H.M.S. Emperor of India (1913)

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H.M.S. Emperor of India (1913)
Pendant Number: 11 (Aug 1914)
60 (Jan 1918)
16 (Apr 1918)[1]
Builder: Vickers[2]
Ordered: 1911 Programme[3]
Laid down: 31 May, 1912[4]
Launched: 27 Nov, 1913[5]
Commissioned: 10 Nov, 1914
Sunk: 1931[6]
Fate: as target, raised, scrapped[7]

H.M.S. Emperor of India was a dreadnought battleship of the Iron Duke Class in the Royal Navy.

Construction

The Emperor of India was laid down as Dehli at Vickers in Barrow-in-Furness on 31 May, 1912. Launched on 27 November, 1913 and commissioned on 10 November, 1914. Apparently the King, HM King George V, ordered the change in name a month before launching.

Instead of the normal Loyal Toast given at dinner in the Royal Navy; "Gentlemen, The King." the toast "Gentlemen, the King Emperor." was used in light of the British monarch also holding the position of Emperor of India. The crown on the ensign staff rested on a cushion indicating an Imperial Crown.

Launch

Emperor of India was launched at 09:30 on 27 November, 1913. The ceremony was performed by Lady Islington, who in naming the ship said, "I christen you the Emperor of India, and may God bless you and all who sail in you." A luncheon was held in the Mould Loft afterwards, among those present were the Romanian Minister, the Colombian and Peruvian Chargés d'Affaires, represenatives of the Admiralty and British Army, and of the navies of Japan, Russia, Italy, Turkey, Spain, Brazil and Argentina. H.M.S. Revenge was laid down in the vacated slip on 22 December.

Boats

In July 1914, the ship was appropriated 42-foot motor launch No. 194, though the boat was not yet delivered from the contractor.[8]

Service

Great War

Rear-Admiral Alexander L. Duff hoisted his flag in Emperor of India as Rear-Admiral, Fourth Battle Squadron at Barrow-in-Furness on 22 October, 1914.

She was undergoing a refit in late May 1916 and Duff switched his flag to Superb. This meant that Emperor of India missed participating in the Battle of Jutland.

Post-War

After the armistice Emperor of India, with the rest of the Iron Dukes was sent to the Mediterranean Fleet. She was sent to lend support to the White Russians and Allies in the Russian Civil War which had by mid-1919 reached the shores of the Black Sea. In May, she was stationed off Theodesia on the Kertch Peninsula, where the local Volunteer Army had retired. There she was relieved by Marlborough.

She recommissioned at Sheerness on 20 November, 1920.[9]

Emperor of India underwent a large refit in 1922 and re-commissioned on 21 November[10] before being sent to join the Mediterranean Fleet. In 1924, in competitive firing trials as part of the Mediterranean Fleet, her forward torpedo flat fired at intervals of 48, 66, 47, and 69 seconds, and the aft flat at 54, 43, 51 and 48 seconds. These times were outstanding.[11] She commissioned at Portsmouth on 2 July, 1925 and served in the Mediterranean Fleet until 1926. By mid-1927 she was part of the Third Battle Squadron in the Atlantic,[12] serving there until 1929.

Emperor of India was paid off into Dockyard Control at Portsmouth on 22 January, 1931.[13] Under the terms of the naval armament treaty she was stricken along with the rest of her class. On 1 July, 1931 she was sunk by by gunfire off Owers Bank. The wreck was towed off Owers Bank on 14 August and docked in Portsmouth for examination. She sold in December and towed to Rosyth for breaking up by Metal Industries (formerly Alloa Shipbreaking Company) on 16 February, 1932.

Alterations

In 1913, Emperor of India was slated as part of the twelve ship order to receive a director along the lines of that developed in Neptune. She was fully equipped sometime in 1914 prior to the start of the war.[14] Her class received their directors after King George V received hers, and likely to a similar design, placing the light aloft tower atop the spotting top.[15]

She received a temporary director system for her secondary battery in November-December, 1916 which was replaced by a proper one sometime in 1917.[16]

In October, 1914, it was decided that Emperor of India should receive an Open Director Sight for each of her turrets. They fitted between April 1916 and June 1917.[17]

Captains

Dates of appointment are provided when known.

