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HMS Duke of Edinburgh (1904)
Encyclopedia
HMS Duke of Edinburgh was the lead ship
of the armoured cruisers built for the Royal Navy in the mid-1900s. She was stationed in the Mediterranean when the First World War
began and participated in the pursuit
of the German battlecruiser
and light cruiser
. After the German ships reached Ottoman
waters, the ship was sent to the Red Sea
in mid-August to protect troop convoys arriving from India. Duke of Edinburgh was transferred to the Grand Fleet in December 1914 and participated in the Battle of Jutland
in May 1916. She was not damaged during the battle and was eventually transferred to the Atlantic Ocean
in August 1917 for convoy escort duties. The ship was sold for scrap
in 1920.
of 73 in 6 in (22.4 m) and a draught of 27 feet (8.2 m). She was powered by four-cylinder triple-expansion steam engines, driving two shafts, which produced a total of 23000 ihp and gave a maximum speed of 23 knots (12.5 m/s). The engines were powered by 20 Babcock & Wilcox
water-tube boiler
s and six cylindrical boilers. The ship carried a maximum of 2150 long tons (2,184.5 t) of coal and an additional 600 long tons (609.6 t) of fuel oil
that was sprayed on the coal to increase its burn rate. At full capacity, she could steam for 8130 nautical miles (15,056.8 km) at a speed of 10 knots (5.4 m/s). The ship's complement was 789 officers and men.
in single turret
s. The guns were distributed in two centerline turrets (one each fore and one aft) and four turrets disposed in the corners about the funnels. Her secondary armament of four BL 6-inch Mk XI guns
was arranged in single casemates. They were mounted amidships on the main deck and were only usable in calm weather. Twenty Vickers QF 3-pounders
were fitted, six on turret roofs and fourteen in the superstructure. The ship also mounted three submerged 17.72 inches (450.1 mm)
torpedo tube
s.
. She was laid down
on 11 February 1903 at Pembroke Royal Dockyard
. She was launched
on 14 June 1904 and completed on 20 January 1906 at the cost of £1,193,414.Adjusted for inflation to 20 pounds, £. Duke of Edinburgh was named after Alfred, Duke of Edinburgh
, one of Queen Victoria's sons.
The ship was assigned to the 5th Cruiser Squadron from 1906 to 1908 and then was transferred to the 1st Cruiser Squadron of the Channel Fleet. When the Royal Navy's cruiser squadrons were reorganized in 1909, Duke of Edinburgh rejoined the 5th Cruiser Squadron of the Atlantic Fleet. She helped to rescue the survivors of the SS Delhi
which ran aground off the coast of Morocco in December 1911. From 1913 to 1914 she served with the 1st Cruiser Squadron of the Mediterranean Fleet.
When the British began to prepare for war in July 1914, the ship was refitting at Malta
. Her refit was cut short and she joined the rest of her squadron in the southern approaches to the Adriatic. She was involved in the pursuit of the German battlecruiser Goeben and light cruiser Breslau at the outbreak of World War I, but was ordered not to engage them. On 10 August Duke of Edinburgh and her sister ship
were ordered to the Red Sea to protect troop convoys arriving from India. While on that duty the ship captured the German merchantman Altair of 3,200 tons GRT
on 15 August. While escorting a troop convoy from India to France in November 1914, Duke of Edinburgh provided cover to three battalions of infantry
that seized the Turkish fort at Cheikh Saïd
at the entrance to the Red Sea. The ship then landed a demolition party, which blew the fort up on 10 November and she then rejoined the convoy.
