HMS Prince George (1895)
Encyclopedia
HMS Prince George was a Majestic-class
Majestic class battleship
The Majestic class was a class of pre-dreadnought battleships, built under the Spencer Programme of 8 December 1893, that sought to counter the growing naval strength of France and the Russian Empire...
predreadnought 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...
launched in 1895. She was named after the future George V of the United Kingdom
George V of the United Kingdom
George V was King of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions, and Emperor of India, from 6 May 1910 through the First World War until his death in 1936....
and was the fourth and final ship to bear that name
HMS Prince George
Four ships of the Royal Navy have been named HMS Prince George:*HMS Prince George was a 90-gun second-rate ship of the line. She was launched in 1682 as HMS Duke but was rebuilt and renamed in 1701 after the future George II of Great Britain...
.
Technical description
HMS Prince George was laid down at Portsmouth Dockyard on 10 September 1894 and launched on 22 August 1895. The naming ceremony at the launch was performed by the Duchess of YorkMary of Teck
Mary of Teck was the queen consort of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions, and Empress of India, as the wife of King-Emperor George V....
, wife of Prince George. She began trials in September 1896 and was completed in November 1896
When the lead ship of the class, HMS Majestic
HMS Majestic (1895)
HMS Majestic was a Majestic-class predreadnought battleship of the Royal Navy.-Technical characteristics:HMS Majestic was laid down at Portsmouth Dockyard on 5 February 1894 and launched on 31 January 1895...
, was launched in 1895, at 421 ft (128.3 m) long and with a full-load displacement of 16,000 tons, she was the largest battleship ever built at the time. The Majestics were considered good seaboats with an easy roll and good steamers, although they suffered from high fuel consumption. Prince George began life as a coal-burner, but was converted to burn fuel oil by 1907-1908. Prince George and her sisters were the last British battleships to have side-by-side funnels, successor classes having funnels in a line.
Prince George had a new design in which the bridge was mounted around the base of the foremast behind the conning tower to prevent a battle-damaged bridge from collapsing around the tower. Prince George and six of her sisters had pear-shaped barbettes and fixed loading positions for the main guns, although her sisters Caesar
HMS Caesar (1896)
HMS Caesar was a Majestic-class pre-dreadnought battleship of the Royal Navy, named after the Roman military and political leader Julius Caesar.-Technical description:...
and Illustrious
HMS Illustrious (1896)
The third HMS Illustrious of the British Royal Navy was a Majestic-class pre-dreadnought battleship launched in 1896. She was in front-line service during the final years of the 19th century and early 20th century...
had circular barbettes and all-around loading for their main guns, which established the pattern for future classes.
Prince George and the other Majestic-class ships had 9 inches (229 mm) of Harvey armour, which allowed equal protection with less cost in weight compared to previous types of armour. This allowed Prince George and her sisters to have a deeper and lighter belt than previous battleships without any loss in protection. She was divided into 150 watertight compartments.
The Majestics boasted a new gun, the 46-ton 12-inch (305-mm) 35-caliber Mk VIII
BL 12 inch naval gun Mk VIII
The BL 12 inch naval gun Mark VIII was one of the first large British naval guns designed for the higher pressures generated by the new cordite propellant, and Britain's first large wire-wound gun...
, the first new British battleships to mount a 12-inch (305-mm) main battery since the 1880s. One hundred thirteen miles (182 km) of wire were wrapped around each gun barrel, and each gun took nine months to manufacture. Prince George carried four such guns in two 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 (one forwad and one aft) with up to 400 rounds for each. The new gun, which would be the standard main armament of British battleships for sixteen years, was a significant improvement on the 13.5-inch (343-mm) gun which had been fitted on the Admiral
Admiral class battleship
The British Royal Navy's pre-dreadnought Admiral class battleships of the 1880s followed the pattern of the Devastation class in having the main armament on centre-line mounts with the superstructure in between. This pattern was followed by most following British designs until in 1906...
and Royal Sovereign
Royal Sovereign class battleship
The Royal Sovereign class was a class of pre-dreadnought battleships of the British Royal Navy. The class comprised seven ships built to the same design: HMS Royal Sovereign, , HMS Ramilles, HMS Repulse, HMS Resolution, HMS Revenge, and HMS Royal Oak, and a half-sister built to a modified design: ....
classes that preceded the Majestics. and was lighter. This saving in weight allowed Prince George to carry a secondary battery of twelve 6-inch (152-mm) 40-caliber guns, a larger secondary armament than in previous classes. She also had four submerged torpedo tubes in the bow and one above water in the stern.
Pre-World War I
HMS Prince George commissioned at Portsmouth Dockyard on 26 November 1896 to serve with the Channel FleetChannel 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...
