Nelson class battleship
Encyclopedia
The Nelson class was a class
of two battleship
s (Nelson and Rodney) of the British
Royal Navy
, built shortly after, and under the terms of, the Washington Naval Treaty
of 1922. They were the only British battleships built between the Revenge class
(ordered in 1913) and the King George V class
, ordered in 1936.
The ships were named after famous British admiral
s: George Brydges Rodney, 1st Baron Rodney
of the Battle of Cape St. Vincent
and Horatio Nelson, 1st Viscount Nelson
of the Battles of the Nile
and Trafalgar
.
To comply with the limitations of the Washington treaty, these ships were of an unusual design with many novel features. They are often referred to as the first treaty battleship
s. The Nelsons were unique in British battleship construction, being the only ships to carry a main armament of 16 inches (406 mm) guns. These were all carried forward.
Commissioned in 1927-30, the Nelsons served extensively in the Atlantic, Mediterranean, and Indian oceans during World War II
. Rodney was made famous by her significant role in the sinking of the German battleship Bismarck
in May 1941. The two ships were scrapped in 1948-49.
had shown the value of firepower
and protection
over speed and manoeuvrability.
The next generation of British warships incorporated this lesson. After the First World War
, the Admiralty
drew up plans for massive, heavily armoured battlecruiser
s and battleships, far larger and stronger than all previous vessels. The G3 battlecruiser
s would carry 16 inches (406 mm) guns, and the proposed N3 battleships would carry nine 18 inches (457 mm) gun
s, and would be the most powerful vessels afloat. The Royal Navy was planning to hold its superiority in the burgeoning arms race, despite the large warships planned in Japan
and the United States
.
Development was abruptly curtailed by the Washington Naval Treaty
of 1922, which brought the arms race to a halt. The four battlecruisers that had been ordered were cancelled. Some of the material acquired would later be used in Nelson and Rodney. The Treaty limited all nations' battleships to 35,000 tons and 16-inch guns. The British had successfully ensured that the definition of maximum displacement - the "standard displacement" - excluded both fuel and boiler feed water. They had argued that policing the widespread British Empire
meant their ships had to carry more of both and they should not be penalised against nations, such as France and Italy, that operated much closer to their naval bases. As a result, water-filled internal anti-torpedo bulges
could be incorporated, contributing only the "dry" (standard) weights and therefore not to the treaty limits.
The limits of the treaty inevitably led to compromises in the design of two new ships, and the resulting Nelson class sacrificed installed power (and hence speed) in order that they be well-armed and defended. They were often referred to as the "Cherry Tree class", because they had been "cut down by Washington". The need to limit displacement resulted in a radical new warship design, drawing from the G3 and N3 designs. In order to reduce the weight of armour, the main gun turrets were mounted all forward, shortening the necessary armoured length. The G3 and N3s had put the two turrets forward of and one behind the bridge, but in the Nelsons, this was taken to extremes, and all three were in front of the bridge; 'B' was mounted superfiring over 'A', with 'X' turret at the main deck level behind 'B', and therefore unable to fire directly forward or aft. The secondary guns were placed in weatherproof, director-controlled turrets at the main deck level and were grouped aft - another innovative element borrowed from the G3 and N3 design.
Armour weight was also limited by using an internal, inclined armour belt. The slope increased the relative width of the belt to a striking projectile. The internal disposition was intended to provide a low-resistance path in order to vent torpedo explosions out of the ship via displaceable plates, although this feature would prove to be unsuccessful. The external hull of the ship was unarmoured: the outer plating was meant to initiate detonation of shells which would then explode outside the armour. The armour scheme was of the "all or nothing
" principle; areas were either well protected or were not protected at all, disposing of the multiple intermediate thickness of armour seen in older designs. For the first time a British battleship had a single, thick armoured deck to protect against plunging shells and aircraft-dropped bombs.
