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HMS Benbow (1913)
Encyclopedia
HMS Benbow was an Iron Duke-class
battleship
of the Royal Navy
, the third ship of the class and the third ship to be named in honour of Admiral John Benbow
.
She was ordered under the 1911 Naval Estimates and built in the yards of William Beardmore and Company
, of Glasgow
. She was laid down on 30 May 1912 and launched on 12 November 1913. She was commissioned in October 1914 after the outbreak of the First World War
.
She served during the First World War as part of the Grand Fleet, and led one of the squadron
s of the Fleet in the major naval engagement of that war, the battle of Jutland
in 1916. She spent the rest of the war in home waters, but was dispatched to the Mediterranean after the end of the war, and then into the Black Sea
. Here she carried out a number of shore bombardments in support of the White Russians
in the Russian Civil War
, until their collapse in 1920. She remained with the Mediterranean Fleet until 1926, when she returned to the Atlantic Fleet. She was decommissioned in 1929, disarmed under the terms of the London Naval Treaty
in 1930 and was sold for scrapping in 1931.
of 1911 and cost in the region of £1,891,600. Benbow carried a main armament of ten 13.5 inch guns
mounted in five twin turrets. The 13.5 inches (342.9 mm) guns had been initially developed for the Orion class
and were so successful that the type was fitted to the succeeding battleship classes, including the Iron Dukes. The guns were fitted along the centre line with B and X turrets superfiring over A and Y turrets. Q turret was sited amidships, and had restricted firing arcs. B and X were restricted from firing directly over A and Y due to the possibility of muzzle blast entering the lower turrets' sighting hoods which were still placed in the forward ends of the turret roofs.
A more radical departure was the replacement of the 4 inches (101.6 mm) guns of the secondary armament with twelve 6 inches (152.4 mm) guns. These made Benbow more capable of engaging the larger destroyer
s and torpedo boat
s then being built. Admiral of the Fleet
Jackie Fisher had been opposed to mounting such heavy weapons on the grounds of economy, and because he believed they would be rendered useless in bad weather. He had retired by the time the class were being designed, but the guns were still heavy for a secondary armament and so they were mounted low in casemate
s. This had the predicted effect of often rendering them unusable in poor weather. Attempts were made to alleviate the situation including mounting Benbow’s as far back as possible to help reduce wetness but met with limited effectiveness. Benbow’s 6 inches (152.4 mm) guns were fitted in casemate
s, with five either side of the forecastle
deck and two right aft in the hull below the quarter deck, rather than in the deck houses, as had been the practice before. The two stern 6 inches (152.4 mm) guns were subsequently found to be so wet as to be useless. They were re-sited on the forecastle deck, but the forward batteries continued to swamped in heavy seas. Eventually rubber sealing joints for the gun ports were designed and fitted at Scapa Flow
to try to alleviate the situation. The fitting of the larger guns made Benbow 25 feet (7.6 m) longer, 1 foot (0.3048 m) wider and 10 inches (254 mm) deeper and 2,000 tons heavier than previous classes.
She was also armed with two 3 inches (76.2 mm) anti-aircraft guns on her after superstructure in 1914, making the class the first British battleships to carry anti aircraft guns. Benbow carried four submerged 21 inches (533.4 mm) torpedo tubes mounted along her sides, but unlike preceding classes, she did not carry a stern mounted torpedo tube. Her total broadside was ten 13.5 inches (342.9 mm) guns, six 6 inches (152.4 mm) guns and two 21 inches (533.4 mm) torpedo
es.
. The main armour belt was 12 inches (304.8 mm) thick at the waterline
, reduced to 8 inches (203.2 mm) at the lower edge. The fore and aft armoured bulkheads were 8 inches (203.2 mm) thick, but 3 inches at the lower edges, whilst the screen bulkheads were just 1.5 inches thick. These extended to the engine rooms and magazines
only. The torpedo protection for the boiler rooms consisted of the wing coal bunker spaces. The barbette
s had 10 inches (254 mm) of armour when mounted externally of the main ship armour, but only 3 inches (76.2 mm) when mounted internally. The turrets were armoured with 11 inches (279.4 mm) on the faces, with decreasing amounts on the sides and tops. The decks meanwhile had 2.5 inches (63.5 mm) thick protecting machinery spaces and magazines, but this was reduced to 1 inches (25.4 mm) in non-vital areas. Finally Benbow’s conning tower
was protected by 11 inches (279.4 mm) thick armour.