Duke of Edinburgh rejoined the 1st Cruiser Squadron, which had been transferred to the Grand Fleet in the meantime, in December 1914. In March 1916 the ship had her main deck 6-inch guns removed and the openings plated over. Six of the guns were remounted on the upper deck, three on each side, between the wing turrets, protected by gun shield
s. At the Battle of Jutland
on 31 May 1916, the 1st Cruiser Squadron was in front of the Grand Fleet, on the right side. At 5:47 p.m.The times used in this article are in UTC
, which is one hour behind CET
, which is often used in German works. The two leading ships of the squadron, the flagship
, , and , spotted the German II Scouting Group and opened fire. Their shells felt short and the two ships turned to port in pursuit, cutting in front of the battlecruiser , which was forced to turn away to avoid a collision. Duke of Edinburgh could not follow the first two ships and turned to port (northeast). The ship spotted the disabled German light cruiser at 6:08 and fired twenty rounds at her. By about 6:30 she had steamed to a position off the starboard bow of , the leading ship of the 2nd Battle Squadron
, where her funnel
smoke obscured the German ships from the foremost dreadnoughts of the 2nd Battle Squadron. A torpedo attack by German destroyers on Admiral Beatty
's battlecruiser
s, failed, but forced Duke of Edinburgh to evade one torpedo at 6:47. The ship reported a submarine sighting at 7:01, although no German submarines were operating in the area. She fired at another imaginary submarine contact between 7:45 and 8:15.
After the battle, Duke of Edinburgh was attached to the 2nd Cruiser Squadron and remained at sea through 2 June, searching for disabled ships. She arrived in Scapa Flow
on the afternoon of 3 June. On the evening of 18 August 1916, the Grand Fleet, including Duke of Edinburgh, put to sea in response to a deciphered message that the High Seas Fleet, minus the II Battle Squadron, would be leaving harbour that night. The Germans planned to bombard the port of Sunderland on 19 August, with extensive reconnaissance provided by airships and submarines. The Germans broke off their planned attack to pursue a lone British battle squadron reported by an airship, which was in fact the Harwich Force
under Commodore Tyrwhitt
. Realising their mistake, the Germans then set course for home. After Jutland the 2nd Cruiser Squadron, now including Duke of Edinburgh, was ordered to reinforce the patrols north of the Shetland Islands
against German blockade runner
s and commerce raiders
. The ship's foremast was converted to a tripod to support the weight of a fire-control director in May 1917, but when the director was actually fitted is not known. Two more 6-inch guns were added in embrasures on the forecastle deck during that same refit. She was transferred to the North America and West Indies Station in August 1917 for convoy escort duties, where she remained for the duration of the war. Upon her return, Duke of Edinburgh was stationed in the Humber
, before she was sold for scrap on 12 April 1920 and broken up
at Blyth
.
Lead ship
The lead ship or class leader is the first of a series or class of ships all constructed according to the same general design. The term is applicable military ships and larger civilian craft.-Overview:...
of the armoured cruisers built for the Royal Navy in the mid-1900s. She was stationed in the Mediterranean when 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...
began and participated in the pursuit
Pursuit of Goeben and Breslau
The pursuit of Goeben and Breslau was a naval action that occurred in the Mediterranean Sea at the outbreak of the First World War when elements of the British Mediterranean Fleet attempted to intercept the German Mittelmeerdivision comprising the battlecruiser and the light cruiser...
of the German battlecruiser
Battlecruiser
Battlecruisers were large capital ships built in the first half of the 20th century. They were developed in the first decade of the century as the successor to the armoured cruiser, but their evolution was more closely linked to that of the dreadnought battleship...
and 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...