The machinery was of necessity limited in weight, size and installed power, and there were only two shafts; all previous British battleships since of 1906 had four. In order that flue gasses be kept clear of the superstructure, the boiler rooms were moved behind the engine rooms, exhausting into a single funnel - another feature unique in British battleships. As a gesture to the limited power, the hull was of an efficient hydrodynamic form, to gain the best possible speed.
The large superstructure, which was triangular in plan, was sometimes referred to as the "Queen Anne's Mansions", from its similarity to a 14-storey brick residential development of the same name, opposite St. James's Park underground railway station
in London. The superstructure provided spacious, weatherproof working spaces for the navigating officers and any flag officers embarked. Other than an emergency conning tower at its base, and the trunking for the main gun directors mounted on top, it was lightly armoured against splinters only, to save weight. Weight-saving measures included the use of light materials such as aluminium for fittings, and fir
instead of teak
for deck planking, although in practice teak decks were fitted in the 1920s, following concerns that the ships could not fire a full broadside without causing structural damage to the decks.
The Nelson class was a compromise design, and unsurprisingly there were shortcomings. The rear location of the superstructure caused manoeuvrability problems in high wind
s, with the superstructure acting as something of a sail
, causing the ships to "weathervane" when steaming at low speeds. This was a particularly dangerous problem in crowded harbours, and the ships were difficult to dock and embark. They were also difficult to turn, and hard to steer when steaming astern. This is attributable to having twin screws and a single centre rudder which was out of the propeller race. However at sea they were reported to handle well.
The inclined armour disposition increased the danger of shells diving under the armour belt. With wave motion along the side of the ship, with the ship rolling, or with a list caused by damage, the ship would have been at risk of shells passing almost unhindered into its vitals. In publicly-released information, the Admiralty
always showed the inclined armour to be much deeper than was actually the case.
Their main armament of 16 inches (406 mm) guns were mounted in triple turrets, the only RN battleships with this feature. The guns themselves were a step away from standard British designs. Where previous RN weapons fired heavy shells at a moderate velocity, the Nelsons weapons followed the German practice of a lighter shell at a higher velocity. This change in policy was due to British post-war testing of German equipment, although subsequent testing proved contradictory and these weapons were never considered to be as successful as the previous BL 15 inch Mark I
. The guns suffered considerable barrel wear and had a large dispersion pattern. As a result their muzzle velocities were lowered which reduced their penetrative power. A heavier shell was needed to offset this, but the cost of producing new shells, and modifying shell handling and storage equipment, had come at a time when RN funding had been heavily reduced. The need to reduce weight and the use of triple mount turrets led to problems with the ammunition handling and loading machinery. The incorporation of many safety features achieved with lighter materials meant that the complex but relatively fragile equipment had to be worked on constantly over the ships' lifetime.These ships were fitted with the HACS
AA fire control system and the Admiralty Fire Control Table
Mk I for surface fire control of the main armament.
Finally, the blast of the guns disrupted officers on the bridge to such an extent that the guns were usually prohibited from firing abaft of the beam. A great deal of effort was expended in correcting this problem, and no solution was ever found; fitting tempered glass in the bridge window ports was tried, but gun blast shattered them and filled the bridge with flying debris. Blast was also a problem elsewhere; D.K. Brown tells of a firing test that was suspended when monitors beneath the foredeck reported a bright red flash after firing. This was later discovered to be caused by concussion of the monitors' eyeballs.
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Because of their unusual silhouette, HMS Nelson and her sister Rodney were sarcastically nicknamed Nelsol and Rodnol by the Royal Navy - their manoeuvrability issues and single-funnelled silhouettes reminded Navy men of oil tankers
, and a series of fleet oilers had been built during the First World War that bore names ending in "ol".
There is a long-standing rumour that the ships could not fire a full broadside
without risk of structural damage. This was disproved in Rodney's action with the German battleship Bismarck
, where broadsides were fired without adverse effect.
Ship 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....
of two 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...
s (Nelson and Rodney) of the British
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
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...
