HMS Venerable (1899)

	HMS Venerable at Malta in 1915.
History
United Kingdom
Name	HMS Venerable
Builder	Chatham Dockyard
Laid down	2 January 1899
Launched	2 November 1899
Completed	November 1902
Commissioned	12 November 1902
Decommissioned	late December 1918
Fate	Broken up, 1922
General characteristics
Class and type	London-class battleship
Displacement	Normal: 14,500 long tons (14,700 t); Full load: 15,700 long tons (16,000 t);
Length	431 ft 9 in (131.6 m) o/a
Beam	75 ft (22.9 m)
Draught	26 ft (7.9 m)
Installed power	20 × water-tube boilers; 15,000 ihp (11,000 kW);
Propulsion	2 × triple-expansion steam engines; 2 × screw propellers;
Speed	18 knots (33 km/h; 21 mph)
Complement	714
Armament	4 × BL 12 in (305 mm) Mk IX guns; 12 × BL 6 in (152 mm) Mk VII guns; 16 × QF 12-pdr (3 in (76 mm)) guns; 6 × QF 3-pdr 47 mm (1.9 in) guns; 4 × 18 in (457 mm) submerged torpedo tubes;
Armour	Belt: 9 in (229 mm); Bulkhead: 9–12 in (229–305 mm); Barbettes: 12 in (305 mm); Turrets: 10 in (254 mm); Casemates: 6 in (152 mm); Conning tower: 14 in (356 mm); Deck: 1–2.5 in (25–64 mm);

HMS Venerable (1899) was a member of the

Atlantic and Home Fleets

.

After the outbreak of World War I, she took part in defensive and offensive operations with the Channel Fleet, shelling German positions in Belgium through May 1915. Thereafter transferred to the Mediterranean, she saw service in the

broken up

in 1922.

Design

The five ships of the London class were ordered in 1898 in response to increased naval construction for the

belt armour, the belt was carried further forward and gradually tapered in thickness. Deck armour was also strengthened.^[1]

Venerable was 431 feet 9 inches (131.60 m)

amidships. The Formidable-class ships had a top speed of 18 knots (33 km/h; 21 mph) from 15,000 indicated horsepower (11,000 kW).^[2]

Venerable had a

18-inch (457 mm) torpedo tubes submerged in the hull. The tubes were placed on the broadside, abreast of the main battery barbettes.^[2]^[3]

Venerable had an armoured belt that was 9 inches (229 mm) thick; the transverse bulkheads on the aft end of the belt was 9 to 12 in (229 to 305 mm) thick. Her main battery turrets sides were 8 to 10 in (203 to 254 mm) thick, atop 12 in (305 mm) barbettes, and the casemate battery was protected with 6 in of Krupp steel. Her conning tower had 14 in (356 mm) thick sides as well. She was fitted with two armoured decks, 1 and 2.5 in (25 and 64 mm) thick, respectively.^[2]

Service history

Pre-World War I

HMS Venerable was

fire control system for evaluation. During her Mediterranean service, she ran aground outside Algiers harbor, suffering slight hull damage, and underwent a refit at Malta in 1906–1907. On 12 August 1907 she was relieved as flagship by battleship HMS Prince of Wales, and her Mediterranean service ended on 6 January 1908, when she paid off at Chatham Dockyard.^[6]

Venerable recommissioned on 7 January 1908 for

searchlights were installed on her forward bridge.^[7]^[8]

World War I

When

Portland. Returning to full commission, Venerable patrolled the English Channel, and on 25 August 1914 covered the movement of the Portsmouth Marine Battalion to Ostend, Belgium,^[9]^[10] In October 1914, Venerable was attached to the Dover Patrol for bombardment duties in support of Allied troops fighting on the front. She bombarded German positions along the Belgian coast between Westende and Lombardsijde from 26 to 30 October 1914 during a German attack on Belgian defences in the Battle of the Yser; she also served as the flagship of the Commander-in-Chief, Dover Patrol, Rear Admiral Sir Horace Hood, from 27 to 29 October. On the 27th, German field guns were moved up close to shore, which forced most of the light vessels to retreat, though the heavily armoured Venerable remained on station until reports of a German U-boat in the area prompted Hood to withdraw to Dunkirk. Venerable was back on station on 28 October, along with the gunboat Bustard and three monitors, to blunt another German attack. Later that day, she ran lightly aground on an uncharted sandbank, but was at that time out of range of German guns and was able to free herself with help from Brilliant at high tide. By the end of the month, the flooding from the opened sluices around Nieuwpoort had blocked the German advance, diverting German attacks further inland, out of range of Venerable's guns. The German guns along the coast had by this time been hidden, which made it far more difficult to engage them with naval gunfire, so Venerable was recalled.^[9]^[11]

