.gif)
HMS Montagu (1901)
Encyclopedia
HMS Montagu was a Pre-dreadnought battleship of the British Royal Navy
.
In May 1906 in thick fog, she was wrecked on Lundy Island, fortunately without loss of life.
Although she would soon have been obsolescent if she had not been wrecked, this loss of one of its newest battleships was a blow to the Royal Navy, then in the early stages of the Naval Arms Race with Germany.
on 23 November 1899 and launched on 5 March 1901. She began trials in February 1903.
Montagu and her five sisters of the Duncan class were ordered in response to large French
and Russian building programmes, including an emphasis on fast battleships in the Russian programmes; Montagu and her sisters were designed as smaller, more lightly armoured, and faster versions of the preceding Formidable class. As it turned out, the Russian ships were not as heavily armed as initially feared, and the Montagu and the other Duncans proved to be quite superior in their balance of speed, firepower, and protection.
Montagu had an armour layout similar to that of the preceding London subclass of the Formidable class, with reduced thickness in the barbette
s and belt.
Montagu and her sisters had machinery of 3,000 more indicated horsepower than the Formidables and Londons and were the first British battleships with 4-cylinder triple-expansion engines. They also had a modified hull form to improve speed. The Duncans had a reputation as good steamers, with a designed speed of 19 knots (37.2 km/h) and an operational speed of 18 knots (35.3 km/h), good steering at all speeds, and an easy roll. They were the fastest battleships in the Royal Navy when completed, and the fastest predreadnoughts ever built other than the Swiftsure-class
HMS Swiftsure
and HMS Triumph
.
Montagu and her sister ships had the same armament as and a smaller displacement than the Formidables and Londons.
As a predreadnought, Montagu would have been outclassed by the dreadnought
battleships that began to appear at the end of 1906, but she was lost that year, several months before HMS Dreadnought
's commissioning ushered in the new battleship era.
for service in the Mediterranean Fleet
. In February 1905, she transferred to the Channel Fleet
.
_aground_lundy_island_1906.jpg)
At 0200 hours on 30 May 1906 during radio communication trials carried out in thick fog, Montagu was steaming at high speed in the Bristol Channel
when she ran into Shutter Rock on the southwest corner of Lundy Island. The force of impact was so great that her foremast was raked forward. The ship settled hard aground, with many holes in her hull, the worst of which was a 91 feet (27.7 m) long gash in her starboard side.
The ship's captain, believing Montagu was stuck at Hartland Point
on the mainland of England, sent a party on a rowing boat to the north, instructing them to contact the Hartland Point Lighthouse
. They instead got to the North light on Lundy Island, where officers asked the lighthouse
keeper to inform the British Admiralty that they were aground south of Hartland Point. An argument ensued with the keeper until he pointed out he knew what lighthouse he kept.
The court martial convened for the affair blamed the thick fog and faulty navigation for the wreck, and her captain, Thomas B. S. Adair, and navigating officer, Lieutenant J. H. Dathan, were severely reprimanded and dismissed from the service, Dathan losing two years' seniority.
engine room, as well as other compartments, flooded, and she began to list to starboard. All moveable objects were secured and the port engine room flooded to stop the list from increasing. Sometimes only her upper deck was above water.
_heavy_fittings_removed_1906.jpg)
The Royal Navy had no experience of salvage and no salvage arm. They had been impressed by the Russian success in recovering major warships damaged at the Battle of Port Arthur
and had studied a book by Frederick Young of the Liverpool Salvage Company, later to become Commodore Sir Frederic Young, the Admiralty's first Chief salvage Officer. The commander of the Home and Channel fleets Admiral Sir Arthur Wilson took charge of the operation with Young appointed as advisor. Not unnaturally as the officer in command, Wilson wanted to try his own ideas, many of which Young regarded as “wrong, impractical or both”.
From June through August 1906, Montagu was lightened through the removal of her 12-inch (305-mm) and 6-inch (152-mm) guns, heavy machinery, parts of her boilers, heavy fittings, and some of her bow armour. Neither pumping nor attempts to blow water out of her machinery spaces using compressed air had any effect, and nothing that salvage experts tried succeeded in refloating the ship. Her sister ship HMS Duncan
herself ran aground whilst trying to help the salvage effort.
Wilson’s final idea was to fill the ship with cork which Young predicted would block the salvage pumps and the “battleship was lost needlessly”.
At the end of the summer of 1906, salvage efforts were suspended for the year, with plans to resume them in 1907. However, an inspection of the ship conducted from 1 October to 10 October 1906 found that the action of the sea was driving her further ashore and bending and warping her hull so that her seams were beginning to open, her deck planking was coming apart, and her boat davits had collapsed.
The Liverpool Salvage Company was given full responsibility for partial salvage .
A guard was put aboard to prevent looting; later, the guard was taken off and replaced by men in boats and ashore. By 1907, however, Montagu was in such bad shape that any hope of salvaging her was abandoned. The Western Marine Salvage Company of Penzance
completed salvage of the wreck for scrap metal over the next 15 years.