s, consisting of four propeller
s being driven by Parsons direct drive
steam turbine
s. The machinery spaces were divided into three with the inboard shafts leading to the central engine room and the outer shafts to the port and starboard wing engine rooms. The two inboard shafts were driven by the high pressure ahead and astern turbines with the ahead turbines having an extra stage for cruising, this was separated from the main turbine by a bypass valve. The outer shafts were driven by the ahead and astern low pressure turbines, for cruising the outboard turbines would be shut down, the ship relying on the inboard shafts alone. The eighteen Babcock and Wilcox boilers were arranged in three groups of six, although coal fired oil spraying equipment was fitted for quickly raising steam. The engines were designed to produce 31000 ihp and speed of 21.5 knots (42.1 km/h). On trials though Benbow exceeded this, producing 32530 ihp. She could carry 3,250 tons of coal and 1,050 tons of oil, giving a range of 7780 nautical miles (14,408.6 km) at 10 knots (19.6 km/h).
She also had heavy tripod masts fitted to enable the addition of fire direction equipment. Compared to the preceding King George V class, Benbow’s funnels were taller and thinner which made her distinctive. Unlike her sister, HMS Iron Duke
, she was not fitted with anti torpedo nets, due to their effect in reducing the ship's speed.
, of Glasgow
. She was laid down on 30 May 1912 and launched on 12 November 1913. She was commissioned on 7 October 1914, the third of the Iron Dukes to do so, and behind her sisters HMS Iron Duke
and HMS Marlborough
. She cost in the region of £1,891,600. The month after commissioning she joined the 4th Battle Squadron
of the Grand Fleet, then based at Scapa Flow
.
until June 1916. She was initially the flagship of Admiral
Douglas Gamble, until he was replaced in February 1915 by Vice-Admiral Sir Doveton Sturdee
. Her commander was Captain H. W. Parker.
Prior to the battle of Jutland
, Benbow left Scapa Flow with the rest of the Grand Fleet under the command of Admiral John Jellicoe
on 30 May 1916. She led the 4th Division, consisting of HMS Bellerophon
, HMS Temeraire
and HMS Vanguard
. The 4th Division formed the column of ships immediately to starboard of the fleet flagship, the Iron Duke under Jellicoe as they steamed south eastwards to meet the German High Seas Fleet
. At 1710 on 31 May, Benbow relayed a message to Jellicoe on the Iron Duke that the High Seas Fleet was at sea with 26-30 battleships on a course of 347 in line ahead. This indicated that the German Admiral was at sea with his full strength – 18 Dreadnought type battleships and ten pre-Dreadnoughts and that the two sides were on a converging course.
Benbow opened fire at 1830 with intermittent salvoes at the lead German battleships of the König class
. Poor visibility led to her ceasing fire 10 minutes later, having fired just six two-gun salvoes from her forward turrets. By 1900, she had made a turn to starboard, leading the 4th division past the wreck of HMS Invincible
which had been destroyed by a magazine explosion. The turn brought them towards the German fleet, and at 1909 she again opened fire with her 6 inches (152.4 mm) batteries on the German destroyers of the 3rd flotilla at 8000 yards (7,315.2 m), believing them to be making a torpedo attack. They were actually attempting to rescue the crew of the German light cruiser
Wiesbaden
, which had been disabled earlier by HMS Invincible, and was now under fire from the Grand fleet. Benbow then shifted her fire to the 6th and 9th destroyer flotillas which had begun to launch torpedo attacks.
At 1917 Benbow opened fire on the Derfflinger
with a two gun salvo from her forward turret. The shells passed over the ship and Benbow readjusted her aim down 1600 yards (1,463 m) and swung about to allow her after gun to fire. She then fired four 5 gun and one 4 gun salvoes, claiming a single hit on the German cruiser, which was later disproved. She again ceased fire at 1924 due to poor visibility caused by the smoke laid by the German destroyers during their torpedo attacks. The High Seas Fleet disengaged and fled to the south. At 2010 there was a brief skirmish between the German destroyers V46 and V69, and the British 2nd Light Cruiser squadron and Benbow, in which Benbow fired a single salvo of 6 inches (152.4 mm) shells and a single round from her B gun before the German ships escaped. This was the last contact with the enemy, and Benbow returned with the rest of the fleet to Scapa Flow. In total Benbow had fired 40 rounds of 13.5 inches (342.9 mm) shells, all of them being "Armour Piercing capped" (APC), and 60 rounds of 6 inches (152.4 mm) shells. She had mananged to escape damage or casualties.
