HMS Neptune (1909)

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

Neptune before 1914
Class overview
Operators Royal Navy
Preceded bySt Vincent class
Succeeded byColossus class
Completed1
Scrapped1
History
United Kingdom
NameNeptune
NamesakeNeptune
Ordered14 December 1908
BuilderHM Dockyard, Portsmouth
Laid down19 January 1909
Launched30 September 1909
CompletedJanuary 1911
Commissioned11 January 1911
Out of serviceNovember 1921
FateSold for scrap, September 1922
General characteristics (as built)
Type
Dreadnought battleship
Displacement19,680 long tons (20,000 t) (normal)
Length546 ft (166.4 m) (o/a)
Beam85 ft (25.9 m)
Draught28 ft 6 in (8.7 m)
Installed power
Propulsion4 × shafts; 2 × steam turbine sets
Speed21 knots (39 km/h; 24 mph)
Range6,330 nmi (11,720 km; 7,280 mi) at 10 knots (19 km/h; 12 mph)
Complement756–813 (1914)
Armament
  • 5 × twin
    12-inch (305 mm) guns
  • 16 × single
    4-inch (102 mm) guns
  • 3 ×
    18-inch (450 mm) torpedo tubes
Armour

HMS Neptune was a

1st Battle Squadron
.

The ship became part of the

First World War in August 1914. Aside from participating in the Battle of Jutland in May 1916, and the inconclusive action of 19 August several months later, her service during the war generally consisted of routine patrols and training in the North Sea. Neptune was deemed obsolete after the war and was reduced to reserve before being sold for scrap
in 1922 and subsequently broken up.

Background and description

Brassey's Naval Annual
1915

The

British Admiralty felt secure in the knowledge that Germany would have only four modern capital ships in commission by 1910, while the Royal Navy would have eleven. Accordingly, they proposed the construction of only a single battleship and a battlecruiser in the 1908–1909 naval budget that they sent to the government in December. The Liberals, committed to reducing military expenditures and increasing social welfare spending, wished to cut the budget by £1,340,000 below the previous year's budget, but were ultimately persuaded not to do so after the Prime Minister, Sir Henry Campbell-Bannerman, was thoroughly briefed on each part of the budget in February 1908. The debates over the budget in March were heated; critics were dissatisfied with the number of ships being built, arguing that the Government was too complacent about the superiority of the Royal Navy over the Imperial German Navy, but they were satisfied when H. H. Asquith, Chancellor of the Exchequer, filling in for the fatally ill Prime Minister, announced that the government was prepared to build as many dreadnoughts as required to negate any possible German superiority as of the end of 1911.[1]

Neptune was an improved version of the preceding

en echelon" so all five turrets could shoot on the broadside, although in practise the blast damage to the superstructure and boats made this impractical except in an emergency. This was done to match the 10-gun broadside of the latest foreign designs like the American Delaware class, although the all-centreline turret configuration of the American ships eliminated the blast problems that compromised the effectiveness of the "en echelon" arrangement. Neptune was also the first British dreadnought to be equipped with superfiring turrets, in an effort to shorten the ship and reduce costs. A further saving in length was achieved by siting the ship's boats on girders over the two wing turrets to reduce the length of the vessel. The drawback to this arrangement was that if the girders were damaged during combat, they could fall onto the turrets, immobilising them. The bridge was also situated above the conning tower, which similarly risked being obscured if the bridge collapsed.[2]

Neptune had an

deep load. The ship had a metacentric height of 6.5 feet (2.0 m) at deep load. Her crew numbered about 756 officers and ratings upon completion and 813 in 1914.[5]

The ship was powered by two sets of

kW) and gave Neptune a maximum speed of 21 knots (39 km/h; 24 mph). She carried a maximum of 2,710 long tons (2,753 t) of coal and an additional 790 long tons (803 t) of fuel oil that was sprayed on the coal to increase its burn rate. This gave her a range of 6,330 nautical miles (11,720 km; 7,280 mi) at a cruising speed of 10 knots (19 km/h; 12 mph).[6]

Armament

Arrangement of Neptune's main-gun turrets, bow to the right

Neptune was equipped with ten 50-

12-inch (305 mm) Mark XI guns in five hydraulically powered twin-gun turrets, three along the centreline and the remaining two as wing turrets. The centreline turrets were designated 'A', 'X' and 'Y', from front to rear, and the port and starboard wing turrets were 'P' and 'Q' respectively.[5] The guns had a maximum elevation of +20° which gave them a range of 21,200 yards (19,385 m). They fired 850-pound (386 kg) projectiles at a muzzle velocity of 2,825 ft/s (861 m/s) at a rate of two rounds per minute.[7] The ship carried 100 shells per gun.[5]

The ship's aft 12-inch gun turrets

Neptune was the first British dreadnought with her

18-inch (450 mm) submerged torpedo tubes, one on each broadside and another in the stern, for which 18 torpedoes were provided.[5]

Fire control

hull
.

