HMS Vanguard (1909)

Coordinates: 58°51′24″N 3°06′22″W / 58.8566°N 3.1062°W / 58.8566; -3.1062
Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
For other ships with the same name, see HMS Vanguard.

Vanguard, 1910
History
United Kingdom
NameVanguard
Ordered6 February 1908
Builder
Vickers, Barrow-in-Furness
Laid down2 April 1908
Launched22 February 1909
Commissioned1 March 1910
FateSunk by internal explosion at Scapa Flow, 9 July 1917
NotesProtected war grave
General characteristics (as built)
Class and type
dreadnought battleship
Displacement19,700 long tons (20,000 t) (normal)
Length536 ft (163.4 m) (o/a)
Beam84 ft (25.6 m)
Draught28 ft (8.5 m)
Installed power
  • 18 ×
    Babcock & Wilcox boilers
  • 24,500 
    kW
    )
Propulsion4 × shafts; 2 × steam turbine sets
Speed21 knots (39 km/h; 24 mph)
Range6,900 nmi (12,800 km; 7,900 mi) at 10 knots (19 km/h; 12 mph)
Complement753
Armament
  • 5 × twin
    12-inch (305 mm) guns
  • 20 × single
    4-inch (102 mm) guns
  • 3 ×
    18-inch (450 mm) torpedo tubes
Armour
  • Belt: 8–10 inches (203–254 mm)
  • Deck: 0.75–3 inches (19–76 mm)
  • Turrets: 11 inches (279 mm)

HMS Vanguard was one of three

dreadnought battleships built for the Royal Navy in the first decade of the 20th century. She spent her career assigned to the Home and Grand Fleets. Aside from participating in the Battle of Jutland in May 1916 and the inconclusive action of 19 August several months later, her service during World War I mostly consisted of routine patrols and training in the North Sea
.

Shortly before midnight on 9 July 1917 at Scapa Flow, Vanguard suffered a series of magazine explosions. She sank almost instantly, killing 843 of the 845 men aboard. The wreck was heavily salvaged after the war, but was eventually protected as a war grave in 1984. It was designated as a controlled site under the Protection of Military Remains Act 1986, and diving on the wreck is generally forbidden.

Design and description

The design of the

deep load. In 1910 her crew numbered 753 officers and ratings.[3]

Brassey's Naval Annual
, 1912

Vanguard was powered by two sets of

kW) and intended to give the ship a maximum speed of 21 knots (39 km/h; 24 mph). During her sea trials on 17 December 1909, she unofficially reached a top speed of 22.3 knots (41.3 km/h; 25.7 mph) from 25,780 shp (19,220 kW), although she must have been lightly loaded to reach this speed. Vanguard carried enough coal and fuel oil to give her a range of 6,900 nautical miles (12,800 km; 7,900 mi) at a cruising speed of 10 knots (19 km/h; 12 mph).[4]

Vanguard's starboard aft side, showing her rear 12-inch gun turret and anti-torpedo net booms, around 1914

The St Vincent class was equipped with ten

18-inch (450 mm) torpedo tubes, one on each broadside and the third in the stern.[2]

The St Vincent-class ships were protected by a

armoured belt 8–10 inches (203–254 mm) thick that extended between the end barbettes. Their decks ranged in thickness between 0.75 to 3 inches (19 to 76 mm) with the thickest portions protecting the steering gear in the stern. The main battery turret faces were 11 inches (279 mm) thick, and the turrets were supported by barbettes 9–10 inches (229–254 mm) thick.[3]

Modifications

The guns on the forward turret roof were removed in 1910–1911. About three years later,

fire-control director was installed high on the forward tripod mast before the Battle of Jutland in May 1916.[9] Approximately 50 long tons (51 t) of additional deck armour were added afterwards. By April 1917, Vanguard mounted thirteen 4-inch anti-torpedo boat guns as well as one 4-inch and one 3-inch AA gun.[8]

Construction and career

Vanguard just after her launch, 22 February 1909

Vanguard, the eighth ship of that name to serve in the Royal Navy,

Coronation Fleet Review at Spithead on 24 June 1911 and she trained with the Atlantic Fleet the following month before beginning a refit.[12] Captain Arthur Ricardo relieved Eustace on 23 September.[13]

The ship was recommissioned on 28 March 1912 and rejoined the 1st Division shortly before it was renamed the

1st Battle Squadron on 1 May. She participated in exercises with the 1st Fleet in October.[12] Vanguard was refitted in December, with new bilge keels being installed.[14] On 5 June 1913, Captain Cecil Hickley replaced Ricardo upon the latter's promotion to commodore, second class.[15]

World War I

Between 17 and 20 July 1914, Vanguard took part in a test

Shetland Islands and exercised their guns on 8–12 December. Four days later, the Grand Fleet sortied during the German raid on Scarborough, Hartlepool and Whitby, but failed to make contact with the High Seas Fleet. Vanguard and the rest of the Grand Fleet made another sweep of the North Sea on 25–27 December.[20]

