Hawkins-class cruiser
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Class overview | |
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Name | Hawkins class |
Operators | ![]() |
Preceded by | None |
Succeeded by | County class |
Built | 1916–1925 |
In commission | 1919–1947 |
Completed | 5 |
Lost | 2 |
Scrapped | 3 |
General characteristics | |
Type | Heavy cruiser |
Displacement | |
Length | 605 ft (184.4 m)(o/a) |
Beam | 65 ft (19.8 m) |
Draught | 19 ft 3 in (5.9 m) ( deep load ) |
Installed power |
|
Propulsion | 4 shafts; 4 × geared steam turbine sets |
Speed | 30–31 knots (56–57 km/h; 35–36 mph) |
Range | 5,640 nmi (10,450 km; 6,490 mi) at 10 knots (19 km/h; 12 mph) |
Complement | 709 |
Armament |
|
Armour |
|
General characteristics (Vindictive) | |
Type | Aircraft carrier |
Displacement | 9,996 long tons (10,156 t) (standard) |
Installed power | 12 Yarrow boilers; 60,000 shp |
Speed | 30 knots (56 km/h; 35 mph) |
Armament |
|
Aircraft carried | 6–12 aircraft |
The Hawkins class consisted of five
Design
Although the Hawkins class are sometimes named as the "Improved Birminghams", referring to the Birmingham sub-class of the
Winston Churchill, First Lord of the Admiralty, objected to the size and cost of the ship and asked for a smaller and faster design armed with a mix of 6-inch (152 mm) and 7.5-inch guns, capable of 27.5 knots (50.9 km/h; 31.6 mph) using oil and a version of the new design using a mix of coal and oil as in the Birminghams in August 1913. The oil-fuelled design was estimated to cost £550,000, compared to the original's £700,000, while the mixed-fuel ship was priced at £590,000. Nothing further was done with the designs as the naval construction budget was already badly stretched.[1]
In the early months of the First World War, German commerce-raiding warships and
By early 1915 the threat had been neutralized or sunk, but the Royal Navy believed that further commerce-raiding operations were likely. On 9 June the board met to consider specifications for a large light cruiser capable of hunting down commerce raiders anywhere in the world. D'Eyncourt was subsequently requested to submit designs for a ship capable of 30 knots (56 km/h; 35 mph) with at least one-fifth power from coal-fired boilers and an armament of at least ten 6-inch guns. He submitted six sketch designs armed with various mixes of 6-, 7.5- and 9.2-inch (234 mm) guns using 9,000-long-ton (9,144 t) and 9,750-long-ton (9,906 t) hulls.[4] Based on several encounters where the raiders had attempted to flee as soon as they had spotted the cruisers, the board believed that the ship's armament needed to be able to reach out to the visible horizon and be powerful enough to cripple the raider with a single hit. It therefore rejected the 6-inch gun as too short-ranged and lacking in power and the 9.2-inch gun as too few could be mounted on the hull; settling on the 7.5-inch gun in a new mount capable of 30° of elevation to maximise its range and carried on the larger of the two hulls proposed.[2]
Description
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/6/6b/HMS_Hawkins_quayside.jpg/220px-HMS_Hawkins_quayside.jpg)
The ships had an
The Hawkins class were equipped with four geared
In the event, only Hawkins and Vindictive were completed with this engine installation. During her sea trials in 1919, Hawkins reached a speed of 28.7 knots (53.2 km/h; 33.0 mph) from about 61,000 shp (45,000 kW) at deep load, a slightly disappointing figure as she had been designed for 29 knots (54 km/h; 33 mph) at this displacement.[10]
In November 1917 the Admiralty decided to replace the coal-fired boilers in the three least-advanced ships with four oil-fired ones, but only Raleigh actually received this modification, which increased her power to 70,000 shp (52,000 kW) for a theoretical 31 knots (57 km/h; 36 mph). The following year, Raleigh reached her designed speed during her trials. Effingham and Frobisher exchanged their coal-fired boilers for a single pair of oil-fired boilers which gave them 65,000 shp (48,000 kW) for a design speed of 30.5 knots (56.5 km/h; 35.1 mph).[10] These three ships stowed 2,186 long tons (2,221 t) of oil[9] which was designed to give them the same range of 5,640 nautical miles (10,450 km; 6,490 mi) at 10 knots (19 km/h; 12 mph).[11]
The ships' machinery arrangements would be further modified in later refits and reconstructions.
