HMS Repulse (1916)

Coordinates: 3°33′36″N 104°28′42″E / 3.56000°N 104.47833°E / 3.56000; 104.47833
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For other ships with the same name, see HMS Repulse.

Repulse on manoeuvres in the 1920s
History
United Kingdom
NameRepulse
Ordered30 December 1914
BuilderJohn Brown & Company, Clydebank
Laid down25 January 1915
Launched8 January 1916
Commissioned18 August 1916
IdentificationPennant number: 34
Motto
  • Qui Tangit Frangitur
  • Who touches me is broken
Nickname(s)Repair[1]
FateSunk by Japanese bombers, 10 December 1941
General characteristics (as built)
Class and typeRenown-class battlecruiser
Displacement
  • 27,200 long tons (27,636 t) (normal)
  • 32,220 long tons (32,737 t) (
    deep load
    )
Length
  • 750 ft 2 in (228.7 m) p.p.
  • 794 ft 1.5 in (242 m) (o.a.)
Beam90 ft 1.75 in (27.5 m)
Draught27 ft (8.2 m)
Installed power
Propulsion4 × shafts, 2 × steam turbine sets,
Speed31.5 knots (58.3 km/h; 36.2 mph)
Crew
  • 967
  • 1,222 (1919)
Armament
  • 3 × twin
    15 in (381 mm) guns
  • 5 × triple, 2 × single
    4 in (102 mm) guns
  • 2 × single
    AA guns
  • 2 ×
    21 in (533 mm) torpedo tubes
Armour
General characteristics (1939)
Displacement34,600 long tons (35,155 t)
Draught29 ft 8 in (9 m)
Installed power8 × boilers, 112,000 shp (84,000 kW)
Propulsion4 × shafts, 4 × steam turbines
Speed31 knots (57 km/h; 36 mph)
Range6,650 nmi (12,320 km; 7,650 mi)
Complement1,181
Armament
  • 3 × twin 15 in (381 mm) guns
  • 3 × triple 4 in (102 mm) guns
  • 6 × single 4 in (102 mm) AA guns
  • 2 × quadruple 40 mm (1.6 in) 2-pdr AA guns
Armour
  • Belt: 2–9 in (51–229 mm)
  • Decks: 1–4 in (25–102 mm)
  • otherwise no change
Aircraft carried4 × seaplanes
Aviation facilities1 × aircraft catapult

HMS Repulse was one of two

Eustace Tennyson-d'Eyncourt, quickly produced an entirely new design to meet Admiral Lord Fisher's requirements and the builders agreed to deliver the ship in 15 months. They did not quite meet that ambitious goal, but the ship was delivered a few months after the Battle of Jutland in 1916. Repulse and her sister ship Renown were the world's fastest capital ships
upon completion.

Repulse participated in the Second Battle of Heligoland Bight in 1917, the only combat she saw during the war. She was reconstructed twice between the wars; a reconstruction in the 1920s increased her armour protection and made lesser improvements, while another in the 1930s was much more thorough. Repulse accompanied the battlecruiser Hood during the Cruise of the Special Service Squadron on a round-the-world cruise in 1923 to 1924 and protected international shipping during the Spanish Civil War in 1936 to 1939.

The ship spent the first months of the

British possessions in the Far East. Repulse and her consort, the battleship Prince of Wales, were sunk by Japanese aircraft on 10 December 1941 when they attempted to intercept landings in British Malaya
.

In December 2023, a memorial was erected at

King Abdullah of Pahang.[2]

Design and description

Repulse, circa 1916–1917, after post-trials alterations

Admiral Lord Fisher first presented his requirements for the new ships to the

pre-dreadnought Renown but higher, four 15-inch guns in two twin-gun turrets, an anti-torpedo boat armament of twenty 4-inch (102 mm) guns mounted high up and protected by gun shields only, a speed of 32 knots using oil fuel and armour on the scale of the battlecruiser Indefatigable. Within a few days Fisher increased the number of guns to six and added two torpedo tubes. Minor revisions in the initial estimate were made until 26 December and a preliminary design was completed on 30 December.[3]

During the following week the DNC's department examined the material delivered for the two battleships and decided what could be used in the new design. The usable material was transferred to the builders who had received enough information from the DNC's department to lay the keels of both ships on 25 January 1915, well before the altered contracts were completed on 10 March.[4]