The control positions for the main armament were located in the

mainmasts. Data from a nine-foot (2.7 m) Barr and Stroud coincidence rangefinder located at each control position was input into a Dumaresq mechanical computer and electrically transmitted to Vickers range clocks located in the transmitting station located beneath each position on the main deck, where it was converted into elevation and deflection data for use by the guns. The target's data was also graphically recorded on a plotting table to assist the gunnery officer in predicting the movement of the target. The turrets, transmitting stations, and control positions could be connected in almost any combination.[13]

Neptune was the first British dreadnought to be built with a gunnery director, albeit an experimental

Vice-Admiral Sir Percy Scott. This was mounted on the foremast, underneath the spotting top and electrically provided data to the turrets via pointer on a dial, which the turret crewmen only had to follow. The director layer fired the guns simultaneously which aided in spotting the shell splashes and minimised the effects of the roll on the dispersion of the shells.[14] The ship's director was later replaced as a new one was ordered in 1913 and installed by May 1916.[15]

Additional nine-foot rangefinders, protected by armoured hoods, were added for each gun turret in late 1914.[16] Furthermore, the ship was fitted with Mark I Dreyer Fire-control Tables by early 1916 in each transmission station that combined the functions of the Dumaresq and the range clock.[17]

Armour

Neptune had a

amidships. Above this was a strake of 8-inch armour. The forward oblique 5-inch (127 mm) bulkheads connected the amidships portion of waterline and upper armour belts once they reached the outer portions of the forward barbette. Similarly the aft bulkhead connected the armour belts to the rearmost barbette, although it was 8 inches thick. The three centreline barbettes were protected by armour 9 inches (229 mm) thick above the main deck and 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 roofs.[5]

The three armoured decks ranged in thickness from 1.25 to 3 inches (32 to 76 mm) with the greater thicknesses outside the central

coal bunkers.[19]

Modifications

rangefinder was fitted on the remaining spotting top and a flying-off platform was installed on the 'A' turret in 1918.[20]

Construction and career

Neptune being launched, 30 September 1909

Neptune, named after

Coronation Fleet Review at Spithead on 24 June. On 1 May 1912, the 1st Division was renamed the 1st Battle Squadron (BS); Neptune was relieved as the squadron's flagship on 22 June. The ship participated in the Parliamentary Naval Review on 9 July at Spithead. Neptune became a private ship on 10 March 1914 when she was replaced by Iron Duke as the flagship of the Home Fleet and rejoined the 1st BS.[22]

First World War

Between 17 and 20 July 1914 Neptune took part in a test mobilisation and fleet review as part of the British response to the July Crisis. Arriving in Portland on 27 July, she was ordered to proceed with the rest of the Home Fleet to Scapa Flow two days later[5] to safeguard the fleet from a possible German surprise attack.[23] In August 1914, following the outbreak of the First World War, the Home Fleet was reorganised as the Grand Fleet, and placed under the command of Admiral Jellicoe.[24] Most of it was briefly based (22 October to 3 November) at Lough Swilly, Ireland, while the defences at Scapa were strengthened. On the evening of 22 November 1914, the Grand Fleet conducted a fruitless sweep in the southern half of the North Sea; Neptune stood with the main body in support of Vice-Admiral David Beatty's 1st Battlecruiser Squadron. The fleet was back in port in Scapa Flow by 27 November[25] and the ship began a refit on 11 December.[22]

The 1st Battle Squadron at sea, April 1915

Neptune's refit had concluded by the evening of 23 January 1915 as she joined the rest of the Grand Fleet when it sailed in support of Beatty's battlecruisers,

Shetland Islands on 20–21 April.[30]

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 practised gunnery and battle exercises west of Shetland,[31] and trained off Shetland three days later. On 2–5 September, the fleet went on another cruise in the northern end of the North Sea, conducting gunnery drills, and spent the rest of the month performing numerous training exercises. The ship, together with the majority of the Grand Fleet, made another sweep into the North Sea from 13 to 15 October. Almost three weeks later, Neptune participated in another fleet training operation west of Orkney during 2–5 November.[32]

The fleet departed for a cruise in the North Sea on 26 February 1916; Jellicoe had intended to use the

minefields in the Baltic Sea.[33] During the night of 22/23 April, Neptune was accidentally rammed by the neutral merchant ship SS Needvaal in thick fog, but the battleship was only lightly damaged.[22] The fleet returned to Scapa Flow on 24 April and refuelled before proceeding south in response to intelligence reports that the Germans were about to launch a raid on Lowestoft, but arrived in the area only after the Germans had withdrawn. On 2–4 May, the fleet made another demonstration off Horns Reef to keep German attention focused on the North Sea.[34]

