H.M.S. Royal Oak (1914)
| H.M.S. Royal Oak (1914) | |
|---|---|
| Pendant Number: | 67 (Aug 1914) 4A (Jan 1918) 38 (Apr 1918)[1] |
| Builder: | Devonport Royal Dockyard[2] |
| Ordered: | 1913 Programme[3] |
| Laid down: | 15 Jan, 1914[4] |
| Launched: | 17 Nov, 1914[5] |
| Commissioned: | 1 May, 1916[6] |
| Torpedoed: | 14 Oct, 1939[7] |
| Fate: | by U-47 in Scapa Flow |
H.M.S. Royal Oak was a Revenge class dreadnought battleship of the British Royal Navy, torpedoed in Scapa Flow by the German submarine U-47 on 14 October, 1939. Launched in 1914 and completed in 1916, Royal Oak first saw action at the Battle of Jutland with the Grand Fleet. In peacetime, she served in the Atlantic, Home and Mediterranean fleets, coming under accidental attack on more than one occasion. The ship became the centre of worldwide attention in 1928 when her Captain and Commander were Court Martialled.
Service
The keel plate was laid on 15 January, 1914, in a cerrmony performed by Mrs. Hockaday, wife of Mr. W. T. Hockaday, Manager of the Constructive Department.[8]
Though the ship was still two years from completion, in July 1914, the ship was appropriated 42-foot motor launch No. 252, though the boat was not yet delivered from the contractor.[9]
In March, 1915, Open Director Sights were ordered for all[Inference] her turrets. They were likely in place by her completion.[10]
Jutland
- Main article: H.M.S. Royal Oak at the Battle of Jutland
Revenge and Royal Oak were the only two ships in the class to fight at Jutland. Royal Oak was so newly placed into service that she fought in the Fourth Battle Squadron, a formation she was never listed under in the Navy List.
In June, 1916, she was placed into the First Battle Squadron alongside sister Revenge, acting for her first three months as the squadron flagship. She remained in the First until at least July 1919.[11]
Royal Oak received her secondary battery directors in March, 1917.[12]
Post-War
Royal Oak was re-commissioned at Portsmouth on 29 April, 1924 for service with the Second Battle Squadron, Atlantic Fleet.[13]
She was re-commissioned at Devonport on 1 April, 1927 for service with the First Battle Squadron in the Mediterranean.[14]
She was re-commissioned at Portsmouth on 27 November, 1929 for service with the First Battle Squadron in the Mediterranean.[15]
She re-commissioned at Devonport on 22 June, 1932.[16]
Captains
Dates of appointment are provided when known.
- Captain Crawford Maclachlan, 25 January, 1916[17] – January, 1919[18][19]
- Captain Frederic A. Whitehead, 19 January, 1919[20][21] – 12 January, 1921[22]
- Captain Percival H. H. Thompson, 12 January, 1921
- Captain Charles A. Fountaine, 29 April, 1924[23] – 8 September, 1925
- Captain Claude Seymour, 8 September, 1925[24][25] – August, 1926[26]
- Captain Arthur C. Strutt, 25 July, 1926[27]
- Captain Kenneth G. B. Dewar, 15 October, 1927[28] – 1 March, 1928[29] (dismissed from ship pending court martial[30])
- Captain Hugh D. Hamilton, 23 March, 1928[31] – 21 October, 1929[32] (and as Flag Captain to Kerr, then to Drax, temporarily, c. 12 April, 1929)
- Captain Wilbraham T. R. Ford, 8 May, 1929[33] – 30 May, 1930[34]
- Captain Henry G. Thursfield, 23 May, 1930[35][36] – February, 1931[37]
- Captain Charles G. Ramsey, 4 December, 1931[38][39] – 26 April, 1934[40]
- Captain Leonard F. Potter, 26 April, 1934 – 7 August, 1934 (after reducing, for passage to Devonport)
- Captain Allan T. G. C. Peachey, 28 May, 1936 – 11 June, 1936[41]
- Captain Thomas B. Drew, 11 June, 1936 – 10 August, 1938
- Captain Colin Cantlie, 10 August, 1938[42] – 7 July, 1939[43]
- Captain William G. Benn, 7 July, 1939[44] – 14 October, 1939 (vessel lost under his command)
See also
Footnotes
- ↑ Dittmar; Colledge. British Warships 1914–1919. p. 34.
