H.M.S. Caledon (1916)

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H.M.S. Caledon (1916)
Pendant Number: 69 (Apr 1917)
22 (Jan 1918)
65 (Apr 1918)[1]
Builder: Cammell Laird[2]
Ordered: Dec, 1915[3]
Laid down: 17 Mar, 1916[4]
Launched: 25 Nov, 1916[5]
Commissioned: Mar, 1917[6]
Sold: Jan, 1948[7]
Fate: Broken up

H.M.S. Caledon was launched in 1916 — one of four light cruisers of her class.

Service

Caledon was fitted with a director in June, 1917. This alteration required her pole mast to be replaced with a tripod mast for greater rigidity.[8] Following successful tests in Yarmouth that same month, Caledon was one of three other light cruisers to receive a flying-off platform on her forecastle for a Sopwith Pup some few weeks later.[9]

She fought in the Second Battle of Heligoland Bight in November 1917 under the command of Walter H. Cowan, leading the First Light Cruiser Squadron. Screening First Battle Cruiser Squadron with her squadron, she chased an assortment of enemy minesweepers and light cruisers through smoke screens. Reaching the enemy's heavy support force, she came under fire of the German battleships Kaiser and Kaiserin. V. B. Ash recorded the result of a 12-in shell, luckily a dud, which hit near his post in the wireless room:[10]

I was in a silent cabinet with the phones on, so what with the fearful noise of No. 4 gun just above, I did not know we had been hit! The Paymaster Commander, in the coding room next door, heard it all right and dashed up on deck to see what had happened. Back down, he saw me still at my post sending and receiving messages, as a result of which I was recommended for a medal or for higher rate 'for remaining on duty under great provocation!'

In May, 1919, Caledon was chosen as the flagship for a new Second Light Cruiser Squadron.

In mid-1920, it was ordered that Caledon should replace her 21-in Mark IV S.L. torpedoes with their Mark IV* version.[11]

Caledon re-commissioned at Chatham on 6 January, 1925.[12]

She paid off on 17 August, 1926.[13]

Caledon was re-commissioned at the Nore on 5 September 1927 for duty with the Third Cruiser Squadron in the Mediterranean.[14]

She re-commissioned at Devonport on 15 January, 1929 for continued duty with the Third Cruiser Squadron in the Mediterranean.[15]

The cruiser was re-commissioned at Devonport on 31 July, 1931.[16]

Captains

Dates of appointment are provided when known.