Although diving clubs still visit the site of Montagus wreck, all that remains there is armor plate plus a few live 12-inch (305-millimetre) shells on the sea bed. Four wooden panels from the captain's cabin are displayed in the Ilfracombe
museum.
The Montagu Steps, which subsequently appeared on OS maps, were constructed adjacent to the wreck during the salvage.
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...
.
In May 1906 in thick fog, she was wrecked on Lundy Island, fortunately without loss of life.
Although she would soon have been obsolescent if she had not been wrecked, this loss of one of its newest battleships was a blow to the Royal Navy, then in the early stages of the Naval Arms Race with Germany.
Technical description
HMS Montagu was laid down at Devonport DockyardHMNB Devonport
Her Majesty's Naval Base Devonport , is one of three operating bases in the United Kingdom for the Royal Navy . HMNB Devonport is located in Devonport, in the west of the city of Plymouth in Devon, England...
on 23 November 1899 and launched on 5 March 1901. She began trials in February 1903.
Montagu and her five sisters of the Duncan class were ordered in response to large French
French Navy
The French Navy, officially the Marine nationale and often called La Royale is the maritime arm of the French military. It includes a full range of fighting vessels, from patrol boats to a nuclear powered aircraft carrier and 10 nuclear-powered submarines, four of which are capable of launching...
and Russian building programmes, including an emphasis on fast battleships in the Russian programmes; Montagu and her sisters were designed as smaller, more lightly armoured, and faster versions of the preceding Formidable class. As it turned out, the Russian ships were not as heavily armed as initially feared, and the Montagu and the other Duncans proved to be quite superior in their balance of speed, firepower, and protection.
Montagu had an armour layout similar to that of the preceding London subclass of the Formidable class, with reduced thickness in 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 and belt.
Montagu and her sisters had machinery of 3,000 more indicated horsepower than the Formidables and Londons and were the first British battleships with 4-cylinder triple-expansion engines. They also had a modified hull form to improve speed. The Duncans had a reputation as good steamers, with a designed speed of 19 knots (37.2 km/h) and an operational speed of 18 knots (35.3 km/h), good steering at all speeds, and an easy roll. They were the fastest battleships in the Royal Navy when completed, and the fastest predreadnoughts ever built other than the Swiftsure-class
Swiftsure class battleship
The Swiftsure class was a class of two British pre-dreadnought battleships. Originally ordered by Chile, they were purchased by the United Kingdom prior to completion.-Background:...
HMS Swiftsure
HMS Swiftsure (1903)
HMS Swiftsure was the lead ship of the Swiftsure class of British predreadnought battleships.-Technical Characteristics:HMS Swiftsure was ordered by Chile as Constitución and laid down by Armstrong Whitworth at Elswick...
and HMS Triumph
HMS Triumph (1903)
HMS Triumph was a Swiftsure class pre-dreadnought battleship of the Royal Navy.-Technical characteristics:HMS Triumph was ordered by Chile as Libertad, laid down by Vickers at Barrow-in-Furness on 26 February 1902, and launched on 12 January 1903...
.
Montagu and her sister ships had the same armament as and a smaller displacement than the Formidables and Londons.
As a predreadnought, Montagu would have been outclassed by the dreadnought
Dreadnought
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...
battleships that began to appear at the end of 1906, but she was lost that year, several months before HMS Dreadnought
HMS Dreadnought (1906)
HMS Dreadnought was a battleship of the British Royal Navy that revolutionised naval power. Her entry into service in 1906 represented such a marked advance in naval technology that her name came to be associated with an entire generation of battleships, the "dreadnoughts", as well as the class of...
's commissioning ushered in the new battleship era.
Operational history
HMS Montagu commissioned on 28 July 1903 at Devonport DockyardHMNB Devonport
Her Majesty's Naval Base Devonport , is one of three operating bases in the United Kingdom for the Royal Navy . HMNB Devonport is located in Devonport, in the west of the city of Plymouth in Devon, England...
for service in the Mediterranean Fleet
Mediterranean Fleet
Several countries have or have had a Mediterranean Fleet in their navy. See:* Mediterranean Fleet * French Mediterranean Fleet* Mediterranean Squadron * United States Sixth Fleet...
. In February 1905, she transferred to the Channel Fleet
Channel Fleet
The Channel Fleet was the Royal Navy formation of warships that defended the waters of the English Channel from 1690 to 1909.-History:The Channel Fleet dates back at least to 1690 when its role was to defend England against the French threat under the leadership of Edward Russell, 1st Earl of...
.
Bristol Channel
The Bristol Channel is a major inlet in the island of Great Britain, separating South Wales from Devon and Somerset in South West England. It extends from the lower estuary of the River Severn to the North Atlantic Ocean...
when she ran into Shutter Rock on the southwest corner of Lundy Island. The force of impact was so great that her foremast was raked forward. The ship settled hard aground, with many holes in her hull, the worst of which was a 91 feet (27.7 m) long gash in her starboard side.