Repulse had an

deep load.[5] The Brown-Curtis direct-drive steam turbines were designed to produce 112,000 shaft horsepower (84,000 kW), which would propel the ship at 32 knots (59 km/h; 37 mph). During trials in 1916, Repulse's turbines provided 118,913 shp (88,673 kW), allowing her to reach a speed of 31.73 knots (58.76 km/h; 36.51 mph).[6] The ship normally carried 1,000 long tons (1,016 t) of fuel oil but had a maximum capacity of 4,289 long tons (4,358 t). At full capacity, she could steam at a speed of 18 knots (33 km/h; 21 mph) for 4,000 nautical miles (7,408 km; 4,603 mi).[5]

The ship mounted six 42-

21-inch (533 mm) torpedoes, one on each side forward of 'A' barbette.[8]

Repulse's waterline belt of Krupp cemented armour measured 6 inches (152 mm) thick amidships. Her gun turrets were 7–9 inches (178–229 mm) thick with roofs 4.25 inches (108 mm) thick. As designed the high-tensile-steel decks ranged from 0.75 to 1.5 inches (19 to 38 mm) in thickness. After the Battle of Jutland in 1916, while the ship was still completing, an extra inch of high-tensile steel was added on the main deck over the magazines.[9] Repulse was fitted with a shallow anti-torpedo bulge integral to the hull which was intended to explode the torpedo before it hit the hull proper and vent the underwater explosion to the surface rather than into the ship.[10]

Despite these additions, the ship was still felt to be too vulnerable to plunging fire and Repulse was refitted in Rosyth between 10 November 1916 and 29 January 1917 with additional horizontal armour, weighing approximately 504 long tons (512 t), added to the decks over the magazines and over the steering gear.

Squadron Leader Frederick Rutland took off in a Sopwith Pup on 1 October. Another platform was built on 'Y' turret and Rutland took off from it on 8 October. One fighter and a reconnaissance aircraft were normally carried.[11]

Service history

First World War

Main article: World War I

Repulse was laid down by

1st Battlecruiser Squadron for the duration of the war.[12]

Second Battle of Heligoland Bight

Main article: Second Battle of Heligoland Bight
Repulse in the Firth of Forth serving as the flagship of the 1st Battlecruiser Squadron, 1918

Over the course of 1917 the Admiralty became more concerned about German efforts in the North Sea to sweep paths through the British-laid minefields intended to restrict the actions of the

minesweepers and their escorting light cruisers. Based on intelligence reports the Admiralty decided on 17 November 1917 to allocate two light cruiser squadrons, the 1st Cruiser Squadron covered by the reinforced 1st BCS (less Renown) and, more distantly, the battleships of the 1st Battle Squadron to the operation.[13]

The German ships, four light cruisers of II Scouting Force, eight destroyers, three divisions of minesweepers, eight Sperrbrechers (cork-filled trawlers, used to detonate mines without sinking) and two trawlers to mark the swept route, were spotted at 7:30 a.m.,[Note 2] silhouetted by the rising sun. The light battlecruiser Courageous and the light cruiser Cardiff opened fire with their forward guns seven minutes later. The Germans responded by laying an effective smoke screen. The British continued in pursuit, but lost track of most of the smaller ships in the smoke and concentrated fire on the light cruisers as opportunity permitted. Repulse was detached not long after and raced forward at full speed to engage the enemy ships. She opened fire at about 9:00,[14] scoring a single hit on the light cruiser SMS Königsberg during the battle.[12] When the German battleships SMS Kaiser and SMS Kaiserin were spotted about 9:50 the British broke off their pursuit and Repulse covered their retreat, aided by a heavy fog that came down around 10:40.[15] The ship fired a total of 54 15-inch shells during the battle and scored one hit on the light cruiser Königsberg that temporarily reduced her speed.[16]

On 12 December 1917, Repulse was damaged in a collision with the battlecruiser HMAS Australia.[17] The ship was present at the surrender of the High Seas Fleet at Scapa Flow on 21 November 1918.[12]