. After the German ships reached Ottoman
Ottoman Empire
The Ottoman EmpireIt was usually referred to as the "Ottoman Empire", the "Turkish Empire", the "Ottoman Caliphate" or more commonly "Turkey" by its contemporaries...
waters, the ship was sent to the Red Sea
Red Sea
The Red Sea is a seawater inlet of the Indian Ocean, lying between Africa and Asia. The connection to the ocean is in the south through the Bab el Mandeb strait and the Gulf of Aden. In the north, there is the Sinai Peninsula, the Gulf of Aqaba, and the Gulf of Suez...
in mid-August to protect troop convoys arriving from India. Duke of Edinburgh was transferred to the Grand Fleet in December 1914 and participated in 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 May 1916. She was not damaged during the battle and was eventually transferred to the Atlantic Ocean
Atlantic Ocean
The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's oceanic divisions. With a total area of about , it covers approximately 20% of the Earth's surface and about 26% of its water surface area...
in August 1917 for convoy escort duties. The ship was sold for scrap
Ship breaking
Ship breaking or ship demolition is a type of ship disposal involving the breaking up of ships for scrap recycling. Most ships have a lifespan of a few decades before there is so much wear that refitting and repair becomes uneconomical. Ship breaking allows materials from the ship, especially...
in 1920.
Description
Duke of Edinburgh displaced 12590 long tons (12,792.1 t) as built and 13965 long tons (14,189.1 t) fully loaded. The ship had an overall length of 505 in 6 in (154.08 m), a beamBeam (nautical)
The beam of a ship is its width at the widest point. Generally speaking, the wider the beam of a ship , the more initial stability it has, at expense of reserve stability in the event of a capsize, where more energy is required to right the vessel from its inverted position...
of 73 in 6 in (22.4 m) and a draught of 27 feet (8.2 m). She was powered by four-cylinder triple-expansion steam engines, driving two shafts, which produced a total of 23000 ihp and gave a maximum speed of 23 knots (12.5 m/s). The engines were powered by 20 Babcock & Wilcox
Babcock and Wilcox
The Babcock & Wilcox Company is a U.S.-based company that provides design, engineering, manufacturing, construction and facilities management services to nuclear, renewable, fossil power, industrial and government customers worldwide. B&W's boilers supply more than 300,000 megawatts of installed...
water-tube boiler
Water-tube boiler
A water tube boiler is a type of boiler in which water circulates in tubes heated externally by the fire. Fuel is burned inside the furnace, creating hot gas which heats water in the steam-generating tubes...
s and six cylindrical boilers. The ship carried a maximum of 2150 long tons (2,184.5 t) of coal and an additional 600 long tons (609.6 t) of fuel oil
Fuel oil
Fuel oil is a fraction obtained from petroleum distillation, either as a distillate or a residue. Broadly speaking, fuel oil is any liquid petroleum product that is burned in a furnace or boiler for the generation of heat or used in an engine for the generation of power, except oils having a flash...
that was sprayed on the coal to increase its burn rate. At full capacity, she could steam for 8130 nautical miles (15,056.8 km) at a speed of 10 knots (5.4 m/s). The ship's complement was 789 officers and men.
Armament
Her main armament consisted of six BL 9.2 inches (233.7 mm) Mark X gunsBL 9.2 inch gun Mk IX - X
The BL 9.2 inch guns Mk IX and Mk X were British 46.7 calibres naval and coast defence guns in service from 1899 to the 1950s. They had possibly the longest, most varied and successful service history of any British heavy ordnance.-History:...
in single turret
Turret
In architecture, a turret is a small tower that projects vertically from the wall of a building such as a medieval castle. Turrets were used to provide a projecting defensive position allowing covering fire to the adjacent wall in the days of military fortification...
s. The guns were distributed in two centerline turrets (one each fore and one aft) and four turrets disposed in the corners about the funnels. Her secondary armament of four BL 6-inch Mk XI guns
BL 6 inch Mk XI naval gun
The BL 6 inch Gun Mark XI was a British 50 calibres high-velocity naval gun which was mounted as primary armament on cruisers and secondary armament on pre-dreadnought battleships.-History:...
was arranged in single casemates. They were mounted amidships on the main deck and were only usable in calm weather. Twenty Vickers QF 3-pounders
Ordnance QF 3 pounder Vickers
The Ordnance QF 3 pounder Vickers was a British artillery piece first tested in Britain in 1910. It was used on Royal Navy warships. It was more powerful than and unrelated to the older QF 3 pounder Hotchkiss, with a propellant charge approximately twice as large, but it initially fired the same...