She spent the remainder of the war at anchor at the 4th Division's home port of Scapa Flow, or on manoeuvres and routine patrols in the North Sea
.
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In 1919 Benbow was deployed in the Mediterranean, and then with the Black Sea
squadron in support of the White Russians
in the Russian Civil War
. She carried out a number of shore bombardments, until she left the squadron in 1920. She became part of the Mediterranean fleet until 1926. Benbow’s captain between 1921 and 1923 was James Fownes Somerville, later Sir James Fownes Somerville, Admiral of the Fleet.
Benbow left the Mediterranean in 1926 and joined the Atlantic Fleet until 1929, when she was paid off into reserve
. She was disarmed in 1930 under the terms of the London Naval Treaty
and placed on the disposal list. Benbow was sold for scrap in January 1931 and scrapped in March 1931 by Metal Industries, of Rosyth
.
Iron Duke class battleship
The Iron Duke-class was a group of four dreadnought battleships built for the British Royal Navy before the First World War. The class comprised four ships: , , , and...
battleship
Battleship
A battleship is a large armored warship with a main battery consisting of heavy caliber guns. Battleships were larger, better armed and armored than cruisers and destroyers. As the largest armed ships in a fleet, battleships were used to attain command of the sea and represented the apex of a...
of the Royal Navy
Royal Navy
The Royal Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Founded in the 16th century, it is the oldest service branch and is known as the Senior Service...
, the third ship of the class and the third ship to be named in honour of Admiral John Benbow
John Benbow
John Benbow was an English officer in the Royal Navy. He joined the navy aged 25 years, seeing action against Algerian pirates before leaving and joining the merchant navy where he traded until the Glorious Revolution of 1688, whereupon he returned to the Royal Navy and was commissioned.Benbow...
.
She was ordered under the 1911 Naval Estimates and built in the yards of William Beardmore and Company
William Beardmore and Company
William Beardmore and Company was a Scottish engineering and shipbuilding conglomerate based in Glasgow and the surrounding Clydeside area. It was active between about 1890 and 1930 and at its peak employed about 40,000 people...
, of Glasgow
Glasgow
Glasgow is the largest city in Scotland and third most populous in the United Kingdom. The city is situated on the River Clyde in the country's west central lowlands...
. She was laid down on 30 May 1912 and launched on 12 November 1913. She was commissioned in October 1914 after the outbreak of the First World War
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
.
She served during the First World War as part of the Grand Fleet, and led one of the squadron
Squadron (naval)
A squadron, or naval squadron, is a unit of 3-4 major warships, transport ships, submarines, or sometimes small craft that may be part of a larger task force or a fleet...
s of the Fleet in the major naval engagement of that war, the battle of Jutland
Battle of Jutland
The Battle of Jutland was a naval battle between the British Royal Navy's Grand Fleet and the Imperial German Navy's High Seas Fleet during the First World War. The battle was fought on 31 May and 1 June 1916 in the North Sea near Jutland, Denmark. It was the largest naval battle and the only...
in 1916. She spent the rest of the war in home waters, but was dispatched to the Mediterranean after the end of the war, and then into the Black Sea
Black Sea
The Black Sea is bounded by Europe, Anatolia and the Caucasus and is ultimately connected to the Atlantic Ocean via the Mediterranean and the Aegean seas and various straits. The Bosphorus strait connects it to the Sea of Marmara, and the strait of the Dardanelles connects that sea to the Aegean...
. Here she carried out a number of shore bombardments in support of the White Russians
White movement
The White movement and its military arm the White Army - known as the White Guard or the Whites - was a loose confederation of Anti-Communist forces.The movement comprised one of the politico-military Russian forces who fought...
in the Russian Civil War
Russian Civil War
The Russian Civil War was a multi-party war that occurred within the former Russian Empire after the Russian provisional government collapsed to the Soviets, under the domination of the Bolshevik party. Soviet forces first assumed power in Petrograd The Russian Civil War (1917–1923) was a...