See Also

Footnotes

  1. Dittmar; Colledge. British Warships 1914–1919. p. 47.
  2. Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships 1906–1921. p. 60.
  3. Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships 1906–1921. p. 60.
  4. Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships 1906–1921. p. 60.
  5. Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships 1906–1921. p. 60.
  6. Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships 1906–1921. p. 60.
  7. Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships 1906–1921. p. 60.
  8. The Technical History and Index, Vol. 3, Part 23. pp. 11-12.
  9. Dittmar; Colledge. British Warships 1914–1919. p. 53.
  10. Kent. Signal!. pp. 260, 261.
  11. Annual Report of the Torpedo School, 1920. pp. 6-7. (G. 10141/20-6.8.1920).
  12. The Navy List. (April, 1925). pp. 220-1.
  13. The Navy List. (July, 1927). p. 220.
  14. The Navy List. (February, 1929). p. 221.
  15. The Navy List. (July, 1931). p. 220.
  16. The Navy List. (January, 1933). p. 219.
  17. The Navy List. (November, 1917). p. 392a.
  18. Harrison-Wallace Service Record. The National Archives. ADM 196/48/86. f. ?.
  19. Harrison-Wallace Service Record. The National Archives. ADM 196/48/86. f. ?.
  20. Mackworth Service Record. The National Archives. ADM 196/45/53. f. 53.
  21. Mackworth Service Record. The National Archives. ADM 196/45/53. f. 53.
  22. The Navy List. (December, 1920). p. 738.
  23. Hardman-Jones Service Record. The National Archives. ADM 196/46. f. 152.
  24. Hardman-Jones Service Record. The National Archives. ADM 196/46. f. 152.
  25. Rowley-Conwy Service Record. The National Archives. ADM 196/44/83. ff. 83, 232.
  26. Rowley-Conwy Service Record. The National Archives. ADM 196/44/83. ff. 83, 232.
  27. Candy Service Record. The National Archives. ADM 196/44/279. f. 279.
  28. Candy Service Record. The National Archives. ADM 196/44/279. f. 279.
  29. North Service Record. The National Archives. ADM 196/46. f. 144.
  30. North Service Record. The National Archives. ADM 196/46. f. 144.
  31. Watson Service Record. The National Archives. ADM 196/49. f. 80.
  32. The Navy List. (April, 1925). p. 220.
  33. Watson Service Record. The National Archives. ADM 196/49. f. 80.
  34. Birkett Service Record. The National Archives. ADM 196/48. f. 518.
  35. Birkett Service Record. The National Archives. ADM 196/48. f. 518.
  36. Dobson Service Record. The National Archives. ADM 196/50/15
  37. Dobson Service Record. The National Archives. ADM 196/50. f. 9.
  38. The Navy List. (February, 1929). p. 221.
  39. Ardill Service Record at The National Archives. ADM 196/49
  40. The Navy List. (July, 1931). p. 220.
  41. Jermain Service Record. The National Archives. ADM 196/50/82. f. 212.
  42. Jermain Service Record. The National Archives. ADM 196/50/82. f. 212.
  43. The Navy List. (January, 1933). p. 219.
  44. Farquhar Service Record. The National Archives. ADM 196/51/291. f. 306.
  45. Farquhar Service Record. The National Archives. ADM 196/51/291. f. 306.
  46. The Navy List. (July, 1934). p. 219.
  47. Reyne Service Record. The National Archives. ADM 196/46. f. 98.
  48. Reyne Service Record. The National Archives. ADM 196/46. f. 98.
  49. The Navy List. (October, 1935). p. 220.
  50. Warren Service Record. The National Archives. ADM 196/51/232. f. 245.
  51. Warren Service Record. The National Archives. ADM 196/51/232. f. 245.
  52. Kerr Service Record. The National Archives. ADM 196/53/137. f. 136.
  53. Kerr Service Record. The National Archives. ADM 196/53/137. f. 136.
  54. Lloyd Service Record. The National Archives. ADM 196/55/147. f. 147.
  55. Lloyd Service Record. The National Archives. ADM 196/55/147. f. 147.
  56. Johnson Service Record. The National Archives. ADM 196/92/108. f. 108.
  57. Johnson Service Record. The National Archives. ADM 196/92/108. f. 108.
  58. Clarke Service Record. The National Archives. ADM 196/121/85. f. 85.
  59. Clarke Service Record. The National Archives. ADM 196/121/85. f. 85.
  60. Mackie, Colin. ROYAL NAVY WARSHIPS.
  61. Mackie, Colin. ROYAL NAVY WARSHIPS.
  62. Nichols Service Record. The National Archives. ADM 196/124/224. f. 223.
  63. Mackie, Colin. ROYAL NAVY WARSHIPS.
  64. Mackie, Colin. ROYAL NAVY WARSHIPS.
  65. Mackie, Colin. ROYAL NAVY WARSHIPS.

Bibliography

  • Dittmar, F.J.; Colledge, J.J. (1972). British Warships 1914–1919. London: Ian Allan.
  • Gray, Randal (editor) (1985). Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships 1906–1921. London: Conway Maritime Press. (on Amazon.com and Amazon.co.uk).
  • Admiralty, Gunnery Branch (1918). Handbook of Captain F. C. Dreyer's Fire Control Tables, 1918. C.B. 1456. Copy No. 10 at Admiralty Library, Portsmouth, United Kingdom.
  • Admiralty, Technical History Section (1919). The Technical History and Index: Fire Control in H.M. Ships. Vol. 3, Part 23. C.B. 1515 (23) now O.U. 6171/14. At The National Archives. ADM 275/19.


Caledon Class Light Cruiser
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