, built shortly after, and under the terms of, the Washington Naval Treaty
Washington Naval Treaty
The Washington Naval Treaty, also known as the Five-Power Treaty, was an attempt to cap and limit, and "prevent 'further' costly escalation" of the naval arms race that had begun after World War I between various International powers, each of which had significant naval fleets. The treaty was...
of 1922. They were the only British battleships built between the Revenge class
Revenge class battleship
The Revenge class battleships were five battleships of the Royal Navy, ordered as World War I loomed on the horizon, and launched in 1914–1916...
(ordered in 1913) and the King George V class
King George V class battleship (1939)
The King George V-class battleships were the most modern British battleships used during World War II. Five ships of this class were built and commissioned: King George V , Prince of Wales , Duke of York , Howe , and Anson .The Washington Naval Treaty of 1922 limiting all of the number,...
, ordered in 1936.
The ships were named after famous British 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"...
s: George Brydges Rodney, 1st Baron Rodney
George Brydges Rodney, 1st Baron Rodney
George Brydges Rodney, 1st Baron Rodney, KB was a British naval officer. He is best known for his commands in the American War of Independence, particularly his victory over the French at the Battle of the Saintes in 1782...
of the Battle of Cape St. Vincent
Battle of Cape St. Vincent (1780)
The naval Battle of Cape St Vincent, took place off the coast of Portugal on 16 January 1780 during the American War of Independence. A British fleet under Admiral Sir George Rodney defeated a Spanish squadron under Don Juan de Lángara. The battle is sometimes referred to as the Moonlight Battle,...
and Horatio Nelson, 1st Viscount Nelson
Horatio Nelson, 1st Viscount Nelson
Horatio Nelson, 1st Viscount Nelson, 1st Duke of Bronté, KB was a flag officer famous for his service in the Royal Navy, particularly during the Napoleonic Wars. He was noted for his inspirational leadership and superb grasp of strategy and unconventional tactics, which resulted in a number of...
of the Battles of the Nile
Battle of the Nile
The Battle of the Nile was a major naval battle fought between British and French fleets at Aboukir Bay on the Mediterranean coast of Egypt from 1–3 August 1798...
and Trafalgar
Battle of Trafalgar
The Battle of Trafalgar was a sea battle fought between the British Royal Navy and the combined fleets of the French Navy and Spanish Navy, during the War of the Third Coalition of the Napoleonic Wars ....
.
To comply with the limitations of the Washington treaty, these ships were of an unusual design with many novel features. They are often referred to as the first treaty battleship
Treaty battleship
A treaty battleship was a battleship built in the 1920s or 1930s under the terms of one of a number of international treaties governing warship construction...
s. The Nelsons were unique in British battleship construction, being the only ships to carry a main armament of 16 inches (406 mm) guns. These were all carried forward.
Commissioned in 1927-30, the Nelsons served extensively in the Atlantic, Mediterranean, and Indian oceans during World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
. Rodney was made famous by her significant role in the sinking of the German battleship Bismarck
German battleship Bismarck
Bismarck was the first of two s built for the German Kriegsmarine during World War II. Named after Chancellor Otto von Bismarck, the primary force behind the German unification in 1871, the ship was laid down at the Blohm & Voss shipyard in Hamburg in July 1936 and launched nearly three years later...
in May 1941. The two ships were scrapped in 1948-49.
History and design
The Battle of JutlandBattle 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...
had shown the value of firepower
Fire power
Firepower is the military capability to direct force at an enemy. It is not to be confused with the concept of rate of fire, which describes cycling of the firing mechanism in a weapon system. It involves the whole range of potential weapons...
and protection
Armour
Armour or armor is protective covering used to prevent damage from being inflicted to an object, individual or a vehicle through use of direct contact weapons or projectiles, usually during combat, or from damage caused by a potentially dangerous environment or action...
over speed and manoeuvrability.
The next generation of British warships incorporated this lesson. After 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...