, until their collapse in 1920. She remained with the Mediterranean Fleet until 1926, when she returned to the Atlantic Fleet. She was decommissioned in 1929, disarmed under the terms of the London Naval Treaty
London Naval Treaty
The London Naval Treaty was an agreement between the United Kingdom, the Empire of Japan, France, Italy and the United States, signed on April 22, 1930, which regulated submarine warfare and limited naval shipbuilding. Ratifications were exchanged in London on October 27, 1930, and the treaty went...
in 1930 and was sold for scrapping in 1931.
Armament
The ships of the Iron Duke class were a modification of the design of the previous King George V classKing George V class battleship (1911)
The King George V class battleships were a series of four Royal Navy super-dreadnought battleships built just prior to and serving in the First World War.The King George V class immediately followed the Orion class upon which they were based....
of 1911 and cost in the region of £1,891,600. Benbow carried a main armament of ten 13.5 inch guns
BL 13.5 inch /45 naval gun
The BL 13.5 inch Mk V gun was a British heavy naval gun, introduced in 1912 as the main armament for the new super-dreadnought battleships of the Orion class. The calibre was 13.5 inches and the barrels were 45 calibres long i.e. 607.5 inches...
mounted in five twin turrets. The 13.5 inches (342.9 mm) guns had been initially developed for the Orion class
Orion class battleship
The Orion class battleships were four super-dreadnoughts — the first ships of that type — of the Royal Navy. The lead ship, , was launched in 1910. They were the first Royal Navy dreadnoughts to have all their main guns in the centreline, although the U.S. South Carolina class had this advanced...
and were so successful that the type was fitted to the succeeding battleship classes, including the Iron Dukes. The guns were fitted along the centre line with B and X turrets superfiring over A and Y turrets. Q turret was sited amidships, and had restricted firing arcs. B and X were restricted from firing directly over A and Y due to the possibility of muzzle blast entering the lower turrets' sighting hoods which were still placed in the forward ends of the turret roofs.
A more radical departure was the replacement of the 4 inches (101.6 mm) guns of the secondary armament with twelve 6 inches (152.4 mm) guns. These made Benbow more capable of engaging the larger destroyer
Destroyer
In naval terminology, a destroyer is a fast and maneuverable yet long-endurance warship intended to escort larger vessels in a fleet, convoy or battle group and defend them against smaller, powerful, short-range attackers. Destroyers, originally called torpedo-boat destroyers in 1892, evolved from...
s and torpedo boat
Torpedo boat
A torpedo boat is a relatively small and fast naval vessel designed to carry torpedoes into battle. The first designs rammed enemy ships with explosive spar torpedoes, and later designs launched self-propelled Whitehead torpedoes. They were created to counter battleships and other large, slow and...
s then being built. Admiral of the Fleet
Admiral of the Fleet
An admiral of the fleet is a military naval officer of the highest rank. In many nations the rank is reserved for wartime or ceremonial appointments...
Jackie Fisher had been opposed to mounting such heavy weapons on the grounds of economy, and because he believed they would be rendered useless in bad weather. He had retired by the time the class were being designed, but the guns were still heavy for a secondary armament and so they were mounted low in casemate
Casemate
A casemate, sometimes rendered casement, is a fortified gun emplacement or armored structure from which guns are fired. originally a vaulted chamber in a fortress.-Origin of the term:...
s. This had the predicted effect of often rendering them unusable in poor weather. Attempts were made to alleviate the situation including mounting Benbow’s as far back as possible to help reduce wetness but met with limited effectiveness. Benbow’s 6 inches (152.4 mm) guns were fitted in casemate
Casemate
A casemate, sometimes rendered casement, is a fortified gun emplacement or armored structure from which guns are fired. originally a vaulted chamber in a fortress.-Origin of the term:...
s, with five either side of the forecastle
Forecastle
Forecastle refers to the upper deck of a sailing ship forward of the foremast, or the forward part of a ship with the sailors' living quarters...