Inter-war period

Repulse in 1919

Repulse began a major refit at Portsmouth on 17 December 1918[12] intended to drastically improve her armour protection. Her existing six-inch armour belt was replaced by 9-inch (229 mm) armour plates made surplus by the conversion of the battleship Almirante Cochrane (originally ordered by Chile and purchased after the war began) to the aircraft carrier Eagle. The original armour was fitted between the main and upper decks, above the new armour. Additional high-tensile plating was added to the decks over the magazines. The ship's anti-torpedo bulge was deepened and reworked along the lines of that installed on the battleship Ramillies. The bulge covered her hull from the submerged torpedo room to 'Y' magazine, the inner compartments of which were filled with crushing tubes. The bulges added 12 feet 8 inches (3.9 m) to her beam and 1 foot 4 inches (0.4 m) to her draught. The refit added about 4,500 long tons (4,600 t) to her displacement and raised her metacentric height to 6.4 feet (2 m) at deep load. Three 30-foot (9.1 m) rangefinders were also added as well as eight torpedo tubes in twin mounts on the upper deck. Both flying-off platforms were removed.[18] This refit cost £860,684.

Repulse entering Vancouver Harbour during her world tour with Hood and other ships of the Special Service Squadron, 1924

Repulse was recommissioned on 1 January 1921 and joined the Battlecruiser Squadron of the

1st Light Cruiser Squadron, set out on a world cruise from west to east via the Panama Canal. They returned home ten months later in September 1924.[12] Shortly after her return the ship's two three-inch AA guns and her two single four-inch gun mounts were removed and replaced with four QF four-inch Mark V AA guns.[19] The Battlecruiser Squadron visited Lisbon in February 1925 to participate in the Vasco da Gama celebrations before continuing on to the Mediterranean for exercises.[20] A squash court was added on the starboard side between the funnels, and a sauna and bubble bath on the quarterdeck for the Prince of Wales' tour of Africa and South America[19] that lasted from March to October.[21] Upon her return, she was refitted from November 1925 to July 1926 and had a high-angle control position (HACP) added to her fore-top.[19]

1930s reconstructions

Repulse in July 1938, from the stern

After Repulse completed her 1926 refit, she remained in commission, aside from a brief refit from July to September 1927, with the Battlecruiser Squadron of the Atlantic Fleet until she was paid off in June 1932 prior to beginning her reconstruction in April 1933. Most of the existing layers of high-tensile steel that constituted the ship's horizontal armour were replaced by non-cemented armour plates 2.5–3.5 inches (64–89 mm) in thickness and the torpedo control tower was removed from the aft superstructure.[22] A fixed catapult replaced the midships 4-inch triple mount and a hangar was built on each side of the rear funnel to house two of the ship's Fairey III aircraft. One additional aircraft could be carried on the deck and another on the catapult itself. Electric cranes were mounted above each hangar to handle the aircraft.[23]

The four 4-inch AA guns were moved, one pair abreast the rear funnel at the level of the hangar roof and the other pair abreast the fore funnel on the forecastle deck. Four prototype QF 4-inch Mark XV

dual-purpose guns were added in twin-gun Mark XVIII mounts abreast the mainmast. Two octuple Mark VI 2-pounder mounts were fitted on extensions of the conning-tower platform abreast the fore funnel. Above these a pair of quadruple Mark II* mountings for the 0.5-inch Vickers Mark III machine gun were added.[23] These mounts could depress to −10° and elevate to a maximum of 70°. The machine guns fired a 1.326-ounce (37.6 g) bullet at a muzzle velocity of 2,520 ft/s (770 m/s). This gave the gun a maximum range of about 5,000 yd (4,600 m), although its effective range was only 800 yd (730 m)[24] Repulse received two High-Angle Control System anti-aircraft directors, one Mark II on the fore-top and a Mark I* mounted on a pedestal above the rear superstructure. The two submerged torpedo tubes were removed and the vacant spaces sub-divided and turned into store-rooms.[25]

Arab Revolt
, July 1938

Repulse was assigned to the Mediterranean Fleet when she recommissioned in April 1936. She transported 500 refugees from

Fleet Review at Spithead on 20 May 1937 for King George VI. Repulse was sent to Haifa in July 1938 to maintain order during the Arab Revolt. She was selected to convey the King and Queen during their May 1939 Canadian Tour and she was refitted between October 1938 and March 1939 for this role. The twin 4-inch AA guns were replaced by two more Mark V guns and two additional quadruple .50-calibre mounts were added. The King and Queen ultimately travelled aboard the liner RMS Empress of Australia while Repulse escorted them on the first half of the journey.[26]