. She was present at both the Fleet Review at Spithead
Spithead
Spithead is an area of the Solent and a roadstead off Gilkicker Point in Hampshire, England. It is protected from all winds, except those from the southeast...
for the Diamond Jubilee
Diamond Jubilee
A Diamond Jubilee is a celebration held to mark a 60th anniversary in the case of a person or a 75th anniversary in the case of an event.- Thailand :...
of Queen Victoria on 26 June 1897 and the Coronation Fleet Review for King Edward VII on 16 August 1902.
On 17 October 1903, Prince George was badly damaged when her sister ship HMS Hannibal
HMS Hannibal (1896)
HMS Hannibal was a Majestic class pre-dreadnought battleship and the sixth ship to bear the name HMS Hannibal.-Technical characteristics:...
rammed her in heavy seas at 9 knots off Spain
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
, punching a large hole below the waterline on Prince George's starboard quarter. Prince George was in danger of sinking for several hours, but managed to make it to Ferrol, steering with her engines and with her sternwalk awash. After temporary repairs at Ferrol, she departed on 24 October 1903 for Portsmouth, where her repairs were completed.
Prince George ended her Channel Fleet service in July 1904, and began a refit at Portsmouth. Upon its completion, she commissioned into the reserve there on 3 January 1905. On 14 February 1905, she commissioned for service with the Atlantic Fleet, which had been the Channel Fleet until a fleet reorganization on 1 January 1905. On 3 March 1905 she collided with the German armored cruiser
Armored cruiser
The armored cruiser was a type of warship of the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Like other types of cruiser, the armored cruiser was a long-range, independent warship, capable of defeating any ship apart from a battleship, and fast enough to outrun any battleships it encountered.The first...
Friederich Karl at Gibraltar
Gibraltar
Gibraltar is a British overseas territory located on the southern end of the Iberian Peninsula at the entrance of the Mediterranean. A peninsula with an area of , it has a northern border with Andalusia, Spain. The Rock of Gibraltar is the major landmark of the region...
without serious damage.
On 17 July 1905, Prince George transferred to the new Channel Fleet, ending this service on 4 March 1907 when she paid off at Portsmouth.
Prince George recommissioned on 5 March 1907 to serve as 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...
of the Commander-in-Chief, Portsmouth Division of the new Home Fleet which had been organized in January 1907. On 5 December 1907 she collided with armored cruiser HMS Shannon
HMS Shannon (1906)
HMS Shannon was a ship of the Minotaur-class of armoured cruiser of the Royal Navy.-Career:She was built at Chatham and launched on 20 September 1906. She served in the First World War with her sisters and fought at Jutland, where she was captained by John S. Dumaresq...
at Portsmouth, sustaining significant damage to her deck plating and boat davits. She was relieved as flagship in February 1909, and from March 1909 to December 1909 she underwent a refit at Portsmouth, during which she had radio installed.
Prince George was reduced to a nucleus crew and placed in the commissioned reserve in December 1910. She moved to Devonport
Devonport, Devon
Devonport, formerly named Plymouth Dock or just Dock, is a district of Plymouth in the English county of Devon, although it was, at one time, the more important settlement. It became a county borough in 1889...
in 1911.
In June 1912 Prince George became part of the 7th Battle Squadron, 3rd Fleet.
As battleship
Upon the outbreak of World War IWorld 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...
in Prince George returned to full commission on 8 August 1914 and briefly was the squadron's first flagship, until relieved in this role by battleship HMS Vengeance
HMS Vengeance (1899)
HMS Vengeance was a Royal Navy predreadnought battleship of the Canopus class.-Technical Characteristics:HMS Vengeance was laid down by Vickers at Barrow-in-Furness on 23 August 1898 and launched on 25 July 1899. Her completion was delayed by damage to the fitting-out dock, and she was not...
on 15 August 1914. On 25 August 1914, Prince George covered the passage of the Plymouth Marine Division to Ostend
Ostend
Ostend is a Belgian city and municipality located in the Flemish province of West Flanders. It comprises the boroughs of Mariakerke , Stene and Zandvoorde, and the city of Ostend proper – the largest on the Belgian coast....
, Belgium
Belgium
Belgium , officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a federal state in Western Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts the EU's headquarters, and those of several other major international organisations such as NATO.Belgium is also a member of, or affiliated to, many...
, and in September 1914 she covered the movement of the British Expeditionary Force from England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
to France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
.
