H.M.S. Lion (1910)

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H.M.S. Lion (1910)
Pendant Number: 22 (1914)
79 (Jan 1918)
67 (Apr 1918)[1]
Builder: Devonport Royal Dockyard[2]
Ordered: 1909 Programme[3]
Laid down: 29 Nov, 1909[4]
Launched: 6 Aug, 1910[5]
Completed: 31 May, 1912[6]
Commissioned: 4 Jun, 1912[7]
Sold: 31 Jan, 1924[8]
Fate: Scrapped
First cost: £1,970,614[9]

Construction

Armament

Lion was equipped with the Vickers-designed[10] 13.5-inch gun and mounting. Her mountings were constructed by Armstrongs and fired the lighter 1,250lb projectile, and were designated Mk II. The gun firing circuits were powered by on-mounting dynamos driven by water-turbine Pelton wheels fed by the hydraulic main.[11]

Rangefinders

At the start of the war, Lion's five 9-foot rangefinders made her then the most profusely-equipped Royal Navy capital ship prior to Queen Mary and the King George V class. Two of these were located in turrets, though it had been approved before the war that all ships of Lion and Orion classes and earlier should have rangefinders in all turrets.[12]

By 1921, Lion and Princess Royal were equipped with nine rangefinders plus one for anti-aircraft use:[13]

Secondary Battery

Lion differed from Princess Royal (and probably Queen Mary) in using a P. IV* mounting as in the Colossus class for her sixteen 4-in guns.

Reconstruction

Lion was taken in hand by Devonport Dockyard on 12 February, 1912. At that time her acceptance trial was projected to take place on 11 March.[14] She commissioned at Devonport on 4 June as Flagship of Rear-Admiral Lewis Bayly.[15]

Service

Lion taking aboard 13.5-inch shells.
Photo: Library and Archives Canada PA-6591.

Jutland

Main article: H.M.S. Lion at the Battle of Jutland

The officer in charge of the T.S. at Jutland was Sub-Lieutenant Roger P. Selby.

According to the notes of Lieutenant-Commander Gerald Fortescue Longhurst, Lion's "A", "B", and "X" turrets expended 314 rounds of 13.5-inch A.P.C. Lyddite shell. "A" turret expended 95, "B" 107, "X" 112, and "Q" turret 12 before loss. At 20:38 "A" turret had 56 rounds per gun remaining, "B" 50, and "X" 50.[16]

Despite her considerable damage and numerous casualties, she coaled and ammunitioned upon reaching port and was ready for sea in just two hours.[17]

In December 1916, William Bayard Hynes was appointed to her as Gunnery Officer.

The ship was reduced to reserve at Rosyth on 31 March, 1920.[18]

Radio

Sometime before 1913, she may have also had a Type 3 Battleship Auxiliary set, but it was to be replaced by a Type 10 Cruiser Auxiliary set.[19]

Alterations

Directors

In 1913, Lion was slated as part of the seventeen ship order to receive a director. It was fitted sometime after the war started but prior to May, 1915.[20]

In May 1917, in recognition of shortcomings in the use of directing guns, it was ordered that Lion and Princess Royal should be fitted with a second tripod-type director aft, as described on the class page. Lion received her second director during a refit in September, 1918.[21]

Searchlights

In late 1913, two 24-in Automatic Motor Lamp manufactured by Messrs. Clarke, Chapman & Co. Ltd., a model which had recently been trialled in Vernon, were to be installed in the ship at Devonport Royal Dockyard for a three-month trial.[22]

Torpedo Control

In 1919, she was selected to receive one of the first six Renouf Torpedo Tactical Instrument Type Bs and one of the first nine Renouf Torpedo Tactical Instrument Type Fs manufactured by Elliott Brothers.[23] In 1920, however, it was decided to send her Type F to Orion or to the the Staff College at Greenwich.[24]

Captains

Dates of appointment are provided when known.