Second World War

At the beginning of the Second World War, Repulse was part of the Battlecruiser Squadron of the

1st Canadian Infantry Division to Britain from 10 to 23 December 1939 and was reassigned to the Home Fleet. In February 1940, she accompanied the aircraft carrier Ark Royal on a fruitless search for six German blockade runners that had broken out of Vigo, Spain.[30]

Repulse escorting the last convoy to reach Singapore, December 1941

Repulse was assigned to support Allied operations during the

Lofoten Islands, off the Norwegian coast.[31] On 12 April, Repulse was ordered to return to Scapa Flow to refuel and she escorted a troop convoy upon her return.[32] In early June the ship was sent to the North Atlantic to search for German raiders and played no part in the evacuation of Norway.[33]

Accompanied by Renown and the 1st Cruiser Squadron, Repulse attempted to intercept the Gneisenau as it sailed from Trondheim to Germany in July. Until May 1941, the ship escorted convoys and unsuccessfully searched for German ships. On 22 May, Repulse was diverted from escorting Convoy WS8B to assist in the search for the Bismarck, but she had to break off the search early on 25 May as she was running low on fuel. The ship was refitted from June–August[34] and received eight Oerlikon 20-millimetre (0.79 in) autocannon as well as a Type 284 surface gunnery radar.[28] Repulse escorted a troop convoy around the Cape of Good Hope from August to October and was transferred to East Indies Command.[35]

Force Z

Main article: Sinking of Prince of Wales and Repulse
Repulse departing from Singapore on 8 December 1941

In late 1941

Ceylon to rendezvous with the new battleship Prince of Wales. The carrier Indomitable, which was assigned to join them, was delayed when she ran aground in the Caribbean. Prince of Wales and Repulse and their escorting destroyers comprised Force Z, which arrived in Singapore on 2 December 1941. On the evening of 8 December, Force Z set out on an attempt to destroy Japanese troop convoys and protect the army's seaward flanks from Japanese landings in their rear.[36]

Force Z was spotted during the afternoon of 9 December by the

Singora. At 00:50 on 10 December, Admiral Philips received a signal of enemy landings at Kuantan and correspondingly altered course so that he would arrive shortly after dawn.[37]

The crew of

Saigon were launched carrying bombs or torpedoes. The crew of a Mitsubishi G3M reconnaissance bomber spotted the British at 10:15 and radioed in several reports. The pilot was ordered to maintain contact and to broadcast a directional signal that the other Japanese bombers could follow.[38]

Repulse is at the bottom of the frame, having been hit by a bomb, 10 December 1941

The first attack began at 11:13 when 250 kilograms (551 lb) bombs were dropped from eight G3Ms from an altitude of 11,500 feet (3,505 m). The battlecruiser was straddled by two bombs, then hit by a third which penetrated through the hangar to explode on the armoured deck below. This inflicted a number of casualties and damaged the ship's Supermarine Walrus seaplane, which was then pushed over the side to remove a fire hazard. Anti-aircraft fire damaged five of the Japanese bombers, two so badly that they immediately returned to Saigon. In the ensuing attacks, Repulse was skilfully handled by her captain, Bill Tennant, who managed to avoid 19 torpedoes as well as the remaining bombs from the G3Ms.[39] However, Repulse was then caught by a synchronised pincer attack by 17 Mitsubishi G4M torpedo bombers and hit by four or five torpedoes in rapid succession. The gunners on the Repulse shot down two planes and heavily damaged eight more, but the torpedo damage proved fatal.[40] At 12:23, Repulse listed severely to port, quickly capsized and went down by the stern[41] with the loss of 508 officers and men. The destroyers Electra and Vampire rescued the survivors, including Captain Tennant.[42]