were fitted, six on turret roofs and fourteen in the superstructure. The ship also mounted three submerged 17.72 inches (450.1 mm)
British 18 inch torpedo
There have been a number of 18 inch torpedoes in service with the United Kingdom. These have been used on ships of the Royal Navy and aircraft of both the Fleet Air Arm and Royal Air Force...
torpedo tube
Torpedo tube
A torpedo tube is a device for launching torpedoes. There are two main types of torpedo tube: underwater tubes fitted to submarines and some surface ships, and deck-mounted units installed aboard surface vessels...
s.
History
Duke of Edinburgh was ordered under the 1902/1903 naval construction programme as the lead ship of her classShip class
A ship class is a group of ships of a similar design. This is distinct from a ship-type, which might reflect a similarity of tonnage or intended use. For example, the is a nuclear aircraft carrier of the Nimitz class....
. She was laid down
Keel
In boats and ships, keel can refer to either of two parts: a structural element, or a hydrodynamic element. These parts overlap. As the laying down of the keel is the initial step in construction of a ship, in British and American shipbuilding traditions the construction is dated from this event...
on 11 February 1903 at Pembroke Royal Dockyard
Pembroke Dock
Pembroke Dock is a town in Pembrokeshire, south-west Wales, lying north of Pembroke on the River Cleddau. Originally a small fishing village known as Paterchurch, the town was greatly expanded from 1814 onwards following the construction of a Royal Naval Dockyard...
. She was launched
Ship naming and launching
The ceremonies involved in naming and launching naval ships are based in traditions thousands of years old.-Methods of launch:There are three principal methods of conveying a new ship from building site to water, only two of which are called "launching." The oldest, most familiar, and most widely...
on 14 June 1904 and completed on 20 January 1906 at the cost of £1,193,414.Adjusted for inflation to 20 pounds, £. Duke of Edinburgh was named after Alfred, Duke of Edinburgh
Alfred, Duke of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha
Alfred, Duke of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha was the third Duke of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, and reigned from 1893 to 1900. He was also a member of the British Royal Family, the second son and fourth child of Queen Victoria and Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha...
, one of Queen Victoria's sons.
The ship was assigned to the 5th Cruiser Squadron from 1906 to 1908 and then was transferred to the 1st Cruiser Squadron of the Channel Fleet. When the Royal Navy's cruiser squadrons were reorganized in 1909, Duke of Edinburgh rejoined the 5th Cruiser Squadron of the Atlantic Fleet. She helped to rescue the survivors of the SS Delhi
SS Delhi
The SS Delhi was a steamship of the Peninsular & Orient Line that was lost off Cape Spartel, northern Morocco on 12 December 1911. Among the passengers was Alexander Duff, 1st Duke of Fife, whose subsequent death in Egypt was ascribed to ill-health caused during the wreck, and his family, the...
which ran aground off the coast of Morocco in December 1911. From 1913 to 1914 she served with the 1st Cruiser Squadron of the Mediterranean Fleet.
When the British began to prepare for war in July 1914, the ship was refitting at Malta
Malta
Malta , officially known as the Republic of Malta , is a Southern European country consisting of an archipelago situated in the centre of the Mediterranean, south of Sicily, east of Tunisia and north of Libya, with Gibraltar to the west and Alexandria to the east.Malta covers just over in...