Armament
The main armament of the Hawkins-class ships consisted of seven 45-
The ships were arranged with five guns on the
, HMS Vindictive was completed with just four guns, one forward, two in the wing positions, and one right aft. Further revisions to the number and layout of the main guns would be made subsequently.Vindictive, Raleigh and Hawkins had their guns controlled by a mechanical Mark I Dreyer Fire-control Table. It used data provided by the 15-foot (4.6 m) coincidence rangefinder in the pedestal-type gunnery director positioned under the spotting top at the head of the tripod mast. The ships were also fitted with one 12-foot (3.7 m) and a 9-foot (2.7 m) rangefinder. Effingham and Frobisher were fitted with a Mark III Dreyer Fire-control Table and three 12-foot rangefinders.[9]
The
In practice, the secondary armament of each ship varied. At most, only Hawkins and Raleigh completed with the intended guns, and if so, they were promptly modified. No low-angle guns were fitted in Effingham or Frobisher and their high-angle guns were replaced by three
Armour
The Hawkins class were protected by a full-length
Cavendish as an aircraft carrier
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/52/HMS_Vindictive_carrier.jpg/220px-HMS_Vindictive_carrier.jpg)
In January 1917, the Admiralty reviewed the navy's aircraft carrier requirements and decided to order two ships fitted with a flying-off deck as well as a landing deck aft. The initial order had to be cancelled in April 1917 for lack of building facilities, so the Admiralty decided to convert Cavendish, already under construction, in June 1917. She was renamed Vindictive to perpetuate the name of the cruiser sunk at the Second Ostend Raid and her construction was rushed to bring her into service before her cruiser sisters.[18]
The forward superfiring 7.5-inch gun, two 3-inch guns and the conning tower were removed and the forward superstructure was remodelled into a 78-by-49-foot (23.8 by 14.9 m)
Modifications
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/2/20/Heavy_cruiser_HMS_Effingham_%28D98%29_in_1938.jpg/220px-Heavy_cruiser_HMS_Effingham_%28D98%29_in_1938.jpg)
The earliest modification related to the secondary armament. The low-angle guns were all gone by 1921, leaving Hawkins with only her four 12-pounder
The first major refit to the class came in 1923, when Vindictive was converted back into a cruiser configuration - but the hangar beneath her bridge was retained, and in place of 'B' gun, she had a prototype aircraft catapult, enabling her to carry six Fairey IIID floatplanes on active service. Her revised gun armament thus consisted of six rather than seven 7.5-inch guns (a single 'A' gun forward, two on the wing mountings, and 'X', 'Y' and 'Z' aft - though only the 'X' and 'Y' mountings were actually additions to her armament, the rest having been carried by her as a carrier), and a revised anti-aircraft configuration of three 4-inch guns like Frobisher and Effingham.
In 1925, it was suggested that Frobisher and Effingham could be rearmed to carry six 8-inch (203 mm) guns in the same modern twin-turrets used on the new County-class cruisers then building, giving ships of comparable firepower for a fraction of the cost, and a similar reconstruction of the partially coal-fired Hawkins could also be used to upgrade her boilers (Vindictive was excluded as her aircraft catapult was considered a valuable asset); but the proposal was rejected - the existing turret design produced for the new cruisers could not be used in the aft position on the older ships, their protection against long-range gunfire was weak, there were concerns with staying within the 10,000-ton weight limit, and the Admiralty reported that it would be difficult and costly to find substitutes to take over their duties while they were being rebuilt.[20]
Instead, Hawkins underwent a more limited refit in 1929, in which her coal-fired boilers were simply removed and her remaining eight boilers were uprated to 55,000
In 1930, another modernisation plan was proposed, which would re-arm the class with eight 6-inch (152 mm) guns in twin turrets, similar to the new Leander-class light cruiser. This would have been easier to achieve than the earlier proposal for twin 8-inch turrets, but again, nothing was done.[21] The British government was placing a strong emphasis on establishing agreed limits on heavy cruiser numbers in the word's major navies, and an offer to remove the Hawkins class from service was instrumental in obtaining the London Naval Treaty, which implicitly accepted that they would all be removed from service by 1936. Simply converting them into modern light cruisers would hardly have honoured the spirit of the agreement.