, the Admiralty
Admiralty
The Admiralty was formerly the authority in the Kingdom of England, and later in the United Kingdom, responsible for the command of the Royal Navy...
drew up plans for massive, heavily armoured 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 and battleships, far larger and stronger than all previous vessels. The G3 battlecruiser
G3 battlecruiser
The G3 battlecruisers were a class of battlecruisers planned by the Royal Navy after the end of World War I in response to naval expansion programs by the United States and Japan. The four ships of this class would have been larger, faster and more heavily-armed than any existing battleship...
s would carry 16 inches (406 mm) guns, and the proposed N3 battleships would carry nine 18 inches (457 mm) gun
Gun
A gun is a muzzle or breech-loaded projectile-firing weapon. There are various definitions depending on the nation and branch of service. A "gun" may be distinguished from other firearms in being a crew-served weapon such as a howitzer or mortar, as opposed to a small arm like a rifle or pistol,...
s, and would be the most powerful vessels afloat. The Royal Navy was planning to hold its superiority in the burgeoning arms race, despite the large warships planned in Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
and the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
.
Development was abruptly curtailed by the Washington Naval Treaty
Washington Naval Treaty
The Washington Naval Treaty, also known as the Five-Power Treaty, was an attempt to cap and limit, and "prevent 'further' costly escalation" of the naval arms race that had begun after World War I between various International powers, each of which had significant naval fleets. The treaty was...
of 1922, which brought the arms race to a halt. The four battlecruisers that had been ordered were cancelled. Some of the material acquired would later be used in Nelson and Rodney. The Treaty limited all nations' battleships to 35,000 tons and 16-inch guns. The British had successfully ensured that the definition of maximum displacement - the "standard displacement" - excluded both fuel and boiler feed water. They had argued that policing the widespread British Empire
British Empire
The British Empire comprised the dominions, colonies, protectorates, mandates and other territories ruled or administered by the United Kingdom. It originated with the overseas colonies and trading posts established by England in the late 16th and early 17th centuries. At its height, it was the...
meant their ships had to carry more of both and they should not be penalised against nations, such as France and Italy, that operated much closer to their naval bases. As a result, water-filled internal anti-torpedo bulges
Anti-torpedo bulge
The anti-torpedo bulge is a form of passive defence against naval torpedoes that featured in warship construction in the period between the First and Second World Wars.-Theory and form:...
could be incorporated, contributing only the "dry" (standard) weights and therefore not to the treaty limits.
The limits of the treaty inevitably led to compromises in the design of two new ships, and the resulting Nelson class sacrificed installed power (and hence speed) in order that they be well-armed and defended. They were often referred to as the "Cherry Tree class", because they had been "cut down by Washington". The need to limit displacement resulted in a radical new warship design, drawing from the G3 and N3 designs. In order to reduce the weight of armour, the main gun turrets were mounted all forward, shortening the necessary armoured length. The G3 and N3s had put the two turrets forward of and one behind the bridge, but in the Nelsons, this was taken to extremes, and all three were in front of the bridge; 'B' was mounted superfiring over 'A', with 'X' turret at the main deck level behind 'B', and therefore unable to fire directly forward or aft. The secondary guns were placed in weatherproof, director-controlled turrets at the main deck level and were grouped aft - another innovative element borrowed from the G3 and N3 design.
Armour weight was also limited by using an internal, inclined armour belt. The slope increased the relative width of the belt to a striking projectile. The internal disposition was intended to provide a low-resistance path in order to vent torpedo explosions out of the ship via displaceable plates, although this feature would prove to be unsuccessful. The external hull of the ship was unarmoured: the outer plating was meant to initiate detonation of shells which would then explode outside the armour. The armour scheme was of the "all or nothing
All or nothing (armour)
All or nothing is a method of armoring battleships, which involves heavily armoring the areas most important to a ship while the rest of the ship receives significantly less armor. The "all or nothing" concept avoided light or moderate thicknesses of armor: armor was used in the greatest...
" principle; areas were either well protected or were not protected at all, disposing of the multiple intermediate thickness of armour seen in older designs. For the first time a British battleship had a single, thick armoured deck to protect against plunging shells and aircraft-dropped bombs.