. Her refit was cut short and she joined the rest of her squadron in the southern approaches to the Adriatic. She was involved in the pursuit of the German battlecruiser Goeben and light cruiser Breslau at the outbreak of World War I, but was ordered not to engage them. On 10 August Duke of Edinburgh and her sister ship
Sister ship
A sister ship is a ship of the same class as, or of virtually identical design to, another ship. Such vessels share a near-identical hull and superstructure layout, similar displacement, and roughly comparable features and equipment...
were ordered to the Red Sea to protect troop convoys arriving from India. While on that duty the ship captured the German merchantman Altair of 3,200 tons GRT
Gross Register Tonnage
Gross register tonnage a ship's total internal volume expressed in "register tons", one of which equals to a volume of . It is calculated from the total permanently enclosed capacity of the vessel. The ship's net register tonnage is obtained by reducing the volume of non-revenue-earning spaces i.e...
on 15 August. While escorting a troop convoy from India to France in November 1914, Duke of Edinburgh provided cover to three battalions of infantry
Infantry
Infantrymen are soldiers who are specifically trained for the role of fighting on foot to engage the enemy face to face and have historically borne the brunt of the casualties of combat in wars. As the oldest branch of combat arms, they are the backbone of armies...
that seized the Turkish fort at Cheikh Saïd
Cheikh Saïd
Cheikh Saïd is a rocky peninsula in Yemen, near the island of Perim on the Bab-el-Mandeb at the entrance to the Red Sea. In 1868 it was purchased from the local ruler, Sheikh Ali Tabet Ahmed, by Bazin et Rabaud, a private company based in Marseilles in France, which wanted to use it as a base for...
at the entrance to the Red Sea. The ship then landed a demolition party, which blew the fort up on 10 November and she then rejoined the convoy.
Duke of Edinburgh rejoined the 1st Cruiser Squadron, which had been transferred to the Grand Fleet in the meantime, in December 1914. In March 1916 the ship had her main deck 6-inch guns removed and the openings plated over. Six of the guns were remounted on the upper deck, three on each side, between the wing turrets, protected by gun shield
Gun shield
thumb|A [[United States Marine Corps|U.S. Marine]] manning an [[M240 machine gun]] equipped with a gun shieldA gun shield is a flat piece or section of armor designed to be mounted on a crew-served weapon such as a machine gun or artillery piece, or, more rarely, to be used with an assault rifle...
s. At 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...
on 31 May 1916, the 1st Cruiser Squadron was in front of the Grand Fleet, on the right side. At 5:47 p.m.The times used in this article are in UTC
Coordinated Universal Time
Coordinated Universal Time is the primary time standard by which the world regulates clocks and time. It is one of several closely related successors to Greenwich Mean Time. Computer servers, online services and other entities that rely on having a universally accepted time use UTC for that purpose...
, which is one hour behind CET
Central European Time
Central European Time , used in most parts of the European Union, is a standard time that is 1 hour ahead of Coordinated Universal Time . The time offset from UTC can be written as +01:00...
, which is often used in German works. The two leading ships of the squadron, the flagship
Flagship
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...
, , and , spotted the German II Scouting Group and opened fire. Their shells felt short and the two ships turned to port in pursuit, cutting in front of the battlecruiser , which was forced to turn away to avoid a collision. Duke of Edinburgh could not follow the first two ships and turned to port (northeast). The ship spotted the disabled German light cruiser at 6:08 and fired twenty rounds at her. By about 6:30 she had steamed to a position off the starboard bow of , the leading ship of the 2nd Battle Squadron
2nd Battle Squadron (United Kingdom)
The British Royal Navy 2nd Battle Squadron was a naval squadron consisting of battleships. The 2nd Battle Squadron was initially part of the Royal Navy's Grand Fleet. After World War I the Grand Fleet was reverted back to its original name, the Atlantic Fleet...
, where her funnel
Funnel (ship)
A funnel is the smokestack or chimney on a ship used to expel boiler steam and smoke or engine exhaust. They can also be known in as stacks.-Purpose:...
smoke obscured the German ships from the foremost dreadnoughts of the 2nd Battle Squadron. A torpedo attack by German destroyers on Admiral Beatty
David Beatty, 1st Earl Beatty
Admiral of the Fleet David Richard Beatty, 1st Earl Beatty, GCB, OM, GCVO, DSO was an admiral in the Royal Navy...