The 1st Battle Squadron at sea, April 1915

Jellicoe's ships, including Vanguard, conducted gunnery drills west of Orkney and Shetland on 10–13 January 1915.[21] On the evening of 23 January, the bulk of the Grand Fleet sailed in support of Beatty's battlecruisers,[22] but they were too far away to participate in the ensuing Battle of Dogger Bank the following day. On 7–10 March, the Grand Fleet made a sweep in the northern North Sea, during which it conducted training manoeuvres. Another such cruise took place on 16–19 March. On 11 April, the fleet patrolled the central North Sea and returned to port on 14 April; another patrol in the area took place on 17–19 April, followed by gunnery drills off Shetland on 20–21 April.[23]

The Grand Fleet swept 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,[24] and on 11 July there was more training off Shetland. On 2–5 September, the fleet went on another cruise in the northern end of the North Sea and conducted gunnery drills. Throughout the rest of the month, the Grand Fleet was performing numerous training exercises before making another sweep into the North Sea on 13–15 October. Almost three weeks later, Vanguard participated in another fleet training operation west of Orkney during 2–5 November.[25]

A postcard of Vanguard at sea

Captain James Dick relieved Hickley on 22 January 1916.[

Horns Reef to distract the Germans while the Russian Navy re-laid its defensive minefields in the Baltic Sea. 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. The Grand Fleet arrived in the area after the Germans had withdrawn. On 2–4 May, the fleet conducted another demonstration off Horns Reef to keep German attention focused on the North Sea.[27]

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

In an attempt to lure out and destroy a portion of the Grand Fleet, the High Seas Fleet, composed of 16 dreadnoughts, 6 pre-dreadnoughts, and supporting ships, departed the Jade Bight early on the morning of 31 May. The 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.[28]

During the Battle of Jutland on 31 May, Beatty's battlecruisers managed to bait Scheer and Hipper into a pursuit as they fell back upon the main body of the Grand Fleet. After Jellicoe deployed his ships into

common-pointed, capped, twelve-inch shells and 10 shells from her four-inch guns during the battle.[30]

Subsequent activity

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

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.[31] Vanguard was refitted in Rosyth in December.[32]

Explosion

Springfield Republican
 covering the sinking of Vanguard

The ship anchored in Scapa Flow at about 18:30 on 9 July 1917 after having spent the morning exercising general evolutions concluding practising the routine for abandoning ship. The Captain made a speech to the ship's company in which he stated that under present conditions a ship would either blow up in a matter of seconds, or would take several hours to sink. Practically this meant that all would go down with the ship or that everybody would be saved. It is a remarkable coincidence that his words were to be so tragically proved in less than 12 hours. There is no record of anyone detecting anything amiss until the first detonation at 23:20.

Kyōsuke Eto, a military observer from the Imperial Japanese Navy, which was allied with the Royal Navy at the time through the Anglo-Japanese Alliance.[34][35] The bodies of 17 of the 22 men recovered after the explosion, plus that of Lieutenant Commander Alan Duke, who died after being rescued, were buried at the Royal Naval Cemetery at Lyness, not far from the site of the explosion.[36][37] The others are commemorated on the Chatham, Plymouth and Portsmouth Naval Memorials.[38]

A

abaft 'A' barbette. It showed no signs of a blast from 'A' magazine, which reinforced the visual evidence suggesting that the explosion took place in the central part of the ship.[39]

Although the explosion was obviously a detonation of the cordite charges in a main magazine, the reason for it was less clear. There were several theories. The inquiry found that some of the cordite on board, which had been temporarily offloaded in December 1916 and catalogued at that time, was past its stated safe life. The possibility of spontaneous detonation was raised, but could not be proved.[40] It was also noted that a number of ship's boilers were still in use, and some watertight doors, which should have been closed in wartime, were open as the ship was in port. It was suggested that this might have contributed to a dangerously high temperature in the magazines. The final conclusion of the court was that a fire started in a four-inch magazine, perhaps when a raised temperature caused spontaneous ignition of cordite, spreading to one or the other main magazines, which then exploded.[41]

Wreck

The Vanguard memorial in Lyness

Vanguard's wreck was heavily salvaged in search of non-ferrous metals before it was declared a war grave in 1984. Some of the main armament and armour plate was also removed.