On 3 November, she was detached to support East Coast Patrols during the German raid on Yarmouth, though she did not see action with German warships. The 5th Battle Squadron transferred from Portland to Sheerness on 14 November 1914 to guard against a possible German invasion of the United Kingdom. The squadron returned to Portland on 30 December 1914.^[12]^[13] Venerable, in company with the tender Excellent and escorting destroyers and minesweepers, again bombarded German positions near Westende on 11 March 1915. The bombardment was meant to divert German attention during the British attack at the Battle of Neuve Chapelle. She returned again on 10 May in an attempt to suppress German artillery that had been shelling Dunkirk, but German counter-battery fire prevented Venerable from dropping anchor or achieving any success.^[9]^[14]

On 12 May 1915, Venerable was ordered to the

Suvla Bay. By the 21st, weather conditions worsened significantly, preventing the ships from being able to observe targets.^[8]^[9]^[15] In October, Venerable arrived at Gibraltar for a refit. Emerging from the refit in December 1915, she transferred to the Adriatic Sea to reinforce the Italian Navy against the Austro-Hungarian Navy, serving there until December 1916.^[9]

Venerable then returned to the United Kingdom, arriving at

broken up.^[9]

Notes

^ Burt, pp. 206–209.
^ ^a ^b ^c Lyon & Roberts, p. 37.
^ Burt, p. 215.
^ "Naval & Military intelligence". The Times. No. 36924. London. 13 November 1902. p. 11.
^ "Naval & Military intelligence". The Times. No. 36927. London. 17 November 1902. p. 10.
^ Burt, pp. 215, 219, 226.
^ Burt, pp. 219–220, 226.
^ ^a ^b Preston, p. 8.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f Burt, p. 226.
^ Corbett 1920, pp. 76–82.
^ Corbett 1920, pp. 239–243.
^ Burt, pp. 201, 226.
^ Corbett 1920, pp. 259–262.
^ Corbett 1921, pp. 201–202, 402.
^ Corbett 1923, pp. 24, 105–106.

References

Burt, R. A. (2013) [1988]. British Battleships 1889–1904. Barnsley: Seaforth Publishing.
ISBN 978-1-84832-173-1
.

OCLC 174823980
.

Corbett, Julian Stafford (1921). Naval Operations: From The Battle of the Falklands to the Entry of Italy Into the War in May 1915. Vol. II. London: Longmans, Green & Co.
OCLC 924170059
.

Corbett, Julian Stafford (1923). Naval Operations: The Dardanelles Campaign. Vol. III. London: Longmans, Green & Co.
OCLC 174824081
.

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
.

External links

Maritimequest HMS Venerable Photo Gallery

[FOOTNOTEBurt206–209-1] Burt, pp. 206–209.

[FOOTNOTELyon_&_Roberts37-2] Lyon & Roberts, p. 37.

[FOOTNOTEBurt215-3] Burt, p. 215.

[4] "Naval & Military intelligence". The Times. No. 36924. London. 13 November 1902. p. 11.

[5] "Naval & Military intelligence". The Times. No. 36927. London. 17 November 1902. p. 10.

[FOOTNOTEBurt215,_219,_226-6] Burt, pp. 215, 219, 226.

[FOOTNOTEBurt219–220,_226-7] Burt, pp. 219–220, 226.

[FOOTNOTEPreston8-8] Preston, p. 8.

[FOOTNOTEBurt226-9] ^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f Burt, p. 226.

[FOOTNOTECorbett_192076–82-10] Corbett 1920, pp. 76–82.

[FOOTNOTECorbett_1920239–243-11] Corbett 1920, pp. 239–243.

[FOOTNOTEBurt201,_226-12] Burt, pp. 201, 226.

[FOOTNOTECorbett_1920259–262-13] Corbett 1920, pp. 259–262.

[FOOTNOTECorbett_1921201–202,_402-14] Corbett 1921, pp. 201–202, 402.

[FOOTNOTECorbett_192324,_105–106-15] Corbett 1923, pp. 24, 105–106.

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v t e London-class battleships
London Bulwark Venerable Queen Prince of Wales
Preceded by: Formidable class Followed by: Duncan class
List of pre-dreadnought battleships of the Royal Navy