deck and two right aft in the hull below the quarter deck, rather than in the deck houses, as had been the practice before. The two stern 6 inches (152.4 mm) guns were subsequently found to be so wet as to be useless. They were re-sited on the forecastle deck, but the forward batteries continued to swamped in heavy seas. Eventually rubber sealing joints for the gun ports were designed and fitted at Scapa Flow
Scapa Flow
right|thumb|Scapa Flow viewed from its eastern endScapa Flow is a body of water in the Orkney Islands, Scotland, United Kingdom, sheltered by the islands of Mainland, Graemsay, Burray, South Ronaldsay and Hoy. It is about...
to try to alleviate the situation. The fitting of the larger guns made Benbow 25 feet (7.6 m) longer, 1 foot (0.3048 m) wider and 10 inches (254 mm) deeper and 2,000 tons heavier than previous classes.
She was also armed with two 3 inches (76.2 mm) anti-aircraft guns on her after superstructure in 1914, making the class the first British battleships to carry anti aircraft guns. Benbow carried four submerged 21 inches (533.4 mm) torpedo tubes mounted along her sides, but unlike preceding classes, she did not carry a stern mounted torpedo tube. Her total broadside was ten 13.5 inches (342.9 mm) guns, six 6 inches (152.4 mm) guns and two 21 inches (533.4 mm) torpedo
Torpedo
The modern torpedo is a self-propelled missile weapon with an explosive warhead, launched above or below the water surface, propelled underwater towards a target, and designed to detonate either on contact with it or in proximity to it.The term torpedo was originally employed for...
es.
Armour
Benbow’s armour was an improvement on the preceding King George V’s. She used Krupp Cemented ArmourKrupp armour
Krupp armour was a type of steel armour used in the construction of capital ships starting shortly before the end of the 19th century. It was developed by Germany's Krupp Arms Works in 1893 and quickly replaced Harvey armour as the primary method of protecting naval ships.The initial manufacturing...
. The main armour belt was 12 inches (304.8 mm) thick at the waterline
Waterline
The term "waterline" generally refers to the line where the hull of a ship meets the water surface. It is also the name of a special marking, also known as the national Load Line or Plimsoll Line, to be positioned amidships, that indicates the draft of the ship and the legal limit to which a ship...
, reduced to 8 inches (203.2 mm) at the lower edge. The fore and aft armoured bulkheads were 8 inches (203.2 mm) thick, but 3 inches at the lower edges, whilst the screen bulkheads were just 1.5 inches thick. These extended to the engine rooms and magazines
Magazine (artillery)
Magazine is the name for an item or place within which ammunition is stored. It is taken from the Arabic word "makahazin" meaning "warehouse".-Ammunition storage areas:...
only. The torpedo protection for the boiler rooms consisted of the wing coal bunker spaces. The barbette
Barbette
A barbette is a protective circular armour feature around a cannon or heavy artillery gun. The name comes from the French phrase en barbette referring to the practice of firing a field gun over a parapet rather than through an opening . The former gives better angles of fire but less protection...
s had 10 inches (254 mm) of armour when mounted externally of the main ship armour, but only 3 inches (76.2 mm) when mounted internally. The turrets were armoured with 11 inches (279.4 mm) on the faces, with decreasing amounts on the sides and tops. The decks meanwhile had 2.5 inches (63.5 mm) thick protecting machinery spaces and magazines, but this was reduced to 1 inches (25.4 mm) in non-vital areas. Finally Benbow’s conning tower
Conning tower
A conning tower is a raised platform on a ship or submarine, often armored, from which an officer can con the vessel; i.e., give directions to the helmsman. It is usually located as high on the ship as practical, to give the conning team good visibility....
was protected by 11 inches (279.4 mm) thick armour.