Wreck

The wreck site was designated as a 'Protected Place' in 2002 under the Protection of Military Remains Act 1986, 60 years after her sinking.[43] Survivors described five torpedo hits on Repulse, four on the port side and one on the starboard side. The four portside hits purportedly were: two amidship, one abreast of the rear turret and one near the propellers. The starboard side hit was amidships. A 2007 diving expedition could confirm only two of the hits by examination of the wreck: the portside hit near the propellers and the starboard hit amidship. Unfortunately, at the time of the expedition, the portside midships section of the wreck was buried in the ocean floor thus the claimed hits there could not be confirmed. However, the area abreast of the port rear turret was accessible and no sign whatsoever of a torpedo hit – as described by survivors – was found to be there.[44] In October 2014, The Daily Telegraph reported that both Prince of Wales and Repulse were being "extensively damaged" with explosives by scrap metal dealers.[45] In May 2023, it was reported that Chinese ship, Chuan Hong 68, illegally scavenged the wreck for its low-background steel.[46][47]

Notes

  1. ^ "cwt" is the abbreviation for hundredweight, 30 cwt referring to the weight of the gun.
  2. ^ The times used in this article are in UTC, which is one hour behind CET, which is often used in German works.

Footnotes

  1. ^ Stephen, p. 103
  2. ^ "King unveils memorial for HMS Repulse and HMS Prince of Wales". Free Malaysia Today. 10 December 2023. Retrieved 11 December 2023.
  3. ^ Roberts, pp. 47–48
  4. ^ Roberts, pp. 45, 47
  5. ^ a b c d Burt 1986, p. 297
  6. ^ Roberts, p. 81
  7. ^ Raven and Roberts, p. 48
  8. ^ Roberts, p. 83
  9. ^ a b Burt 1986, p. 294
  10. ^ Roberts, p. 111
  11. ^ Raven and Roberts, p. 51
  12. ^ a b c d e Burt 1986, p. 302
  13. ^ Newbolt, pp. 164–165
  14. ^ Newbolt, pp. 173–175
  15. ^ Newbolt, pp. 175–176
  16. ^ Campbell, p. 64
  17. ^ Roberts, p. 123
  18. ^ Raven and Roberts, pp. 55–56
  19. ^ a b c Raven and Roberts, p. 143
  20. ^ Burt 1993, p. 220
  21. ^ Burt 1993, pp. 220–221
  22. ^ Raven and Roberts, pp. 206–207
  23. ^ a b Burt, pp. 210, 213
  24. ^ "British 0.50"/62 (12.7 mm) Mark III – Japanese 12 mm/62 "HI" Type". navweaps.com. 27 January 2010. Archived from the original on 7 February 2010. Retrieved 8 June 2010.
  25. ^ Raven and Roberts, pp. 207, 209
  26. ^ Burt 1993, pp. 221, 224
  27. ^ Rohwer, pp. 3, 6
  28. ^ a b Raven and Roberts, p. 217
  29. ^ Burt 1993, p. 224
  30. ^ Rohwer, pp. 11, 15
  31. ^ Haarr 2009, pp. 86, 93, 105
  32. ^ Haarr 2010, pp. 116, 139
  33. ^ Rohwer, p. 25
  34. ^ Burt 1993, pp. 224–225
  35. ^ Burt 1993, p. 225
  36. ^ Burt 1993, pp. 226–227
  37. ^ Stephen, pp. 107–108
  38. ^ Shores, et al., pp. 113–116
  39. ^ Shores, et al., pp. 116–120
  40. ^ Shores, et al., pp. 120–121
  41. ^ Middlebrook, M., Mahoney, P., Middlebrook, M., Mahoney, P. (2014). The Sinking of the Prince of Wales & Repulse: The End of the Battleship Era. United Kingdom: Pen & Sword Books.
  42. ^ Stephen, pp. 112–114
  43. ^ "Statutory Instrument 2006 No. 2616 The Protection of Military Remains Act 1986 (Designation of Vessels and Controlled Sites) Order 2006". Queen's Printer of Acts of Parliament. Archived from the original on 8 July 2008. Retrieved 20 November 2009.
  44. ^ Denlay, pp. 6-8
  45. ^ Ryall, Julian & Gunter, Joel (25 October 2014). "Celebrated British warships being stripped bare for scrap metal". The Daily Telegraph. Archived from the original on 26 October 2014. Retrieved 26 October 2014.
  46. USNI News
    . Retrieved 26 May 2023.
  47. ^ Seidel, Jamie (23 May 2023). "Chinese salvage ship caught red-handed looting battleship wrecks". news.com.au. Retrieved 26 May 2023.

References

Further reading

External links

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3°33′36″N 104°28′42″E / 3.56000°N 104.47833°E / 3.56000; 104.47833

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