H.M.S. Invincible (1907)
| HMS Invincible | |
| Career | Details |
|---|---|
| Pennant: | 85 (1914) |
| Ordered: | 1906 Naval Program |
| Laid down: | 2 April, 1906 |
| Launched: | 13 April, 1907 |
| Commissioned: | 20 March, 1909 |
| Fate: | Sunk at the Battle of Jutland, 31 May 1916 |
| General Characteristics | |
| Displacement: | 17,526 tons |
| Length: | 567 ft (172.8 m) |
| Beam: | 78 ft 6 in (23.9 m) |
| Draught: | 25 ft (7.6 m) normal; 29 ft 7 in (9 m) deep |
| Armament: | Eight 12 inch (305 mm) 45 caliber (4x2) Sixteen 4 inch (102 mm) (16x1) Seven Maxim machine guns (7x1) Five 18 inch (45.7 mm) torpedo tubes (4 broadside, 1 stern) One 3 inch anti aircraft gun added 1914 |
| Propulsion: | Parsons geared steam turbines producing 41,000 shp; 4 shafts |
| Speed: | 25.5 knots |
| Range: | 2,270 nautical miles at 23 knots 3,050 nautical miles at 23 knots using fuel oil |
| Complement: | 722 (as designed) 1,032 (as a flagship, May, 1916) |
HMS Invincible was a battlecruiser of the Royal Navy, the lead ship of her class of three, and the first battlecruiser to be built by any country in the world. After an initial period of near-constant modification she became an active unit of the Battlecruiser Force. She participated in the Battle of Heligoland Bight, the Battle of the Falkland Islands and the Battle of Jutland, where she was sunk in action on 31 May, 1916.
Construction
HMS Invincible was built at Sir W. G. Armstrong, Whitworth & Co., Ltd on Tyneside. She was laid down on 2 April 1906, and launched at 3 p.m. on 13 April 1907 by Lady Allendale.
She was constructed with a new form of turret operation, namely electically powered mountings for the 12" guns - a first in British naval construction. She was fitted with two turrets each built by Vickers Ltd. and the Elswick Ordnance Company. Her turbines were constructed by Humphreys of Tennant and was fitted with thirty-one Yarrow boilers.
On 28 December, while still fitting out, she was hit by the collier Oden, which resulted in the buckling of beams and frames in the hull and 5 bottom plates were stove in. On 8 September, 1908 Captain M.E.F. Kerr was appointed to command. She was officially completed on 16 March 1909, her completion having been delayed by the Oden incident and the installation of electric turrets. On 18 March, she sailed from the Tyne to Portsmouth, where she would be commissioned. On the way, she collided with the brigantine Mary Ann, and stood by until the lifeboat John Birch arrived from Yarmouth to take the brigantine in tow. She was commissioned into the fleet on 20 March 1909 and joined the 1st Cruiser Squadron (1st C.S.) of the 1st Division, Home Fleet.
Early career
She participated in fleet manoeuvres in April and June of 1909, the Spithead Review on 12 June 1909, and the Fleet Review off Southend on 2 July. Periodically she had to be taken in hand at Portsmouth for repairs, alterations and additions until 27 March, 1911 when she was reduced to a nuclues crew in preparation for refit. On 28 March Captain Kerr was replaced by Captain R.P.F. Purefoy and the ship went into refit at Portsmouth until 2 June, when she recommissioned at Portsmouth for further service in the 1st C.S.. On 1 May, 1912 Captain M. Culme-Seymour replaced Captain Purefoy. On 1 January, 1913 the 1st C.S. became the 1st Battlecruiser Squadron (1st B.C.S.). On 17 March, 1913 she collided with the submarine C-34 in Stokes Bay (in the Solent), suffering no damage in the process.
In August, 1913 Invincible joined the 2nd Battlecruiser Squadron (2nd B.C.S.) in the Mediterranean Fleet after annual manoeuvres. At the same time Captain H.B. Pelly was appointed to command. From 30 October to 5 November, 1913 she was under refit at Malta. In December she returned to Britain to undertake a major refit which began in March, 1914. She was reduced to a nucleus crew while major work was done, Captian Pelly remaining in charge until completion of work in July.
1914 refit
During the refit Invincible's 12" electrically-operated turrets were changed to operate on hydraulic power. The 4" guns atop A and Y turrets were removed to the forward superstructure, where they along with the others there were enclosed in unarmoured casemates. Two 4" guns were placed on the shelter deck between the fore funnels, and two 4" guns placed either side of the conning tower on the conning tower platform.
First World War
At the beginning of the First World War, she took part in the action at the Battle of Heligoland Bight on 28 August 1914, before being sent along with her sister Inflexible to the South Atlantic where she fought in the first Battle of the Falkland Islands on 8 December 1914. In this battle, she fired off five hundred and thirteen 12" shells at the enemy.
At the Battle of Jutland on 31 May 1916, she was the flagship of the 3rd Battlecruiser Squadron. She was hit in her Q turret by a salvo from Lützow, which blew the roof off the turret over the site. It was either this shell hit which caused a flash down the magazine or a second shell in the same salvo that penetrated the armor and exploded in the magazine, causing a massive explosion. The ship broke in two and sank with the loss of all but six of her crew of 1,021. Admiral Hood was among the dead. She was officially paid of by the Royal Navy on 3 June, 1916.
After the war, the wreckage was located by a minesweeper at 57-02-40 North Latitude, 06-07-15 East Longitude, 180 feet down.