- ↑ Dittmar; Colledge. British Warships 1914–1919. p. 34.
- ↑ Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships 1906–1921. p. 35.
- ↑ Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships 1906–1921. p. 35.
- ↑ Dittmar; Colledge. British Warships 1914–1919. p. 34.
- ↑ The Navy List. (January, 1921). p. 858.
- ↑ Dittmar; Colledge. British Warships 1914–1919. p. 34.
- ↑ "Naval and Military Intelligence" (Official Appointments and Notices). The Times. Friday, 16 January, 1914. Issue 40422, col E, p. 54.
- ↑ Admiralty Weekly Order No. 122 of 10 July, 1914.
- ↑ The Technical History and Index: Fire Control in H.M. Ships. p. 18.
- ↑ See First Battle Squadron for citations.
- ↑ The Technical History and Index: Fire Control in H.M. Ships. p. 16.
- ↑ The Navy List. (April, 1925). pp. 265a, 266.
- ↑ The Navy List. (February, 1929). pp. 265-6.
- ↑ The Navy List. (July, 1931). p. 266.
- ↑ The Navy List. (January, 1933). p. 269.
- ↑ The Navy List. (December, 1918). p. 899.
- ↑ The Navy List. (December, 1918). p. 899.
- ↑ The Navy List. (August, 1919). p. 899.
- ↑ Whitehead Service Record. The National Archives. ADM 196/43/453. f. 504.
- ↑ The Navy List. (August, 1919). p. 899.
- ↑ Whitehead Service Record. The National Archives. ADM 196/43/453. f. 504.
- ↑ The Navy List. (July, 1924). p. 265.
- ↑ The Navy List. (February, 1926). p. 265a.
- ↑ Seymour Service Record. The National Archives. ADM 196/44/177. f. 198.
- ↑ Seymour Service Record. The National Archives. ADM 196/44/177. f. 198.
- ↑ The Navy List. (July, 1927). p. 265.
- ↑ Dewar Service Record. The National Archives. ADM 196/45. f. 59.
- ↑ Dewar Service Record. The National Archives. ADM 196/45. f. 59.
- ↑ Dewar Service Record. The National Archives. ADM 196/45. f. 59. Typed sheet N.L. 1187/28 inserted.
- ↑ Hamilton Service Record. The National Archives. ADM 196/47. f. 375.
- ↑ Hamilton Service Record. The National Archives. ADM 196/47. f. 375.
- ↑ Ford Service Record. The National Archives. ADM 196/45. f. 180.
- ↑ Ford Service Record. The National Archives. ADM 196/45. f. 180.
- ↑ The Navy List. (July, 1931). p. 266.
- ↑ Thursfield Service Record. The National Archives. ADM 196/47. f. 276.
- ↑ Thursfield Service Record. The National Archives. ADM 196/47. f. 276.
- ↑ The Navy List. (January, 1933). p. 268.
- ↑ Ramsey Service Record. The National Archives. ADM 196/47. f. 327.
- ↑ Ramsey Service Record. The National Archives. ADM 196/47. f. 327.
- ↑ This is inferred. Peachey's Service Record implies 18 July, 1938, but this seems unsupported by language that he was to oversee only her trials upon re-commissioning and the clarity of Drew's Service Record.
- ↑ Cantlie Service Record. The National Archives. ADM 196/51/263. f. 278.
- ↑ Cantlie Service Record. The National Archives. ADM 196/51/263. f. 278.
- ↑ Benn Service Record. The National Archives. ADM 196/52/66. f. 424.
Bibliography
- 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.
- 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.
| Revenge Class Dreadnought | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Ramillies | Resolution | Revenge | Royal Oak | Royal Sovereign | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| <– | H.M.S. Canada | Battleships (UK) | Nelson Class | –> | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