Machinery
The design of Benbow’s machinery closely followed the earlier classes of DreadnoughtDreadnought
The dreadnought was the predominant type of 20th-century battleship. The first of the kind, the Royal Navy's had such an impact when launched in 1906 that similar battleships built after her were referred to as "dreadnoughts", and earlier battleships became known as pre-dreadnoughts...
s, consisting of four propeller
Propeller
A propeller is a type of fan that transmits power by converting rotational motion into thrust. A pressure difference is produced between the forward and rear surfaces of the airfoil-shaped blade, and a fluid is accelerated behind the blade. Propeller dynamics can be modeled by both Bernoulli's...
s being driven by Parsons direct drive
Parsons Marine Steam Turbine Company
Parsons Marine Steam Turbine Company was a British engineering company based in Wallsend, North England, on the River Tyne.-History:The company was founded by Charles Algernon Parsons in 1897 with £500,000 of capital, and specialised in building the steam turbine engines that he had invented for...
steam turbine
Steam turbine
A steam turbine is a mechanical device that extracts thermal energy from pressurized steam, and converts it into rotary motion. Its modern manifestation was invented by Sir Charles Parsons in 1884....
s. The machinery spaces were divided into three with the inboard shafts leading to the central engine room and the outer shafts to the port and starboard wing engine rooms. The two inboard shafts were driven by the high pressure ahead and astern turbines with the ahead turbines having an extra stage for cruising, this was separated from the main turbine by a bypass valve. The outer shafts were driven by the ahead and astern low pressure turbines, for cruising the outboard turbines would be shut down, the ship relying on the inboard shafts alone. The eighteen Babcock and Wilcox boilers were arranged in three groups of six, although coal fired oil spraying equipment was fitted for quickly raising steam. The engines were designed to produce 31000 ihp and speed of 21.5 knots (42.1 km/h). On trials though Benbow exceeded this, producing 32530 ihp. She could carry 3,250 tons of coal and 1,050 tons of oil, giving a range of 7780 nautical miles (14,408.6 km) at 10 knots (19.6 km/h).
She also had heavy tripod masts fitted to enable the addition of fire direction equipment. Compared to the preceding King George V class, Benbow’s funnels were taller and thinner which made her distinctive. Unlike her sister, HMS Iron Duke
HMS Iron Duke (1912)
HMS Iron Duke was a battleship of the Royal Navy, the lead ship of her class, named in honour of Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington. She served as the flagship of the Grand Fleet during the First World War, including at the Battle of Jutland...
, she was not fitted with anti torpedo nets, due to their effect in reducing the ship's speed.
Construction and commissioning
Benbow was ordered under the 1911 Naval Estimates and the contract to build her was awarded to William Beardmore and CompanyWilliam Beardmore and Company
William Beardmore and Company was a Scottish engineering and shipbuilding conglomerate based in Glasgow and the surrounding Clydeside area. It was active between about 1890 and 1930 and at its peak employed about 40,000 people...
, of Glasgow
Glasgow
Glasgow is the largest city in Scotland and third most populous in the United Kingdom. The city is situated on the River Clyde in the country's west central lowlands...
. She was laid down on 30 May 1912 and launched on 12 November 1913. She was commissioned on 7 October 1914, the third of the Iron Dukes to do so, and behind her sisters HMS Iron Duke
HMS Iron Duke (1912)
HMS Iron Duke was a battleship of the Royal Navy, the lead ship of her class, named in honour of Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington. She served as the flagship of the Grand Fleet during the First World War, including at the Battle of Jutland...
and HMS Marlborough
HMS Marlborough (1912)
HMS Marlborough was an Iron Duke-class battleship of the Royal Navy, named in honour of John Churchill, 1st Duke of Marlborough, and launched in 1912. In World War I she served in the 1st Battle Squadron of the Grand Fleet based at Scapa Flow...
. She cost in the region of £1,891,600. The month after commissioning she joined the 4th Battle Squadron
4th Battle Squadron (United Kingdom)
The British Royal Navy 4th Battle Squadron was a squadron consisting of battleships. The 4th Battle Squadron was initially part of the Royal Navy's Home Fleet. During World War I the Home Fleet was renamed the Grand Fleet...
of the Grand Fleet, then based at Scapa Flow
Scapa Flow
right|thumb|Scapa Flow viewed from its eastern endScapa Flow is a body of water in the Orkney Islands, Scotland, United Kingdom, sheltered by the islands of Mainland, Graemsay, Burray, South Ronaldsay and Hoy. It is about...
.
At Jutland
Benbow would serve as the 4th Battle Squadron's flagshipFlagship
A flagship is a vessel used by the commanding officer of a group of naval ships, reflecting the custom of its commander, characteristically a flag officer, flying a distinguishing flag...
until June 1916. She was initially the flagship of Admiral
Admiral
Admiral is the rank, or part of the name of the ranks, of the highest naval officers. It is usually considered a full admiral and above vice admiral and below admiral of the fleet . It is usually abbreviated to "Adm" or "ADM"...
