HMS Magnificent (1894)
 HMS Magnificent
| |
| History | |
|---|---|
 United Kingdom | |
| Name | HMS Magnificent |
| Builder | Chatham Dockyard |
| Laid down | 18 December 1893 |
| Launched | 19 December 1894 |
| Commissioned | 12 December 1895 |
| Decommissioned | April 1921 |
| Fate | Sold for scrapping 9 May 1921 |
| General characteristics | |
| Class and type | pre-dreadnought battleship |
| Displacement | 16,060 long tons (16,320 t) |
| Length | 421 ft (128 m) |
| Beam | 75 ft (23 m) |
| Draught | 27 ft (8.2 m) |
| Propulsion | 2 × 3-cylinder triple expansion steam engines, twin screws |
| Speed | 16 kn (30 km/h; 18 mph) |
| Complement | 672 |
| Armament |
|
| Armour |
|
HMS Magnificent was one of the nine
Among the oldest of Britain's battleships at the time, Magnificent was a guard ship on the Humber when
Design
Magnificent was 421 feet (128 m)
The ship was armed with a
Magnificent and the other Majestic-class ships had 9 inches (229 mm) of
Service history
Magnificent was laid down at the
By January 1904, the ship had become the flagship of the Channel Fleet. As a result of a reorganization in January 1905, the Channel Fleet became the
Magnificent left Chatham in March 1907 and was assigned to the Nore Division of the Home Fleet at the Nore. During this service, she was temporarily the flagship of the Commander-in-Chief in November 1907 and underwent a refit at Chatham in 1908 during which she had new fire control systems installed and was converted to burn fuel oil. She served as the second flagship of the Home Fleet from August 1908 to January 1909. Magnificent was reduced to a nucleus crew in February 1909 as part of the commissioned reserve. On 24 March 1909, she became the flagship of the Vice Admiral, 3rd and 4th Divisions, Home Fleet, at the Nore. She was relieved as flagship on 1 March 1910 by the battleship Bulwark. On 27 September 1910, Magnificent was recommissioned into the Home Fleet to serve as a turret drill ship and stokers' training ship at Devonport. Her sternwalk was damaged in a collision in December 1910. She became tender to the turret drill ship Vivid in February 1911 and a seagoing gunnery training ship at Devonport on 14 May 1912. She was slightly damaged on 16 June 1913 when she ran aground in fog near Cawsand Bay. She recommissioned for 3rd Fleet service on 1 July 1913.[14][15]
World War I
During a precautionary mobilization of the fleet immediately prior to the outbreak of World War I, Magnificent and her sister ships Hannibal, Mars, and Victorious on 27 July 1914 formed the 9th Battle Squadron, subordinate to the Admiral of Patrols and stationed at the Humber. Magnificent served as guard ship at the Humber. World War I began while she was stationed there.[16] On 7 August 1914, the 9th Battle Squadron was dissolved, and Magnificent and Hannibal transferred to Scapa Flow to reinforce the defences of the anchorage of the Grand Fleet there, becoming a guard ship at Scapa Flow. The Majestic-class ships were by then the oldest and least effective battleships in service in the Royal Navy. The first-class protected cruiser Crescent relieved Magnificent of guard ship duty on 16 February 1915, at which point Magnificent was paid off.[16]
Later in February 1915, Magnificent arrived at
Magnificent remained at Devonport until August 1917, serving as an overflow ship. In August 1917, she began a refit at Harland & Wolff in Belfast for conversion to an ammunition ship. When her refit was completed in October 1918, she was transferred to Rosyth for service as an ammunition store ship. Magnificent was placed on the disposal list on 4 February 1920, but continued to serve as an ammunition store ship at Rosyth until April 1921. She was sold for scrapping on 9 May 1921. Scrapping began at Thos. W. Ward Inverkeithing the following year.[16]
Footnotes
- ^ a b c Gibbons, p. 137.
- ^ a b c d Lyon & Roberts, p. 34.
- ^ a b c Burt, p. 162.
- ^ "Naval & Military intelligence". The Times. No. 36055. London. 2 February 1900. p. 10.
- ^ Callow, p. 5.
- ^ "Naval & Military intelligence". The Times. No. 36474. London. 6 June 1901. p. 11.
- ^ "Naval & Military intelligence". The Times. No. 36787. London. 6 June 1902. p. 11.
- ^ "Naval & Military intelligence". The Times. No. 36799. London. 20 June 1902. p. 10.
- ^ "The Coronation - Naval Review". The Times. No. 36845. London. 13 August 1902. p. 4.
- ^ "Naval & Military intelligence". The Times. No. 36880. London. 23 September 1902. p. 8.
- ^ "Naval & Military intelligence". The Times. No. 36902. London. 18 October 1902. p. 9.
- ^ "Naval & Military intelligence". The Times. No. 36908. London. 25 October 1902. p. 12.
- ^ Comparato, p. 327.
- ^ a b Preston, p. 7.
- ^ Burt, pp. 162–163.
- ^ a b c d e Burt, p. 163.
References
- Burt, R. A. (2013) [1988]. British Battleships 1889–1904. Barnsley: Seaforth Publishing. ISBN 978-1-84832-173-1.
- Callow, H. (1904). The Commission of HMS Royal Arthur: Flagship, Australia Station, 1901–1904. London: Westminster Press.
- Comparato, Frank E. (1965). Age of Great Guns. Harrisburg: Stackpole.
- Gibbons, Tony (1983). The Complete Encyclopedia of Battleships and Battlecruisers: A Technical Directory of All the World's Capital Ships From 1860 to the Present Day. London: Salamander Books. ISBN 978-0-86101-142-1.
- Lyon, David & Roberts, John (1979). "Great Britain and Empire Forces". In Chesneau, Roger & Kolesnik, Eugene M. (eds.). Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships 1860–1905. Greenwich: Conway Maritime Press. pp. 1–113. ISBN 978-0-85177-133-5.
- Preston, Antony (1985). "Great Britain and Empire Forces". In Gardiner, Robert & Gray, Randal (eds.). Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships 1906–1921. Annapolis: Naval Institute Press. pp. 1–104. ISBN 978-0-87021-907-8.
Further reading
- Dittmar, F. J. & Colledge, J. J. (1972). British Warships 1914–1919. London: Ian Allan. ISBN 978-0-7110-0380-4.
External links
