HMS Royal Oak (1892)
 HMS Royal Oak in 1897
| |
| History | |
|---|---|
 United Kingdom | |
| Name | Royal Oak |
| Namesake | The Royal Oak |
| Builder | Laird Brothers, Birkenhead |
| Cost | £977,996 |
| Laid down | 29 May 1890 |
| Launched | 5 November 1892 |
| Completed | June 1894 |
| Commissioned | 14 January 1896 |
| Decommissioned | December 1911 |
| Fate | Sold for scrap, 14 January 1914 |
| General characteristics (as built) | |
| Class and type | predreadnought battleship |
| Displacement | 14,150 long tons (14,380 t) (normal) |
| Length | 380 ft (115.8 m) (pp) |
| Beam | 75 ft (22.9 m) |
| Draught | 27 ft 6 in (8.4 m) |
| Installed power |
|
| Propulsion | 2 shafts; 2 Triple-expansion steam engines |
| Speed | 17.5 knots (32.4 km/h; 20.1 mph) |
| Range | 4,720 nmi (8,740 km; 5,430 mi) @ 10 knots (19 km/h; 12 mph) |
| Complement | 692 (as flagship, 1903) |
| Armament |
|
| Armour | |
HMS Royal Oak was one of seven
Design and description
The design of the Royal Sovereign-class ships was derived from that of the
The Royal Sovereigns were powered by a pair of three-cylinder, vertical
Their main armament consisted of four
The Royal Sovereigns' armour scheme was similar to that of the Trafalgars, as the waterline belt of compound armour only protected the area between the barbettes. The 14–18-inch (356–457 mm) belt was 238 feet (72.5 m) long and had a total height of 8 feet 8 inches (2.6 m) of which 5 feet (1.5 m) was below water. Transverse bulkheads 14–16 inches (356–406 mm) thick closed off the ends of the belt. Above the belt was a strake of 4-inch (102 mm) nickel-steel armour closed off by 3-inch (76 mm) transverse bulkheads.[2]
The barbettes were protected by compound armour, ranging in thickness from 11 to 17 inches (279 to 432 mm), and the casemates for the 6-inch guns were protected by armour equally thick. The thicknesses of the deck armour ranged from 2.5 to 3 inches (64 to 76 mm). The walls of the forward conning tower were 12–14 inches (305–356 mm) thick and the aft conning tower was protected by 3-inch plates.[3]
Construction and career
The Royal Sovereign class was ordered as part of the
Royal Oak was recommissioned on 9 March 1897 for service with the Mediterranean Fleet, where she was to relieve the battleship
In April 1904, while operating with the Home Fleet off the
As a unit of the First Division of the Blue Fleet, Royal Oak took part in annual maneuvers off the coast of Portugal and in the eastern Atlantic from 12 June to 2 July 1906. On 1 January 1907, she recommissioned in reserve at Devonport with a nucleus crew. In April 1909, Royal Oak and the other reserve ships with nucleus crews at Devonport were formed into the 4th Division of the Home Fleet. She relieved her sister Ramillies as the parent ship of the division in June 1911, and was in turn relieved of this duty by her sister Empress of India in November. The ship was taken out of service in December 1911 and towed to the Motherbank by the battleship Bellerophon in August 1912.[13] She was sold to Thos. W. Ward on 14 January 1914 for £36,450 and subsequently broken up at Briton Ferry.[14]
Notes
- ^ Gardiner, p. 116; Parkes, p. 359
- ^ a b c d Chesneau & Kolesnik, p. 32
- ^ a b c d e Burt, p. 73
- ^ a b c Parkes, p. 355
- ^ Burt, pp. 73, 85, 87, 100
- ^ Burt, p. 90
- ^ Silverstone, p. 265
- ^ Colledge, pp. 300–01
- ^ a b c d Burt, p. 92
- ^ "Naval & Military intelligence". The Times. No. 36769. London. 16 May 1902. p. 11.
- ^ "Naval & Military intelligence". The Times. No. 36788. London. 7 June 1902. p. 9.
- ^ Burt, pp. 92–93; Parkes, p. 363
- ^ Burt, p. 93
- ^ Colledge, p. 301
References
- Burt, R. A. (2013). British Battleships 1889–1904. Annapolis, Maryland: Naval Institute Press. ISBN 978-1-59114-065-8.
- Chesneau, Roger & Kolesnik, Eugene M., eds. (1979). Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships 1860-1905. Greenwich, UK: Conway Maritime Press. ISBN 0-8317-0302-4.
- ISBN 978-1-86176-281-8.
- Gardiner, Robert, ed. (1992). Steam, Steel and Shellfire: The Steam Warship 1815–1905. Conway's History of the Ship. London: Conway Maritime Press. ISBN 1-55750-774-0.
- ISBN 1-55750-075-4.
- Silverstone, Paul H. (1984). Directory of the World's Capital Ships. New York: Hippocrene Books. ISBN 0-88254-979-0.
External links