Douglas Gamble, until he was replaced in February 1915 by Vice-Admiral Sir Doveton Sturdee
Doveton Sturdee
Admiral of the Fleet Sir Frederick Charles Doveton Sturdee, 1st Baronet, GCB, KCMG, CVO was a British admiral.-Naval career:...
. Her commander was Captain H. W. Parker.
Prior to the battle of Jutland
Battle of Jutland
The Battle of Jutland was a naval battle between the British Royal Navy's Grand Fleet and the Imperial German Navy's High Seas Fleet during the First World War. The battle was fought on 31 May and 1 June 1916 in the North Sea near Jutland, Denmark. It was the largest naval battle and the only...
, Benbow left Scapa Flow with the rest of the Grand Fleet under the command of Admiral John Jellicoe
John Jellicoe, 1st Earl Jellicoe
Admiral of the Fleet John Rushworth Jellicoe, 1st Earl Jellicoe, GCB, OM, GCVO was a British Royal Navy admiral who commanded the Grand Fleet at the Battle of Jutland in World War I...
on 30 May 1916. She led the 4th Division, consisting of HMS Bellerophon
HMS Bellerophon (1907)
HMS Bellerophon was a dreadnought of the Royal Navy. She was the lead ship of the Bellerophon class, and the fourth Royal Navy vessel to bear the name of the mythic Greek hero...
, HMS Temeraire
HMS Temeraire (1907)
HMS Temeraire was a Bellerophon-class battleship in the Royal Navy built at the Royal Dockyard, Devonport.She was ordered under the 1906 Naval Estimates at the cost of £1,641,114. Although not externally much different from predecessor , internally she and others of the Bellerophon-class were much...
and HMS Vanguard
HMS Vanguard (1909)
The eighth HMS Vanguard of the British Royal Navy was a St Vincent-class battleship, an enhancement of the "" design built by Vickers at Barrow-in-Furness...
. The 4th Division formed the column of ships immediately to starboard of the fleet flagship, the Iron Duke under Jellicoe as they steamed south eastwards to meet the German High Seas Fleet
High Seas Fleet
The High Seas Fleet was the battle fleet of the German Empire and saw action during World War I. The formation was created in February 1907, when the Home Fleet was renamed as the High Seas Fleet. Admiral Alfred von Tirpitz was the architect of the fleet; he envisioned a force powerful enough to...
. At 1710 on 31 May, Benbow relayed a message to Jellicoe on the Iron Duke that the High Seas Fleet was at sea with 26-30 battleships on a course of 347 in line ahead. This indicated that the German Admiral was at sea with his full strength – 18 Dreadnought type battleships and ten pre-Dreadnoughts and that the two sides were on a converging course.
Benbow opened fire at 1830 with intermittent salvoes at the lead German battleships of the König class
König class battleship
The König class was a group of four battleships built for the German Kaiserliche Marine on the eve of World War I. The class was composed of , , , and . The most powerful warships of the German High Seas Fleet at the outbreak of war in 1914, the class operated as a unit throughout World War...
. Poor visibility led to her ceasing fire 10 minutes later, having fired just six two-gun salvoes from her forward turrets. By 1900, she had made a turn to starboard, leading the 4th division past the wreck of HMS Invincible
HMS Invincible (1907)
HMS Invincible was a battlecruiser of the British Royal Navy, the lead ship of her class of three, and the first battlecruiser to be built by any country in the world. She participated in the Battle of Heligoland Bight in a minor role as she was the oldest and slowest of the British battlecruisers...
which had been destroyed by a magazine explosion. The turn brought them towards the German fleet, and at 1909 she again opened fire with her 6 inches (152.4 mm) batteries on the German destroyers of the 3rd flotilla at 8000 yards (7,315.2 m), believing them to be making a torpedo attack. They were actually attempting to rescue the crew of the German light cruiser
Light cruiser
A light cruiser is a type of small- or medium-sized warship. The term is a shortening of the phrase "light armored cruiser", describing a small ship that carried armor in the same way as an armored cruiser: a protective belt and deck...