The machinery was of necessity limited in weight, size and installed power, and there were only two shafts; all previous British battleships since of 1906 had four. In order that flue gasses be kept clear of the superstructure, the boiler rooms were moved behind the engine rooms, exhausting into a single funnel - another feature unique in British battleships. As a gesture to the limited power, the hull was of an efficient hydrodynamic form, to gain the best possible speed.
The large superstructure, which was triangular in plan, was sometimes referred to as the "Queen Anne's Mansions", from its similarity to a 14-storey brick residential development of the same name, opposite St. James's Park underground railway station
St. James's Park tube station
St James's Park is a London Underground station near St James's Park in the City of Westminster. It is served by the District and Circle Lines and is between Victoria and Westminster stations. It is in Travelcard Zone 1....
in London. The superstructure provided spacious, weatherproof working spaces for the navigating officers and any flag officers embarked. Other than an emergency conning tower at its base, and the trunking for the main gun directors mounted on top, it was lightly armoured against splinters only, to save weight. Weight-saving measures included the use of light materials such as aluminium for fittings, and fir
Fir
Firs are a genus of 48–55 species of evergreen conifers in the family Pinaceae. They are found through much of North and Central America, Europe, Asia, and North Africa, occurring in mountains over most of the range...
instead of teak
Teak
Teak is the common name for the tropical hardwood tree species Tectona grandis and its wood products. Tectona grandis is native to south and southeast Asia, mainly India, Indonesia, Malaysia, and Burma, but is naturalized and cultivated in many countries, including those in Africa and the...
for deck planking, although in practice teak decks were fitted in the 1920s, following concerns that the ships could not fire a full broadside without causing structural damage to the decks.
The Nelson class was a compromise design, and unsurprisingly there were shortcomings. The rear location of the superstructure caused manoeuvrability problems in high wind
Wind
Wind is the flow of gases on a large scale. On Earth, wind consists of the bulk movement of air. In outer space, solar wind is the movement of gases or charged particles from the sun through space, while planetary wind is the outgassing of light chemical elements from a planet's atmosphere into space...
s, with the superstructure acting as something of a sail
Sail
A sail is any type of surface intended to move a vessel, vehicle or rotor by being placed in a wind—in essence a propulsion wing. Sails are used in sailing.-History of sails:...
, causing the ships to "weathervane" when steaming at low speeds. This was a particularly dangerous problem in crowded harbours, and the ships were difficult to dock and embark. They were also difficult to turn, and hard to steer when steaming astern. This is attributable to having twin screws and a single centre rudder which was out of the propeller race. However at sea they were reported to handle well.
The inclined armour disposition increased the danger of shells diving under the armour belt. With wave motion along the side of the ship, with the ship rolling, or with a list caused by damage, the ship would have been at risk of shells passing almost unhindered into its vitals. In publicly-released information, the Admiralty
Admiralty
The Admiralty was formerly the authority in the Kingdom of England, and later in the United Kingdom, responsible for the command of the Royal Navy...
always showed the inclined armour to be much deeper than was actually the case.
Their main armament of 16 inches (406 mm) guns were mounted in triple turrets, the only RN battleships with this feature. The guns themselves were a step away from standard British designs. Where previous RN weapons fired heavy shells at a moderate velocity, the Nelsons weapons followed the German practice of a lighter shell at a higher velocity. This change in policy was due to British post-war testing of German equipment, although subsequent testing proved contradictory and these weapons were never considered to be as successful as the previous BL 15 inch Mark I
BL 15 inch /42 naval gun
The BL 15 inch Mark I succeeded the gun. It was the first British 15 inch gun design and the most widely used and longest lasting of any British designs, and arguably the most efficient heavy gun ever developed by the Royal Navy...