The wreck and its associated debris cover a large area and lies at a depth of approximately 34 metres (111 ft 7 in) at 58°51′24″N 3°06′22″W / 58.8566°N 3.1062°W / 58.8566; -3.1062. The amidships portion of the ship is almost completely gone and 'P' and 'Q' turrets were blown some 40 metres (130 ft) away. The bow and stern areas are almost intact as has been revealed by an extensive survey, carried out by a team of volunteer specialist divers and authorised by the Ministry of Defence in 2016.[38][42][43] A report of the survey was published in April 2018.[44]

The wreck was designated as a controlled site in 2002 and cannot be dived upon except with permission from the Ministry of Defence.[45] The centenary of Vanguard's loss was commemorated on 9 July 2017: descendants of the crew laid 40 wreaths above her wreckage, Royal Navy divers placed a new Union Jack on the wreck, and Lyness Royal Naval Cemetery—where some of the crew were buried—held a wreath-laying ceremony.[46]

See also

  • List of United Kingdom disasters by death toll

Notes

  1. quick-firing QF Mark III guns. In addition, he lists a 12-pounder (three-inch (76 mm)) gun.[3] Preston 1972 concurs on the number of 4 inchers, but does not list the 12 pounder.[2] Parkes says twenty 4-inch guns; while not identifying the type, he does say they were 50-calibre guns[5] and Preston agrees.[6] Friedman shows the QF Mark III as a 40-calibre gun and says the 50-calibre BL Mark VII gun armed all the early dreadnoughts.[7]
  2. ^ Burt puts the cost at £1,606,030,[3] while Parkes quotes it as £1,607,780.[5]
  3. ^ In his 1919 book, Jellicoe generally only named 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 Vanguard is participating in the activities of the Grand Fleet.
  4. ^ The times used in this section are in UT, which is one hour behind CET, which is often used in German works.

Footnotes

  1. ^ Burt, pp. 75–76
  2. ^ a b c Preston 1972, p. 125
  3. ^ a b c d Burt, p. 76
  4. ^ Burt, pp. 76, 80
  5. ^ a b c Parkes, p. 503
  6. ^ Preston 1985, p. 23
  7. ^ Friedman, pp. 97–98
  8. ^ a b Burt, p. 81
  9. ^ Brooks, p. 168
  10. ^ Colledge, p. 369
  11. ^ "HMS Vanguard to be Commissioned To-morrow". Manchester Courier and Lancashire General Advertiser. 28 February 1910. Retrieved 13 January 2015 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  12. ^ a b c d Burt, p. 86
  13. ^ "Arthur David Ricardo". The Dreadnought Project. Retrieved 24 January 2018.
  14. ^ "Medway Floating Dock". Portsmouth Evening News. 24 December 1912. Retrieved 13 January 2015 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  15. ^ "Items of Service News". Portsmouth Evening News. 5 June 1913. Retrieved 13 January 2015 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  16. ^ Massie, p. 19
  17. ^ Preston 1985, p. 32
  18. ^ Naval Staff Monograph No. 24, pp. 40–41
  19. ^ Jellicoe, pp. 143, 156, 163–165
  20. ^ Jellicoe, pp. 172, 179, 183–184
  21. ^ Jellicoe, p. 190
  22. ^ Monograph No. 12, p. 224
  23. ^ Jellicoe, pp. 194–196, 206, 211–212
  24. ^ Jellicoe, pp. 217–219, 221–222
  25. ^ Jellicoe, pp. 228, 243, 246, 250, 253
  26. ^ Jellicoe, pp. 271, 275, 279–280
  27. ^ Jellicoe, pp. 284, 286–290
  28. ^ Tarrant, pp. 54–55, 57–58
  29. ^ Corbett, frontispiece map and p. 428
  30. ^ Campbell, pp. 152, 157, 212, 349, 358
  31. ^ Halpern, pp. 330–332
  32. ^ Schleihauf, p. 69
  33. ^ Burt, p. 83
  34. ^ Saunders, Jonathan. "Vanguard's Casualties + Survivors". www.gwpda.org. The World War I Document Archive. Retrieved 29 January 2017.
  35. ^ "HMS Vanguard People: Scapa Flow Wrecks". www.scapaflowwrecks.com. Scapa Flow Historic Wreck Site. Retrieved 23 December 2016.
  36. ^ Schiefhauf, p. 60
  37. ^ Saunders, Jonathan. "HMS Vanguard – Lyness Casualties". The World War I Document Archive. Retrieved 29 January 2017.
  38. ^ a b "New Light is Shed on Disastrous Royal Navy Explosion in Scapa Flow". Naval Today. 20 January 2017. Retrieved 29 January 2017.
  39. ^ Schleihauf, pp. 61–62
  40. ^ Brown, p. 169
  41. ^ Burt, pp. 84, 86
  42. ^ "Scapa Flow Divers Reveal New Images of HMS Vanguard Wreck". Express Newspapers. 19 January 2017. Retrieved 29 January 2017.
  43. ^ Historic Environment Scotland. "HMS Vanguard: Scapa Flow, Orkney (103004)". Canmore. Retrieved 29 January 2017.
  44. ^ "HMS Vanguard". Turton, E et al (2018) HMS Vanguard 100 Survey 2016–2017, Survey Report 2018.
  45. ^ "The Protection of Military Remains Act 1986 (Designation of Vessels and Controlled Sites) Order 2002". The National Archives. Retrieved 29 January 2017.
  46. ^ "Commemorating Centenary of Vanguard Disaster". Orkney Islands Council. Retrieved 9 December 2017.

Bibliography

External links

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