The Hawkins class were not scrapped, however. Instead, they were retained by the expedient of reclassifying them as training ships. As a first step, Frobisher was reclassified in 1932, and one of her aft guns and two of her 4-inch guns were removed; in 1935, the upper aft gun was replaced by an aircraft catapult, and in 1936, to conform more closely with the agreement, her armament was reduced to a single 4.7-inch (120 mm) gun. In 1937, Vindictive was specially demilitarised with a more substantial conversion; not only was her armament reduced to two 4.7-inch guns forward and a pom-pom aft, but her inboard propellers and the associated turbines were removed, along with the associated boilers and aft funnel, reducing her speed to 24 knots. A reworked superstructure provided cadet accommodation, while the empty aft boiler room became a laundry, and her fuel reserve dropped to 1,000 long tons (1,000 t). Hawkins was simply disarmed and laid up.[22]
However, in 1937 Effingham began substantial reconstruction, which saw her converted into a light cruiser, albeit of a more old-fashioned configuration with nine BL 6-inch Mark XII guns on single mountings CP Mark XIV. This was achieved by rebuilding the superstructure to increase the number of superfiring positions fore and aft from two to three, designated 'A', 'B' and 'C' and 'W', 'X' and 'Y' respectively, while retaining the guns on either wing, and the one right astern on the quarterdeck in position 'Z'. Secondary armament became eight QF 4-inch Mark XVI gun in four twin-gun
In 1939, Vindictive entered dock for what was supposed to be a reconstruction into a similar configuration, but work proceeded slowly, and given the extensive modifications to her machinery, it was decided to simplify her reconstruction. By October 1939, she was considered for a modest rearmament with four 6-inch guns in 'A' and 'B' positions forward and 'X' and 'Y' aft, with an option to add additional guns on the wing mountings later; an anti-aircraft armament of three 4-inch guns with destroyer-style fire-control and four single 2pdr guns was proposed, and although the extra topweight was expected to reduce her top speed to 23 knots, it was hoped that the laundry would be converted into fuel storage, which would increase her range. In the event, it was decided that she could be more usefully (and very quickly) refitted as a repair ship, eventually armed with six 4-inch (102 mm) guns, two quadruple pom-poms, and a number of 20-millimetre (0.8 in) Oerlikon autocannons.[25]
It had also been planned to rebuild Hawkins and Frobisher on similar lines to Effingham, but other priorities prevented this. They were simply re-armed for war with their original 7.5-inch (191 mm) guns. Hawkins recommissioned in 1940 with her original main armament restored, and a revised secondary armament of four 4-inch AA guns, two quadruple 2-pounder "pom-pom" mountings and eight 20mm Oerlikons on single mounts. In contrast, Frobisher never regained her wing guns, and this allowed the gun deck carrying her 4-inch (102 mm) anti-aircraft guns to be extended out to the ship's sides, and their number to be increased to five (two on each side amidships and the one aft on her quarterdeck); she was at one point supposed to get two quadruple pom-poms, two single 2-pounders, and three Oerlikon guns, but slow progress on her refit meant that these were revised to four quadruple pom-poms and seven Oerlikons before she emerged in 1942. The underwater torpedo tubes were removed, but she now had a quadruple mounting in the open-deck position.[26]
Frobisher also lost the catapult-aircraft facilities she had been given in 1935.[26] Both ships received an outfit of centimetric Radar Type 273 target indication on the bridge, Type 286 air warning at the mastheads, Type 275 on the HACS 4-inch (102 mm) gun director for ranging and bearing and, in Frobisher only, a pair of Type 282 sets on the pom-pom directors on the bridge. Further wartime additions modified the anti-aircraft armament, generally strengthening the pom-pom arrangements and increasing the number of 20 mm guns.
