H.M.S. Princess Royal (1911)

From The Dreadnought Project
Jump to navigationJump to search
H.M.S. Princess Royal (1911)
Pendant Number: 29 (1914)
95 (Jan 1918)
68 (Apr 1918)[1]
Builder: Vickers[2]
Ordered: 1909 Programme[3]
Laid down: 2 May, 1910[4]
Launched: 29 Apr, 1911[5]
Completed: 19 Nov, 1912[6]
Commissioned: 14 Nov, 1912[7]
Sold: 19 Dec, 1922[8]
Fate: Scrapped

H.M.S. Princess Royal was a battle cruiser of the Royal Navy which saw active service throughout the First World War.

Service

Princess Royal was commissioned at Devonport on 14 November, 1912, for service in the First Battle Cruiser Squadron,[9] with a Portsmouth crew.[10]

Her crew gave a concert in Cromarty in support of The Seamen & Marines' Orphanage Home in Portsmouth and The Cottage Hopital in Cromarty on 29 August, 1913. It had two parts and 16 musical numbers, concluding with a sketch entitled "A Day in Bed", written by Leading Signaller J. R. James.[11] There were athletic sports the next day involving the whole of the First Battle Cruiser Squadron, organised by a general committee presided over by Captain Chatfield of Lion.[12]

Great War

Princess Royal arrived in Halifax on 21 November, 1914, and was attached to the North America and West Indies Station until 25 December, when she proceeded to Scapa Flow.[13]

On 21 September, 1915, Lieutenant John E. L. Bashford was appointed to her as torpedo officer. An interpreter in German, he would remain in her until 31 May, 1919. He was scolded for losing a torpedo in June, 1918 and in the next month subjected to a court of inquiry for causing delays in firing torpedoes owing to imprecise verbal orders.[14]

Jutland

According to the Director of Naval Ordnance and Torpedoes, Morgan Singer, Princess Royal's repairs after Jutland were delayed until 15 July by non-delivery of an armour plate.[15]

Post-War

Princess Royal paid off on 31 May, 1919.[16] She was manned by a Reserve Complement at Rosyth on 13 February, 1920 under command of Commander Francis E. Byrne.[17]

She paid off at Rosyth on 1 May, 1922.[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]

Rangefinders

At the start of the war, Princess Royal had two 9-foot rangefinders[Inference] in turrets, and fewer than five in total. As it had been approved that all capital ships should have one in each turret, more likely followed soon.[20]

By 1921, Lion and Princess Royal were equipped with nine rangefinders plus one for anti-aircraft use:[21]

Alterations

In 1913, Princess Royal was slated as part of the seventeen ship order to receive a director, but installation seemed delayed for a considerable time. It was fitted sometime after December, 1915, but was in place for the Battle of Jutland.[22]

In October, 1914, it was decided that Princess Royal should receive 2 Open Director Sights to be fitted in her "B" and "X" turrets. They were fitted between April 1916 and June 1917.[23]

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. Princess Royal's system was available by September, 1918, but it is not known if or when they were fitted.[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. 37.
  7. ↑ Notes on the event contained in Bridges Papers. National Maritime Museum. BRG/1/1.
  8. ↑ Dittmar; Colledge. British Warships 1914–1919. p. 35.
  9. ↑ "Naval and Military Intelligence" (Official Appointments and Notices). The Times. Friday, 15 November, 1914. Issue 40057, col F, p. 12.
  10. ↑ Notes on the event contained in Bridges Papers. National Maritime Museum. BRG/1/1.
  11. ↑ Clerk Albert F. B. Bridges's ticket No. 6 is located in the Bridges Papers. BRG/1/1.
  12. ↑ Bridges Papers. National Maritime Museum. BRG/1/1.
  13. ↑ Report of 10 June, 1914. Hornby Papers. National Maritime Museum. PHI/206A.
  14. ↑ Bashford Service Record. The National Archives. ADM 196/144. f. 10. Found in our PDF for Edward Sidney Graham.
  15. ↑ Untitled account of the Great War. Singer Papers. Liddle Collection. University of Leeds. RNMN/SINGER. f. 6.
  16. ↑ The Navy List. (August, 1919). p. 886.
  17. ↑ The Navy List. (December, 1920). p. 847-9.
  18. ↑ The Navy List. (January, 1923). p. 795.
  19. ↑ Annual Report of the Torpedo School, 1913. W/T Appendix, p. 13.
  20. ↑ The Technical History and Index, Vol. 3, Part 23. p. 32, 33.
  21. ↑ Handbook for Naval Range-Finders and Mountings, Book I. p. 170.
  22. ↑ The Technical History and Index, Vol. 4, Part 28. pp. 9-10.
  23. ↑ The Technical History and Index, Vol. 4, Part 28. p. 18.
  24. ↑ The Technical History and Index, Vol. 4, Part 28. pp. 18-9.
  25. ↑ Brock Service Record. The National Archives. ADM 196/43. f. 49.
  26. ↑ The Navy List. (August, 1912). p. 362.
  27. ↑ Brock Service Record. The National Archives. ADM 196/43. f. 49.
  28. ↑ Cowan Service Record. The National Archives. ADM 196/43/168. f. 249.
  29. ↑ The Navy List. (December, 1916). p. 397c.
  30. ↑ Cowan Service Record. The National Archives. ADM 196/43/168. f. 249.
  31. ↑ Kelly Service Record. The National Archives. ADM 196/43. f. 166.
  32. ↑ Kelly Service Record. The National Archives. ADM 196/43. f. 166.
  33. ↑ Drury-Lowe Service Record. The National Archives. ADM 196/43. f. 214.
  34. ↑ The Navy List. (November, 1917). p. 397d.
  35. ↑ Drury-Lowe Service Record. The National Archives. ADM 196/43. f. 214.
  36. ↑ Kelly Service Record. The National Archives. ADM 196/43/164. f. 166.
  37. ↑ Kelly Service Record. The National Archives. ADM 196/43/164. f. 383.
  38. ↑ Parry Service Record. The National Archives. ADM 196/45. f. 34.
  39. ↑ Parry Service Record. The National Archives. ADM 196/45. f. 34.

Bibliography

  • Navy (Dockyard Expense Accounts). 1912–1913. London: Printed under the Authority of His Majesty's Stationary Office. 1914.
  • 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.
  • Parkes, O.B.E., Ass.I.N.A., Dr. Oscar (1990). British Battleships 1860–1950. London: Pen & Sword Ltd. ISBN 0850526043. (on Bookfinder.com).
  • Roberts, John (1997). Battlecruisers. London: Chatham Publishing. ISBN 186176006X. Annapolis: Naval Institute Press. ISBN 1557500681. (on Amazon.com and Amazon.co.uk).


Lion Class Battlecruiser
  Lion Princess Royal Queen Mary  
<– Indefatigable Class Major Cruisers (UK) H.M.S. Tiger –>


Retrieved from "http://dreadnoughtproject.org/tfs/index.php?title=H.M.S._Princess_Royal_(1911)&oldid=334914"