. The guns suffered considerable barrel wear and had a large dispersion pattern. As a result their muzzle velocities were lowered which reduced their penetrative power. A heavier shell was needed to offset this, but the cost of producing new shells, and modifying shell handling and storage equipment, had come at a time when RN funding had been heavily reduced. The need to reduce weight and the use of triple mount turrets led to problems with the ammunition handling and loading machinery. The incorporation of many safety features achieved with lighter materials meant that the complex but relatively fragile equipment had to be worked on constantly over the ships' lifetime.These ships were fitted with the HACS
HACS
HACS, an acronym of High Angle Control System, was a British anti-aircraft fire-control system employed by the Royal Navy from 1931 onwards and used widely during World War II...
AA fire control system and the Admiralty Fire Control Table
Admiralty Fire Control Table
thumb|Admiralty Fire Control Table in the transmitting station of [[HMS Belfast |HMS Belfast]].The Admiralty Fire Control Table was an electromechanical analogue computer fire-control system that calculated the correct elevation and deflection of a Royal Navy cruiser or battleships' main armament,...
Mk I for surface fire control of the main armament.
Finally, the blast of the guns disrupted officers on the bridge to such an extent that the guns were usually prohibited from firing abaft of the beam. A great deal of effort was expended in correcting this problem, and no solution was ever found; fitting tempered glass in the bridge window ports was tried, but gun blast shattered them and filled the bridge with flying debris. Blast was also a problem elsewhere; D.K. Brown tells of a firing test that was suspended when monitors beneath the foredeck reported a bright red flash after firing. This was later discovered to be caused by concussion of the monitors' eyeballs.
Tanker (ship)
A tanker is a ship designed to transport liquids in bulk. Major types of tankship include the oil tanker, the chemical tanker, and the liquefied natural gas carrier.-Background:...
, and a series of fleet oilers had been built during the First World War that bore names ending in "ol".
There is a long-standing rumour that the ships could not fire a full broadside
Broadside
A broadside is the side of a ship; the battery of cannon on one side of a warship; or their simultaneous fire in naval warfare.-Age of Sail:...
without risk of structural damage. This was disproved in Rodney's action with the German battleship Bismarck
German battleship Bismarck
Bismarck was the first of two s built for the German Kriegsmarine during World War II. Named after Chancellor Otto von Bismarck, the primary force behind the German unification in 1871, the ship was laid down at the Blohm & Voss shipyard in Hamburg in July 1936 and launched nearly three years later...
, where broadsides were fired without adverse effect.
Service
By the end of the war, the two ships had seen hard use without any significant refit or repair and were worn out. They were scrapped soon after the war.Ships
| Name | Pennant Pennant number In the modern Royal Navy, and other navies of Europe and the Commonwealth, ships are identified by pennant numbers... |
Builder | Ordered | Laid down | Launched | Completed | Fate |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 28 | Sir W. G. Armstrong Whitworth & Company Armstrong Whitworth Sir W G Armstrong Whitworth & Co Ltd was a major British manufacturing company of the early years of the 20th century. Headquartered in Elswick, Newcastle upon Tyne, Armstrong Whitworth engaged in the construction of armaments, ships, locomotives, automobiles, and aircraft.-History:In 1847,... , Walker Walker, Newcastle upon Tyne Walker is a residential suburb and electoral ward just east of the centre of Newcastle upon Tyne, England. Walker's name is a hybrid of Old English and Viking Norse, "Wall-kjerr", where "kjerr" is Norse for "marshy woodland"... |
11 December 1922 |
28 December 1922 | 3 September 1925 | 15 August 1927 | Sold for scrap 19 March 1948, arrived Inverkeithing 15 March 1949 for breaking |
|
| 29 | Cammell Laird & Company, Birkenhead Birkenhead Birkenhead is a town within the Metropolitan Borough of Wirral in Merseyside, England. It is on the Wirral Peninsula, along the west bank of the River Mersey, opposite the city of Liverpool... |
11 December 1922 | 28 December 1922 | 17 December 1925 | 7 December 1927 | Sold for scrap 19 March 1948, arrived Inverkeithing 26 March 1948 for breaking |
External links
- "Sallying Ship Helps Float Pride of British Navy" Popular Mechanics, October 1934 pg.524 article left-bottom