A final refit was given to Frobisher in 1944–1945, when she was converted back into a training ship, with three 7.5-inch guns in 'A', 'Y' and 'Z' positions and a single 4-inch AA gun in the superfiring 'B' position forward, plus a reduced number of Oerlikons and some machine guns, and her quadruple torpedo tubes.[26]
Ships
Name | Namesake | Builder | Laid down
|
Launched | Commissioned | Fate |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Hawkins | John Hawkins | HM Dockyard, Chatham | 3 June 1916 | 1 October 1917 | 19 July 1919 | Broken up at Dalmuir, 1947 |
Raleigh | Walter Raleigh | William Beardmore & Company, Dalmuir
|
4 October 1916 | 28 August 1919 | July 1921 | Ran aground at Point Amour, Forteau Bay, Labrador, 8 August 1922 Demolished, September 1926. |
Frobisher | Martin Frobisher | HM Dockyard, Devonport | 2 August 1916 | 20 March 1920 | 3 October 1924 | Broken up at Newport, 1949 |
Effingham | Charles Howard, Lord Effingham | HM Dockyard, Portsmouth | 2 April 1917 | 8 June 1921 | 9 July 1925 | Wrecked Faksen Shoal, Bodø, Norway, 18 May 1940 Sunk by torpedo from HMS Echo, 19 May 1940 |
Cavendish | Thomas Cavendish | Harland & Wolff, Belfast | 29 May 1916 | 17 January 1918 | 1 October 1918 | Converted to an aircraft carrier and renamed Vindictive, June 1917 Broken up at Blyth, 1946 |
Service
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/9/95/Hms_raleigh.jpg/220px-Hms_raleigh.jpg)
- Raleigh had the shortest career of any ship of the class, spending just one year in commission before being wrecked and subsequently broken up.
- Effingham was an early war loss, during the Norwegian campaign; grounding on an uncharted shoal, she had to be destroyed by friendly forces.
- Hawkins served in World War II as a convoy escort in the Indian Ocean, and provided gunfire support during the Normandy landings.
- Frobisher served in World War II as a convoy escort and a depot ship for the Normandy landings. After torpedo damage in an E-boat attack, the ship was refitted in 1944-1945 for a training role, with a corresponding reduction in armament.
- Vindictive served in two World Wars, in a wide variety of roles, finally being scrapped in 1946.
Notes
- ^ "Cwt" is the abbreviation for hundredweight, 20 cwt referring to the weight of the gun.
Citations
- ^ a b Friedman 2010, p. 35
- ^ a b Raven & Roberts, p. 51
- ^ Friedman 2010, p. 65
- ^ Friedman 2010, p. 65, fn. 33, p. 340
- ^ Preston, p. 63
- ^ a b c d Raven & Roberts, p. 404
- ^ Friedman 2010, pp. 67, 390
- ^ Friedman 2010, pp. 65, 69
- ^ a b c d e Raven & Roberts, p. 405
- ^ a b c d Friedman 2010, p. 69
- ^ a b Friedman 2010, p. 390
- ^ a b Friedman 2011, pp. 78
- ^ Friedman 2010, p. 66
- ^ Friedman 2011, pp. 107–108
- ^ a b Raven & Roberts, p. 55
- ^ Friedman 2011, pp. 103–104
- ^ Friedman 2010, pp. 66–67; Raven & Roberts, p. 404
- ^ a b Layman, pp. 62–63
- ^ Friedman 1988, pp. 51, 57
- ^ Friedman 2010, pp. 70–72
- ^ Friedman 2010, p. 72.
- ^ Friedman 2010, pp. 73, 75, Raven & Roberts, p. 225
- ^ Friedman 2010, p. 71
- ^ Friedman 2010, p. 71 states that a catapult was fitted; Smith, p. 196, states explicitly that neither catapult nor floatplane was fitted.
- ^ Friedman 2010, p. 75
- ^ a b c Friedman 2010, p. 74
References
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/4/4a/Commons-logo.svg/30px-Commons-logo.svg.png)
- ISSN 0142-6222.
- ISBN 0-87021-054-8.
- Friedman, Norman (2010). British Cruisers: Two World Wars and After. Barnsley, UK: Seaforth Publishing. ISBN 978-1-59114-078-8.
- Friedman, Norman (2011). Naval Weapons of World War One: Guns, Torpedoes, Mines and ASW Weapons of All Nations; An Illustrated Directory. Barnsley, UK: Seaforth Publishing. ISBN 978-1-84832-100-7.
- Layman, R. D. (1989). Before the Aircraft Carrier: The Development of Aviation Vessels 1859–1922. Annapolis, Maryland: Naval Institute Press. ISBN 0-87021-210-9.
- Morris, Douglas (1987). Cruisers of the Royal and Commonwealth Navies Since 1879. Liskeard, UK: Maritime Books. ISBN 0-907771-35-1.
- ISBN 0-85177-245-5.
- Raven, Alan & Roberts, John (1980). British Cruisers of World War Two. Annapolis, Maryland: Naval Institute Press. ISBN 0-87021-922-7.
- ISBN 1-59114-119-2.
- ISBN 978-1-78340-062-1.
- ISBN 1-86019-874-0.