Dardanelles campaign
Prince George's Channel Fleet service ended in February 1915 when she transferred to the Dardanelles
Dardanelles
The Dardanelles , formerly known as the Hellespont, is a narrow strait in northwestern Turkey connecting the Aegean Sea to the Sea of Marmara. It is one of the Turkish Straits, along with its counterpart the Bosphorus. It is located at approximately...
for service in the Dardanelles campaign
Naval operations in the Dardanelles Campaign
The naval operations in the Dardanelles Campaign of the First World War were mainly carried out by the Royal Navy with substantial support from the French and minor contributions from Russia and Australia. The Dardanelles Campaign began as a purely naval operation...
as a "mine-bumper". She arrived at Tenedos
Tenedos
Tenedos or Bozcaada or Bozdja-Ada is a small island in the Aegean Sea, part of the Bozcaada district of Çanakkale province in Turkey. , Tenedos has a population of about 2,354. The main industries are tourism, wine production and fishing...
on 1 March 1915, which would be her base until February 1916. She took part in attacks on Ottoman Turkish
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...
forts covering the Turkish Straits
Turkish Straits
The term Turkish Straits refers to the two narrow straits in northwestern Turkey, the Bosphorus and the Dardanelles, that connect the Sea of Marmara with the Black Sea on one side and the Aegean arm of the Mediterranean Sea on the other. They are conventionally considered the boundary between the...
on 5 March 1915 and 18 March 1915. On 3 May 1915, while firing Turkish batteries, she took a 6-inch (152-mm) hit below the waterline, and returned to 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...
for repairs.
Prince George was back in action on 12 July 1915 and 13 July 1915, supporting French
French Army
The French Army, officially the Armée de Terre , is the land-based and largest component of the French Armed Forces.As of 2010, the army employs 123,100 regulars, 18,350 part-time reservists and 7,700 Legionnaires. All soldiers are professionals, following the suspension of conscription, voted in...
troops with gunfire support from off of Krithia
Krithia
Krithia is a small Turkish village in the Eceabat District ofÇanakkale Province, Turkey, about 4 miles from the tip of the Gelibolu Peninsula....
and Achi Baba
Achi Baba
Achi Baba is a height dominating the Gallipoli Peninsula in Turkey.Achi Baba was the main position of the Ottoman Turkish defenses in 1915 during the World War I Gallipoli campaign.-References:...
. On 18 December 1915 and 19 December 1915 she covered the evacuation of Allied troops from Suvla Bay, and the evacuation from West Beach on 8 January 1916 and 9 January 1916; she was hit by a torpedo off Cape Helles
Cape Helles
Cape Helles is the rocky headland at the south-westernmost tip of the Gallipoli peninsula, Turkey. It was the scene of heavy fighting between Turkish and British troops during the landing at Cape Helles at the beginning of the Gallipoli Campaign in 1915....
on 9 January 1916, but it failed to explode and she suffered no damage. She was at Salonika in January and February 1916.
Subsidiary duties
Prince George left the MediterraneanMediterranean Sea
The Mediterranean Sea is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean surrounded by the Mediterranean region and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Anatolia and Europe, on the south by North Africa, and on the east by the Levant...
at the end of February 1916 and paid off at Chatham Dockyard
Chatham Dockyard
Chatham Dockyard, located on the River Medway and of which two-thirds is in Gillingham and one third in Chatham, Kent, England, came into existence at the time when, following the Reformation, relations with the Catholic countries of Europe had worsened, leading to a requirement for additional...
in March 1916 to provide crews for antisubmarine vessels. She remained at Chatham in a care and maintenance status through February 1918, serving as an auxiliary sickbay and in other subsidiary duties, then served as an accommodation ship there from March to May 1918.
In May 1918, Prince George began a refit a Chatham for conversion to a 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...
depot ship
Depot ship
A depot ship is a ship which acts as a mobile or fixed base for other ships and submarines or supports a naval base. Depot ships may be specifically designed for their purpose or be converted from another purpose...
. She was renamed Victorious II in September 1918 and emerged from refit in October 1918. She was then attached to repair ship (her sister ship and former battleship) HMS Victorious
HMS Victorious (1895)
HMS Victorious was one of nine Majestic-class predreadnought battleships of the British Royal Navy.-Technical characteristics:HMS Victorious was laid down at Chatham Dockyard on 28 May 1894 and launched on 19 October 1895...
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...
, where she served as a depot ship to destroyers of the Grand Fleet.
She reverted to the name Prince George in February 1919, and in March 1919 transferred to Sheerness
Sheerness
Sheerness is a town located beside the mouth of the River Medway on the northwest corner of the Isle of Sheppey in north Kent, England. With a population of 12,000 it is the largest town on the island....
to serve as depot ship to destroyers based on the Medway
Medway
Medway is a conurbation and unitary authority in South East England. The Unitary Authority was formed in 1998 when the City of Rochester-upon-Medway amalgamated with Gillingham Borough Council and part of Kent County Council to form Medway Council, a unitary authority independent of Kent County...
.
Disposal
Prince George was placed on the disposal list at Sheerness on 21 February 1920, and was sold for scrapping to a British firm on 22 September 1921. She was resold to a German firm in December 1921, and departed for GermanyGermany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
for scrapping. During the voyage, Prince George was wrecked on 30 December 1921 off Camperduin
Camperduin
Camperduin is a small village in the Dutch province of North Holland. It is a part of the municipality of Bergen, and lies about 12 km northwest of Alkmaar....
, the Netherlands
Netherlands
The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
. She subsequently was stripped of valuable materials and left as a breakwater, remaining there to this day.