See Also

Footnotes

  1. ↑ Dittmar; Colledge. British Warships 1914–1919. p. 33.
  2. ↑ Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships 1906–1921. p. 31.
  3. ↑ Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships 1906–1921. p. 31.
  4. ↑ Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships 1906–1921. p. 31.
  5. ↑ Dittmar; Colledge. British Warships 1914–1919. p. 33.
  6. ↑ Dittmar; Colledge. British Warships 1914–1919. p. 33.
  7. ↑ Dittmar; Colledge. British Warships 1914–1919. p. 33.
  8. ↑ Admiralty Weekly Order No. 122 of 10 July, 1914.
  9. ↑ The Navy List. (January, 1921). p. 769.
  10. ↑ The Navy List. (April, 1925). p. 237.
  11. ↑ Annual Report of the Torpedo School, 1927. p. 54.
  12. ↑ The Navy List. (July, 1927). pp. 236-7.
  13. ↑ The Navy List. (July, 1931). p. 237.
  14. ↑ The Technical History and Index: Fire Control in H.M. Ships, pp. 9-10.
  15. ↑ Letter in D'Eyncourt Papers at the National Maritime Museum's Caird Library, DEY/27
  16. ↑ The Technical History and Index: Fire Control in HM Ships, p. 16.
  17. ↑ The Technical History and Index: Fire Control in HM Ships, p. 18.
  18. ↑ Nicholson Service Record. The National Archives. ADM 196/42. f. 214.
  19. ↑ Nicholson Service Record. The National Archives. ADM 196/42. f. 214.
  20. ↑ The Navy List. (December, 1918). p. 786.
  21. ↑ Royds Service Record. The National Archives. ADM 196/44. f. 290.
  22. ↑ Royds Service Record. The National Archives. ADM 196/44. f. 290.
  23. ↑ Henley Service Record. The National Archives. ADM 196/45. f. 44.
  24. ↑ The Navy List. (August, 1919). p. 786.
  25. ↑ Henley Service Record. The National Archives. ADM 196/45. f. 44.
  26. ↑ Crooke Service Record. The National Archives. ADM 196/89/136.
  27. ↑ Crooke Service Record. The National Archives. ADM 196/44. f. 36.
  28. ↑ Kelly Service Record. The National Archives. ADM 196/43. f. 230.
  29. ↑ Macrorie Service Record. The National Archives. ADM 196/43/467. f. 521.
  30. ↑ Macrorie Service Record. The National Archives. ADM 196/43/467. f. 521.
  31. ↑ Loder-Symonds Service Record. The National Archives. ADM 196/44/186. f. 212.
  32. ↑ The Navy List. (July, 1924). p. 237.
  33. ↑ Loder-Symonds Service Record. The National Archives. ADM 196/44/186. f. 212.
  34. ↑ Curtis Service Record. The National Archives. ADM 196/44/262. f. 262.
  35. ↑ Curtis Service Record. The National Archives. ADM 196/44/262. f. 262.
  36. ↑ The Navy List. (July, 1927). p. 236.
  37. ↑ Sells Service Record. The National Archives. ADM 196/45. f. 196.
  38. ↑ Sells Service Record. The National Archives. ADM 196/45. f. 196.
  39. ↑ Sommerville Service Record. The National Archives. ADM 196/48/10. f. 413.
  40. ↑ Sommerville Service Record. The National Archives. ADM 196/48/10. f. 413.
  41. ↑ Taylor Service Record. The National Archives. ADM 196/48. f. 438.
  42. ↑ Taylor Service Record. The National Archives. ADM 196/48. f. 438.

Bibliography


Iron Duke Class Dreadnought
  Benbow Emperor of India Iron Duke Marlborough  
<– King George V Class Battleships (UK) H.M.S. Agincourt –>


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