Wiesbaden
SMS Wiesbaden
SMS Wiesbaden was the lead ship of the Wiesbaden-class of light cruisers of the German Imperial Navy in World War I, the other being the Frankfurt-Specifications:...
, which had been disabled earlier by HMS Invincible, and was now under fire from the Grand fleet. Benbow then shifted her fire to the 6th and 9th destroyer flotillas which had begun to launch torpedo attacks.
At 1917 Benbow opened fire on the Derfflinger
SMS Derfflinger
SMS Derfflinger"SMS" stands for "Seiner Majestät Schiff", or "His Majesty's Ship" in German. was a battlecruiser of the German Kaiserliche Marine built just before the outbreak of World War I. She was the lead vessel of her class of three ships; her sister ships were and...
with a two gun salvo from her forward turret. The shells passed over the ship and Benbow readjusted her aim down 1600 yards (1,463 m) and swung about to allow her after gun to fire. She then fired four 5 gun and one 4 gun salvoes, claiming a single hit on the German cruiser, which was later disproved. She again ceased fire at 1924 due to poor visibility caused by the smoke laid by the German destroyers during their torpedo attacks. The High Seas Fleet disengaged and fled to the south. At 2010 there was a brief skirmish between the German destroyers V46 and V69, and the British 2nd Light Cruiser squadron and Benbow, in which Benbow fired a single salvo of 6 inches (152.4 mm) shells and a single round from her B gun before the German ships escaped. This was the last contact with the enemy, and Benbow returned with the rest of the fleet to Scapa Flow. In total Benbow had fired 40 rounds of 13.5 inches (342.9 mm) shells, all of them being "Armour Piercing capped" (APC), and 60 rounds of 6 inches (152.4 mm) shells. She had mananged to escape damage or casualties.
She spent the remainder of the war at anchor at the 4th Division's home port of Scapa Flow, or on manoeuvres and routine patrols in the North Sea
North Sea
In the southwest, beyond the Straits of Dover, the North Sea becomes the English Channel connecting to the Atlantic Ocean. In the east, it connects to the Baltic Sea via the Skagerrak and Kattegat, narrow straits that separate Denmark from Norway and Sweden respectively...
.
Postwar
Black Sea
The Black Sea is bounded by Europe, Anatolia and the Caucasus and is ultimately connected to the Atlantic Ocean via the Mediterranean and the Aegean seas and various straits. The Bosphorus strait connects it to the Sea of Marmara, and the strait of the Dardanelles connects that sea to the Aegean...
squadron in support of the White Russians
White movement
The White movement and its military arm the White Army - known as the White Guard or the Whites - was a loose confederation of Anti-Communist forces.The movement comprised one of the politico-military Russian forces who fought...
in the Russian Civil War
Russian Civil War
The Russian Civil War was a multi-party war that occurred within the former Russian Empire after the Russian provisional government collapsed to the Soviets, under the domination of the Bolshevik party. Soviet forces first assumed power in Petrograd The Russian Civil War (1917–1923) was a...
. She carried out a number of shore bombardments, until she left the squadron in 1920. She became part of the Mediterranean fleet until 1926. Benbow’s captain between 1921 and 1923 was James Fownes Somerville, later Sir James Fownes Somerville, Admiral of the Fleet.
Benbow left the Mediterranean in 1926 and joined the Atlantic Fleet until 1929, when she was paid off into reserve
Reserve fleet
A reserve fleet is a collection of naval vessels of all types that are fully equipped for service but are not currently needed, and thus partially or fully decommissioned. A reserve fleet is informally said to be "in mothballs" or "mothballed"; an equivalent expression in unofficial modern U.S....
. She was disarmed in 1930 under the terms of the London Naval Treaty
London Naval Treaty
The London Naval Treaty was an agreement between the United Kingdom, the Empire of Japan, France, Italy and the United States, signed on April 22, 1930, which regulated submarine warfare and limited naval shipbuilding. Ratifications were exchanged in London on October 27, 1930, and the treaty went...
and placed on the disposal list. Benbow was sold for scrap in January 1931 and scrapped in March 1931 by Metal Industries, of Rosyth
Rosyth
Rosyth is a town located on the Firth of Forth, three miles south of the centre of Dunfermline. According to an estimate taken in 2008, the town has a population of 12,790....
.