H.M.S. Birmingham (1913)

H.M.S. Birmingham (1913)
Pendant Number:	45 (1914) 16 (Jan 1918) 28 (Apr 1918)
Builder:	Armstrong
Ordered:	1912 Programme
Laid down:	10 Jun, 1912
Launched:	7 May, 1913
Commissioned:	Feb, 1914
Sold:	5 Feb, 1931

Service

Birmingham commissioned at Portsmouth on 3 February, 1914 under the command of Captain Arthur A. M. Duff, who'd been helping oversee her completion since mid-1913. At the outset of the war, she found herself a part of the First Light Cruiser Squadron.

On 9 August, 1914, Birmingham rammed and sank U 15 off Fair Island. This was the first U-boat loss to enemy action in the Great War..

She fought at the Battle of Heligoland Bight on the 28 August as one of six light cruisers of the 1 L.C.S. present.

On 24 January, 1915, Birmingham was one of four light cruisers from the First Light Cruiser Squadron at the Battle of Dogger Bank. The following month, she moved over to join the Second Light Cruiser Squadron.

At the Battle of Jutland, she was part of the Second Light Cruiser Squadron, screening the battlecruisers under Captain Arthur A. M. Duff.

She recommissioned at Portsmouth on 19 June, 1919 to bear, by early 1921, Commander-in-Chief of the Africa Station.

Birmingham re-commissioned at Chatham on 15 November, 1923.

Alterations

In October 1914, the ship was to be given 4 Pattern 1582 Electric Radiators to warm cabins whose stoves could not be used for heating them.

Birmingham was fitted with a director in February, 1917. This alteration required her pole mast to be replaced with a tripod mast for greater rigidity.

Distinguishing Signs

In March 1914, the ship was to carry a single red band on first and third funnel.

Captains

Dates of appointment are provided when known.

• Captain Arthur A. M. Duff, 5 July, 1913 – 29 November, 1916  (in command at Battle of Jutland)
• Acting Captain Halton S. Lecky, 16 February, 1917 – 14 March, 1917
• Captain Ernest A. Taylor, 14 March, 1917 – 13 January, 1919  (and as Flag Captain)
• Captain Alan J. Mackenzie-Grieve, 13 January, 1919 – c. June, 1919
• Captain Arthur G. Craufurd, June, 1919
• Captain Henry E. F. Aylmer, 26 May, 1920 – 2 August, 1921  (some interpretation here)
• Captain Niel O'Neill, 21 May, 1920  (left on transfer of flag)
• Commander Frederick V. Williamson, May, 1921 – 1 September, 1921
• Captain George P. England, 1 September, 1921 – 30 May, 1922  (and for command of Group "B" of the Nore Reserve)
• Commander Francis H. Brabant, 30 May, 1922 – 9 January, 1923
• Captain Edward C. Boyle, 9 January, 1923 – 21 April, 1923
• Captain Bernard Buxton, 4 May, 1923 – 15 November, 1923
• Captain George H. Knowles, November, 1923 – late November, 1923  (in command for passage out, guessing as to his place in this sequence)
• Captain Henry J. S. Brownrigg, November, 1923 – January, 1925  (and as Flag Captain and Chief of Staff to R/A Bentinck)
• Captain Richard H. L. Bevan, 23 December, 1924 – 9 February, 1927
• Captain Alfred E. Evans, 7 January, 1927 – 18 September, 1928  (as Flag Captain and Chief of Staff of R/A Anderson)
• Commander Philip Hordern, 18 September, 1928 – early 1929
• Captain Leonard S. Holbrook, December, 1928 – 15 February, 1929
• Captain Edmond J. G. Mackinnon, 15 February, 1929 – 14 May, 1929  (and as Senior Officer, Reserve Fleet, Nore)

See Also

• Transcribed Ship Logs at naval-history.net
• Wikipedia

Bibliography

• Dittmar, F.J.; Colledge, J.J. (1972). British Warships 1914–1919. London: Ian Allan.
• Gray, Randal (editor) (1985). Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships 1906–1921. London: Conway Maritime Press. (on Amazon.com and Amazon.co.uk).
• 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.
• 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.