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

The German High Seas Fleet, composed of sixteen dreadnoughts, six pre-dreadnoughts and supporting ships, departed the Jade Bight early on the morning of 31 May in an attempt to lure out and destroy a portion of the Grand Fleet. The High Seas Fleet sailed in concert with Rear Admiral Franz von Hipper's five battlecruisers. 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.[35]

On 31 May, Neptune, under the command of

common pointed, capped) and 48 shells from her four-inch guns during the battle.[36]

Subsequent activity

After the battle, the ship was transferred to the

4th Battle Squadron.[22] The Grand Fleet sortied on 18 August to ambush the High Seas Fleet while it advanced into the southern North Sea, but a series of miscommunications and mistakes prevented Jellicoe from intercepting the German fleet before it returned to port. Two light cruisers were sunk by German U-boats during the operation, prompting Jellicoe to decide to not risk the major units of the fleet south of 55° 30' North due to the prevalence of German submarines and mines. The Admiralty concurred and stipulated that the Grand Fleet would not sortie unless the German fleet was attempting an invasion of Britain or there was a strong possibility it could be forced into an engagement under suitable conditions.[37]

On 22 April 1918, the High Seas Fleet sailed north for the last time in an unsuccessful attempt to intercept a convoy to Norway, and had to turn back two days later after the battlecruiser SMS Moltke suffered engine damage. The Grand Fleet sortied from Rosyth on the 24th when the operation was discovered, but was unable to catch the Germans.[38] Neptune was present at Rosyth when the German fleet surrendered on 21 November and was reduced to reserve there on 1 February 1919 as she was thoroughly obsolete in comparison to the latest dreadnoughts. The ship was listed for disposal in March 1921 and was sold for scrap to Hughes Bolckow in September 1922. She was towed to Blyth, Northumberland on 22 September to begin demolition.[22]

Notes

  1. BL 4-inch Mark VIII guns. Friedman shows the BL Mark VIII as a 40-calibre gun and says the 50-calibre BL Mark VII gun armed all the early dreadnoughts.[4][8][9][10]
  2. ^ In his 1919 book, Jellicoe generally named only specific ships when they were undertaking individual actions. Usually he referred to the Grand Fleet as a whole, or by squadrons and, unless otherwise specified, this article assumes that Neptune is participating in the activities of the Grand Fleet.
  3. ^ The times used in this section are in UT, which is one hour behind CET, which is often used in German works.

Citations

  1. ^ Marder, pp. 135–139
  2. ^ Brown, pp. 38–40; Burt, pp. 105, 107, 110; Friedman 2015, pp. 105–107, 109; Parkes, p. 510
  3. ^ Friedman (2015), p. 419
  4. ^ a b Preston (1972), p. 126
  5. ^ a b c d e f g Burt, p. 112
  6. ^ Burt, pp. 31, 64, 112–113
  7. ^ Friedman (2011), pp. 62–63
  8. ^ a b c Parkes, p. 509
  9. ^ Friedman (2011), pp. 97–99
  10. ^ a b Preston (1985), p. 25
  11. ^ Burt, p. 110
  12. ^ Friedman (2011), pp. 97–98
  13. ^ Brooks (1995), pp. 40–41
  14. ^ Brooks (2005), p. 48
  15. ^ Brooks (1996), p. 166
  16. ^ Admiralty Weekly Order No. 455 of 6 October 1914, referenced in footnote 32, "H.M.S. Neptune (1909)". The Dreadnought Project. Retrieved 4 February 2017.
  17. ^ Brooks (2005), pp. 157–158, 175
  18. ^ Burt, pp. 110, 112–113
  19. ^ Friedman (2015), p. 107
  20. ^ Burt, pp. 113–115
  21. ^ Silverstone, pp. 253–54
  22. ^ a b c d e f g Burt, p. 116
  23. ^ Massie, p. 19
  24. ^ Preston (1985), p. 32
  25. ^ Jellicoe, pp. 163–165
  26. ^ Monograph No. 12, p. 224
  27. ^ Jellicoe, pp. 194–196, 206–207
  28. ^ Burt, p. 38
  29. ^ Monograph No. 29, p. 186
  30. ^ Jellicoe, pp. 211–212
  31. ^ Jellicoe, pp. 217, 218–219, 221–222
  32. ^ Jellicoe, pp. 228, 243, 246, 250, 253
  33. ^ Jellicoe, pp. 271, 275, 279–280, 284, 286
  34. ^ Jellicoe, pp. 286–290
  35. ^ Tarrant, pp. 54–55, 57–58
  36. ^ Campbell, pp. 156, 202, 205, 207, 210, 212, 349, 358; Tarrant, p. 151
  37. ^ Halpern, pp. 330–332
  38. ^ Newbolt, pp. 235–238

Bibliography

External links

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