See Also

Footnotes

  1. ↑ Dittmar; Colledge. British Warships 1914–1919. p. 35.
  2. ↑ Dittmar; Colledge. British Warships 1914–1919. p. 35.
  3. ↑ Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships 1906–1921. pp. 28-9.
  4. ↑ Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships 1906–1921. p. 29.
  5. ↑ Dittmar; Colledge. British Warships 1914–1919. p. 35.
  6. ↑ Navy (Dockyard Expense Accounts). 1912–1913. p. 31.
  7. ↑ The Navy List. (July, 1913). p. 340.
  8. ↑ Dittmar; Colledge. British Warships 1914–1919. p. 35.
  9. ↑ Navy (Dockyard Expense Accounts). 1913–1914. p. 137.
  10. ↑ Roberts. Battlecruisers. p. 87.
  11. ↑ Roberts. Battlecruisers. p. 88.
  12. ↑ The Technical History and Index, Vol. 3, Part 23. p. 32.
  13. ↑ Handbook for Naval Range-Finders and Mountings, Book I. p. 170.
  14. ↑ "The Battle Cruiser Lion" (News). The Times. Tuesday, 13 February, 1912. Issue 39820, col B, p. 8.
  15. ↑ Roberts. Battlecruisers. p. 123.
  16. ↑ British Library. Jellicoe Papers. Add. MSS. 49029. f. 107.
  17. ↑ Account of R.M.L.I. Private Willows in typed report at Caird Library under BTY/6/41/1.
  18. ↑ The Navy List. (January, 1921). p. 802.
  19. ↑ Annual Report of the Torpedo School, 1913. W/T Appendix, p. 13.
  20. ↑ The Technical History and Index, Vol. 3, Part 23. pp. 9-10.
  21. ↑ The Technical History and Index, Vol. 3, Part 23. pp. 18-9.
  22. ↑ Admiralty Weekly Order No. 702 of 5 Dec, 1913.
  23. ↑ Annual Report of the Torpedo School, 1919. pp. 118, 119.
  24. ↑ Annual Report of the Torpedo School, 1920. p. 91.
  25. ↑ "Naval Appointments" (Official Appointments and Notices). The Times. Monday, 11 September, 1911. Issue 39687, col G, p. 11.
  26. ↑ Maclachlan Service Record. The National Archives. ADM 196/42/449. f. 46.
  27. ↑ Roberts. Battlecruisers. p. 123.
  28. ↑ The Navy List. (August, 1912). p. 340.
  29. ↑ Duff Service Record. The National Archives. ADM 196/43. f. 390.
  30. ↑ "Naval and Military Intelligence" (Official Appointments and Notices). The Times. Friday, 7 February, 1913. Issue 40129, col C, p. 11.
  31. ↑ The Navy List. (December, 1916). p. 395vv.
  32. ↑ Chatfield Service Record. The National Archives. ADM 196/43. f. 346.
  33. ↑ The Navy List. (November, 1917). p. 395d.
  34. ↑ Backhouse Service Record. The National Archives. ADM 196/44. f. 474.
  35. ↑ Sinclair Service Record. The National Archives. ADM 196/43. f. 368.
  36. ↑ Sinclair Service Record. The National Archives. ADM 196/43. f. 368.
  37. ↑ The Navy List. (February, 1919). p. 832.
  38. ↑ The Navy List. (August, 1919). p. 832.
  39. ↑ Tomkinson Service Record. The National Archives. ADM 196/44. f. 375.
  40. ↑ Tomkinson Service Record. The National Archives. ADM 196/44. f. 375.
  41. ↑ The Navy List. (April, 1920). pp. 800-1.
  42. ↑ Addison Service Record. The National Archives. ADM 196/44/138. f. 138.
  43. ↑ Addison Service Record. The National Archives. ADM 196/44/138. f. 138.
  44. ↑ The Navy List. (December, 1920). p. 802.
  45. ↑ Parry Service Record. The National Archives. ADM 196/91. f. 39.
  46. ↑ Parry Service Record. The National Archives. ADM 196/45. f. 34.

Bibliography

  • Dittmar, F.J.; Colledge, J.J. (1972). British Warships 1914–1919. London: Ian Allan.
  • 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.
  • Brooks, John (2005). Dreadnought Gunnery and the Battle of Jutland: The Question of Fire Control. Oxon: Routledge. ISBN 0714657026. (on Amazon.com and Amazon.co.uk).
  • Admiralty, Gunnery Branch (1917). The Director Firing Handbook. O.U. 6125 (late C.B. 1259). Copy No. 322 at The National Archives. ADM 186/227.
  • 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.
  • Sumida, Jon Tetsuro (1989). In Defence of Naval Supremacy: Finance, Technology and British Naval Policy, 1889-1914. Winchester, Mass.: Unwin Hyman, Inc.. ISBN 0044451040. (on Amazon.com and Amazon.co.uk).


Lion Class Battlecruiser
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