The ship's captain, believing Montagu was stuck at Hartland Point
Hartland Point
Hartland Point is a high rocky outcrop of land on the northwestern tip of the Devon coast in England. It is three miles north-west of the village of Hartland. The point marks the western limit of the Bristol Channel with the Atlantic Ocean continuing to the west...
on the mainland of England, sent a party on a rowing boat to the north, instructing them to contact the Hartland Point Lighthouse
Hartland Point Lighthouse
Hartland Point Lighthouse is a Grade II listed building at Hartland Point, Devon, England. The point marks the western limit of the Bristol Channel with the Atlantic Ocean continuing to the west....
. They instead got to the North light on Lundy Island, where officers asked the lighthouse
Lighthouse
A lighthouse is a tower, building, or other type of structure designed to emit light from a system of lamps and lenses or, in older times, from a fire, and used as an aid to navigation for maritime pilots at sea or on inland waterways....
keeper to inform the British Admiralty that they were aground south of Hartland Point. An argument ensued with the keeper until he pointed out he knew what lighthouse he kept.
The court martial convened for the affair blamed the thick fog and faulty navigation for the wreck, and her captain, Thomas B. S. Adair, and navigating officer, Lieutenant J. H. Dathan, were severely reprimanded and dismissed from the service, Dathan losing two years' seniority.
Salvage attempts
It quickly became apparent that the damage to Montagu was even worse than initially feared. Divers went over the side at daybreak and found that a rock had pushed the hull 10 feet (3 m) inward. Help arrived on the afternoon of 30 May 1906, but the ship settled in such a way that water rose and fell through the holes in her hull; within 24 hours her boiler rooms, steering compartment, starboard engine room, and forward capstanCapstan (nautical)
A capstan is a vertical-axled rotating machine developed for use on sailing ships to apply force to ropes, cables, and hawsers. The principle is similar to that of the windlass, which has a horizontal axle.- History :...
engine room, as well as other compartments, flooded, and she began to list to starboard. All moveable objects were secured and the port engine room flooded to stop the list from increasing. Sometimes only her upper deck was above water.
Battle of Port Arthur
The Battle of Port Arthur was the starting battle of the Russo-Japanese War...
and had studied a book by Frederick Young of the Liverpool Salvage Company, later to become Commodore Sir Frederic Young, the Admiralty's first Chief salvage Officer. The commander of the Home and Channel fleets Admiral Sir Arthur Wilson took charge of the operation with Young appointed as advisor. Not unnaturally as the officer in command, Wilson wanted to try his own ideas, many of which Young regarded as “wrong, impractical or both”.
From June through August 1906, Montagu was lightened through the removal of her 12-inch (305-mm) and 6-inch (152-mm) guns, heavy machinery, parts of her boilers, heavy fittings, and some of her bow armour. Neither pumping nor attempts to blow water out of her machinery spaces using compressed air had any effect, and nothing that salvage experts tried succeeded in refloating the ship. Her sister ship HMS Duncan
HMS Duncan (1901)
HMS Duncan was the lead ship of the six-ship Duncan class of Royal Navy predreadnought battleships.-Technical Description:HMS Duncan was laid down by Thames Ironworks and Shipbuilding Company, Leamouth, on 10 July 1899, launched on 21 March 1901, and completed in October 1903.Duncan and her five...
herself ran aground whilst trying to help the salvage effort.
Wilson’s final idea was to fill the ship with cork which Young predicted would block the salvage pumps and the “battleship was lost needlessly”.
At the end of the summer of 1906, salvage efforts were suspended for the year, with plans to resume them in 1907. However, an inspection of the ship conducted from 1 October to 10 October 1906 found that the action of the sea was driving her further ashore and bending and warping her hull so that her seams were beginning to open, her deck planking was coming apart, and her boat davits had collapsed.
The Liverpool Salvage Company was given full responsibility for partial salvage .
A guard was put aboard to prevent looting; later, the guard was taken off and replaced by men in boats and ashore. By 1907, however, Montagu was in such bad shape that any hope of salvaging her was abandoned. The Western Marine Salvage Company of Penzance
Penzance
Penzance is a town, civil parish, and port in Cornwall, England, in the United Kingdom. It is the most westerly major town in Cornwall and is approximately 75 miles west of Plymouth and 300 miles west-southwest of London...
completed salvage of the wreck for scrap metal over the next 15 years.
Although diving clubs still visit the site of Montagus wreck, all that remains there is armor plate plus a few live 12-inch (305-millimetre) shells on the sea bed. Four wooden panels from the captain's cabin are displayed in the Ilfracombe
Ilfracombe
Ilfracombe is a seaside resort and civil parish on the North Devon coast, England with a small harbour, surrounded by cliffs.The parish stretches along the coast from 'The Coastguard Cottages' in Hele Bay toward the east and 4 miles along The Torrs to Lee Bay toward the west...
museum.
The Montagu Steps, which subsequently appeared on OS maps, were constructed adjacent to the wreck during the salvage.