's battlecruiser
Battlecruiser
Battlecruisers were large capital ships built in the first half of the 20th century. They were developed in the first decade of the century as the successor to the armoured cruiser, but their evolution was more closely linked to that of the dreadnought battleship...
s, failed, but forced Duke of Edinburgh to evade one torpedo at 6:47. The ship reported a submarine sighting at 7:01, although no German submarines were operating in the area. She fired at another imaginary submarine contact between 7:45 and 8:15.
After the battle, Duke of Edinburgh was attached to the 2nd Cruiser Squadron and remained at sea through 2 June, searching for disabled ships. She arrived in 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...
on the afternoon of 3 June. On the evening of 18 August 1916, the Grand Fleet, including Duke of Edinburgh, put to sea in response to a deciphered message that the High Seas Fleet, minus the II Battle Squadron, would be leaving harbour that night. The Germans planned to bombard the port of Sunderland on 19 August, with extensive reconnaissance provided by airships and submarines. The Germans broke off their planned attack to pursue a lone British battle squadron reported by an airship, which was in fact the Harwich Force
Harwich Force
The Harwich Force was a squadron of the Royal Navy, formed during the First World War, that went on to play a significant role in the war.-History:...
under Commodore Tyrwhitt
Reginald Tyrwhitt
Admiral of the Fleet Sir Reginald Yorke Tyrwhitt, 1st Baronet, GCB, DSO was a senior officer of the Royal Navy in World War I who commanded light forces stationed at Harwich on the east coast of England during the first part of the war.-Naval career:Tyrwhitt entered the Navy as a cadet in July, 1885...
. Realising their mistake, the Germans then set course for home. After Jutland the 2nd Cruiser Squadron, now including Duke of Edinburgh, was ordered to reinforce the patrols north of the Shetland Islands
Shetland Islands
Shetland is a subarctic archipelago of Scotland that lies north and east of mainland Great Britain. The islands lie some to the northeast of Orkney and southeast of the Faroe Islands and form part of the division between the Atlantic Ocean to the west and the North Sea to the east. The total...
against German blockade runner
Blockade runner
A blockade runner is usually a lighter weight ship used for evading a naval blockade of a port or strait, as opposed to confronting the blockaders to break the blockade. Very often blockade running is done in order to transport cargo, for example to bring food or arms to a blockaded city...
s and commerce raiders
Commerce raiding
Commerce raiding or guerre de course is a form of naval warfare used to destroy or disrupt the logistics of an enemy on the open sea by attacking its merchant shipping, rather than engaging the combatants themselves or enforcing a blockade against them.Commerce raiding was heavily criticised by...
. The ship's foremast was converted to a tripod to support the weight of a fire-control director in May 1917, but when the director was actually fitted is not known. Two more 6-inch guns were added in embrasures on the forecastle deck during that same refit. She was transferred to the North America and West Indies Station in August 1917 for convoy escort duties, where she remained for the duration of the war. Upon her return, Duke of Edinburgh was stationed in the Humber
Humber
The Humber is a large tidal estuary on the east coast of Northern England. It is formed at Trent Falls, Faxfleet, by the confluence of the tidal River Ouse and the tidal River Trent. From here to the North Sea, it forms part of the boundary between the East Riding of Yorkshire on the north bank...
, before she was sold for scrap on 12 April 1920 and broken up
Ship breaking
Ship breaking or ship demolition is a type of ship disposal involving the breaking up of ships for scrap recycling. Most ships have a lifespan of a few decades before there is so much wear that refitting and repair becomes uneconomical. Ship breaking allows materials from the ship, especially...
at Blyth
Blyth, Northumberland
Blyth is a town and civil parish in southeast Northumberland, England. It lies on the coast, to the south of the River Blyth and is approximately 21 kilometres northeast of Newcastle upon Tyne...
.