H.M.S. Inflexible (1907)
| H.M.S. Inflexible (1907) | |
|---|---|
| Pendant Number: | 83 (1914) 75 (Jan 1918) 47 (April, 1918)[1] |
| Builder: | John Brown, Clydebank (Ship no. 374)[2] |
| Laid down: | 5 Feb, 1906[3] |
| Launched: | 26 Jun, 1907[4] |
| Commissioned: | Oct, 1908[5] |
| Sold: | 1 Dec, 1921[6] |
| Fate: | Scrapped |
Construction and Acceptance
When in December 1906 Indomitable's anchor and hawsepipe arrangements seemed problematic in mock-up, Lusitania was fitting out in Clydebank, and it was observed that she had a more elegant plan. It was mimicked for Inflexible and Indomitable.[7]
| Construction Costs, pounds Sterling[8] | |
|---|---|
| Hull and fittings | 785,512 |
| Propelling and Machinery | 467,976 |
| Hydraulics and Air Compressing | 311,696 |
| Gun mountings | 12,824 |
| Total | 1,578,373 |
The ship's heavy gun mountings were manufactured by Vicker's, whereas her sisters' were by Armstrong's. Inflexible's guns were criticised for "poor training control . The creep is not at all good; the turrets to do not start or stop with precision, the reversal of direction of training is erratic," and a pointed contrast made with the same fittings in the other ships. Moreover, the fire control arrangements were not ready by the time of the gun tests.[9]
Service
In mid-1913, she was Admiral Milen's flagship in the Mediterranean.[10]
Battle of Jutland
- Main article: H.M.S. Inflexible at the Battle of Jutland
Post-War
She paid off at the Nore on 31 March, 1920.[11]
The ship was one of seven which tested Willis and Robinson Electric Revolution Telegraphs. Testing was completed in late 1913.[12]
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.[13]
Boats
In July 1914, the ship was appropriated 42-foot motor launch No. 260, though the boat was not yet delivered from the contractor.[14]
Alterations
By November, 1909, Inflexible had her training engines' control machinery altered from the original combination of a two-position lever for direction and a hand-wheel operated "creep valve" to control the speed of traversal to a hand wheel which controlled both functions and made operation much less clumsy and permitted a training rate of 3 degrees per second, albeit requiring three full turns of the wheel to get there.[15]
In 1913, Inflexible was slated as part of the seventeen ship order to receive a director. It was fitted sometime between December, 1915 and the Battle of Jutland.[16]
Captains
Dates of appointment are provided when known.
- Captain Henry H. Torlesse, 1 June, 1908[17]
- Captain Charles L. Napier, 14 December, 1909[18]
- Captain Richard F. Phillimore, 21 November, 1911[19]
- Captain Robert S. Phipps Hornby, 8 May, 1912[20]
- Captain Arthur N. Loxley, 5 November, 1912[21]
- Captain Richard F. Phillimore, 28 August, 1914[22]
- Captain Edward H. F. Heaton-Ellis, 13 April, 1915[23] – 29 November, 1916[24] (in command at Battle of Jutland)
- Captain Arthur A. M. Duff, 29 November, 1916[25]
- Captain Bertram S. Thesiger, 21 August, 1917[26]
- Captain James R. P. Hawksley, November, 1917[27]
- Captain Ernest W. Denison, 15 March, 1919[28]
See Also
Footnotes
- ↑ Dittmar; Colledge. British Warships 1914–1919. p. 35.
- ↑ Clydebank Battlecruisers. Footers.
- ↑ Clydebank Battlecruisers. p. 15.
- ↑ Clydebank Battlecruisers. p. 16.
- ↑ Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships 1906–1921. p. 24.
- ↑ Dittmar; Colledge. British Warships 1914–1919. p. 35.
- ↑ Clydebank Battlecruisers. p. 16.
- ↑ Clydebank Battlecruisers. p. 16.
- ↑ Clydebank Battlecruisers. p. 16.
- ↑ The Navy List. (July, 1913). p. 332.
- ↑ The Navy List. (January, 1921). p. 792.
- ↑ Admiralty Weekly Order No. 607 of 24 Oct, 1913.
- ↑ Annual Report of the Torpedo School, 1913. W/T Appendix, p. 13.
- ↑ Admiralty Weekly Order No. 122 of 10 July, 1914.
- ↑ Brooks. Dreadnought Gunnery. pp. 45-46.
- ↑ The Technical History and Index, Vol. 3, Part 23. pp. 9-11.
- ↑ Roberts. Battlecruisers. p. 122.
- ↑ Roberts. Battlecruisers. p. 122.
- ↑ Phillimore Service Record. The National Archives. ADM 196/42. f. 29a.
- ↑ Roberts. Battlecruisers. p. 122.
- ↑ The Navy List. (July, 1913). p. 332.
- ↑ Phillimore Service Record. The National Archives. ADM 196/42. f. 29a.
- ↑ The Navy List. (December, 1916). p. 395k.
- ↑ Heaton-Ellis Service Record. The National Archives. 196/43. f. 20/38.
- ↑ Duff Service Record. The National Archives. ADM 196/43. f. 390.
- ↑ The Navy List. (November, 1917). p. 394r.
- ↑ The Navy List. (February, 1919). p. 820.
- ↑ The Navy List. (August, 1919). p. 820.
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.
- 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).
- Johnston, Ian (2011). Clydebank Battlecruisers: Forgotten Photographs from John Brown's Shipyard. South Yorkshire: Seaforth Publishing, Pen & Sword Books. (on Amazon.com and Amazon.co.uk).
- David K Brown. The Design of HMS Inflexible in Warship, Issue 5.
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