View source for H.M.S. Bellerophon (1907)

{|align="right" border="2" cellpadding="2" cellspacing="0" style="margin: 0 0 1em 0.5em; background: #f9f9f9; border: 1px #aaa solid; border-collapse: collapse; font-size: 95%;" width="300"
|align="center" colspan="2"|'''HMS ''Bellerophon'''''
|-
!style="color: white; height: 30px; background: navy;"| Career
!style="color: white; height: 30px; background: navy;"| Details
|-
|Ordered:
|
|-
|Laid down:
|[[October 02]] [[1905]], [[HMNB Portsmouth|HM Dockyard, Portsmouth]]
|-
|Launched:
|[[July 27]] [[1907]]
|-
|Commissioned:
|[[February 20]] [[1909]]
|-
|Decommissioned:
|[[9 October]] [[1959]]
|-
|Fate:
|[[November 8]] [[1921]] Sold for scrap 
|-
|Struck:
|[[1923]]
|-
!colspan="2" align="center" style="color: white; height: 30px; background: navy  no-repeat scroll top left;"|General Characteristics
|-
|Displacement:
|18,800 tons (17,055 tonnes)
|-
|Length:
|526 feet (160.3 metres)
|-
|Beam:
|82 feet 6 in (25.2 metres)
|-
|Draught:
|31 feet 5 in (9.6 metres)
|-
|Propulsion:
|4 [[Parsons Marine Steam Turbines|Parsons]] single reduction [[steam turbine]]s, 4 shafts, 23,000 shp (17 MW)
|-
|Speed:
|21 knots
|-
|Range:
|5,720 nautical miles (10,593 km) at 10 knots (18.5 km/h)
|-
|Complement:
|733
|-
|Armament:
|
*10 x BL 12 in /45 Mark X (30.5 cm) guns in five twin Vickers BIX mountings
*16 x BL 4 in /50 (10.2 cm) guns in single mounts and casemates
*4 x QF 3-pdr (1.4 kg) [1.85"/50 (47 mm)] in single mounts
*3 x 18 in (45 cm) Whitehead torpedoes
|}

'''HMS ''Bellerophon''''' was a dreadnought of the [[Royal Navy]]. She was the lead ship of the [[Bellerophon class battleship|''Bellerophon'' class]], and the second Royal Navy vessel to bear the name of the mythic Greek hero.  Built at the Royal Dockyard in Portsmouth and completed in [[1909]], ''Bellerophon'' first joined the [[British 1st Battle Squadron|1st Battle Squadron]] and then upon the outbreak of war joined the [[British 4th Battle Squadron|4th Battle Squadron]] where she remained until 1919.  She was present at the [[Battle of Jutland]] where she fired 62 12 in rounds and received no damage.  With the end of the war she was placed in the Reserve Fleet and sold for scrap in [[1921]] before being taken to the breakers two years later.

==Design==

While revolutionary, [[HMS Dreadnought (1906)|HMS ''Dreadnought'']] had been revealed to have certain shortcomings.  Her secondary armament was judged to be insufficient to combat the increased size of [[torpedo boats]], regarded at the time as the principal threat to major surface warships.  Hence her secondary armament was strengthened, her anti-torpedo protection was improved in the shape of continuous anti-torpedo bulkheads running from the front of the fore magazine to the rear of the aft magazine.

Externally she looked similar, having the same main armament layout of 5 twin 12 inch mounts, secondary armament mounted in casemates on the superstructure and upon the deck and lighter guns atop the turrets.  A torpedo-control tower aft completed the profile.  The ''Bellerophon'' was different in having two tripod masts with two control tops to facilitate sea keeping in peacetime.  The 12 inch British dreadnoughts would be unique when later they were fitted with two sets of Fire-control equipment.

==Career==

Laid down the month HMS ''Dreadnought'' was commissioned, ''Bellerophon'' was the name ship of the ''Bellerophon'' class and was the first to be completed.  The cost of building was £1,763,491, making the most expensive of her class.  She was laid down on [[December 06]] [[1906]], launched [[July 27]] [[1907]] and commissioned into the fleet in [[February 20]] [[1909]].  On trials she made 21.25 knots, a speed lower than that of her sisters due to inferior shp; 25,061 shp as opposed to [[HMS Superb (1907)|HMS ''Superb'']]'s 27,407 shp and [[HMS Temeraire (1907)|HMS ''Temeraire'']]'s 26,966 shp.

Upon completion she joined the 1st Battle Squadron of the [[British Home Fleet|Home Fleet]].  On [[May 26]] [[1911]] she was in collision with the battlecruiser [[HMS Inflexible (1907)|HMS ''Inflexible'']].  ''Bellerophon'' received damage whilst ''Inflexible'' took bow damage which put her in the dockyard until [[November]].  On [[August 1]] [[1914]]], after the Fleet Mobilisation and the formation of the [[British Grand Fleet|Grand Fleet]] she joined the 4th Battle Squadron.

On the journey to the fleet anchorage at [[Scapa Flow]], ''Bellerophon'' collided with the vessel SS ''St Clair'' on [[August 27]] off the Orkney Islands and sustained no major damage.  In May 1915 She headed to the Royal Dockyard, Devonport for a refit.

At the Battle of Jutland the vessel was under the command of Captain [[Edward F. Bruen]] in the Second Division (commanded by Rear Admiral [[Alexander Duff]]) of the 4th Battle Squadron under Vice Admiral [[Doveton Sturdee]].  The 4th Battle Squadron deployed behind the 2nd battle squadron in line ahead in the main part of the battle, and ''Bellerophon'' fired 62 12 inch rounds without receiving one hit.

After the battle she sweeped with the other vessels of the Grand Fleet regularly.  Between June and September, 1917 she served as the flagship of the 2ic of the 4th Battle Squadron, carrying the flag of Rear Admiral [[Roger Keyes]] and then Rear Admiral [[Douglas Nicholson]].  Unlike her sister ships she was not deployed to the [[British Eastern Mediterranean Squadron|Eastern Mediterranean Squadron]] in October, 1918.

Placed in reserve in 1919, she was sold to the breakers in November 1921 and broken up in 1923.

[[Category:HMS Bellerophon Class (1907)]]
[[Category:Navies]]