on 23 May.[24] She remained in the Adriatic until the end of the war in November 1918. The ship was placed in reserve the following April, listed for disposal in March 1920[2] and was sold for scrap on 9 May 1921 to Thos. W. Ward, of Portishead and Briton Ferry.[25]

Notes

  1. ^ Sometimes known as the Glasgow class.[1]

Footnotes

  1. ^ Lyon, Part 1, p. 56
  2. ^ a b c d e f g Gardiner & Gray, p. 51
  3. ^ Lyon, Part 2, pp. 59–60
  4. ^ Friedman, p. 383
  5. ^ Lyon, Part 2, pp. 55–57
  6. ^ Lyon, Part 1, p. 53
  7. ^ a b Brown, p. 63
  8. ^ Lyon, Part 2, p. 59
  9. ^ Lyon, Part 2, p. 57
  10. ^ Colledge, p. 143
  11. ^ Massie, pp. 31, 34–39
  12. ^ Massie, pp. 44–45
  13. ^ Massie, pp. 427–28
  14. ^ Corbett, I, pp. 379, 387; II, pp. 16, fn. 50
  15. ^ Corbett, II, p. 255
  16. ^ a b c Transcript of ship's log
  17. ^ "Supplement to the Monthly Navy List Showing the Organisation of the Fleet, Flag Officer's Commands, &c". National Library of Scotland. Admiralty. 18 March 1915. p. 11. Retrieved 28 August 2016.
  18. ^ Corbett, II, pp. 256–57
  19. ^ Hardiman
  20. ^ Campbell, pp. 22, 31–33, 150, 161
  21. ^ Campbell, pp. 250–52, 360
  22. ^ "Supplement to the Monthly Navy List Showing the Organisation of the Fleet, Flag Officer's Commands, &c". National Library of Scotland. Admiralty. August 1916. p. 10. Retrieved 28 August 2016.
  23. ^ "Supplement to the Monthly Navy List Showing the Organisation of the Fleet, Flag Officer's Commands, &c". National Library of Scotland. Admiralty. December 1916. p. 21. Retrieved 28 August 2016.
  24. ^ Newbolt, pp. 217–18
  25. ^ Lyon, Part 3, p. 51

Bibliography

External links
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