View source for H.M.S. Formidable (1898)

<div name=fredbot:career>{{ShipCareer|fullname=H.M.S. ''Formidable'' (1898)|fate2=by {{DE-U24}} off Portland{{Conways1860|p. 36}}
|comm=10 Oct, 1901
|fatedate=1 Jan, 1915{{DittColl|p. 30}}
|order=1897-98 Programme{{Conways1860|p. 36}}
|name=Formidable
|launch=17 Nov, 1898{{DittColl|p. 30}}
|builder=[[Portsmouth Royal Dockyard]]{{DittColl|p. 30}}
|laid=21 Mar, 1898{{UKDockyardExpenseAccounts1902|p. 26}}
|fate=Torpedoed
|pend=50 (1914){{DittColl|p. 30}}
|fg=white|bg=crimson}}</div name=fredbot:career>
'''H.M.S. ''Formidable''''' was the lead ship of the [[Formidable Class Battleship (1898)|''Formidable'' Class]] of [[battleship]] and the third of four with the name H.M.S. ''Formidable'' to serve in the [[Royal Navy|British Royal Navy]].  

==Service==

[[File:HMS Formidable During Trials.jpg|450px|thumb|right|''Formidable'' in early 1901 during trials.<br><small>Photograph: ''Navy & Army Illustrated''.</small>]]
''Formidable'' carried out her gunnery trials on 12 June, 1901 under the oversight of Captain [[Arthur Barrow]] of {{UK-Excellent|f=p}}, firing five rounds from her forward 12-in turret and seven from her aft turret.<ref>"Naval & Military Intelligence."  ''The Times'' (London, England), Thursday, Jun 13, 1901; pg. 10; Issue 36480.</ref> She passed into the Fleet Reserve on 16 September,{{UKDockyardExpenseAccounts1902|p. 26}} and was commissioned at Portsmouth on 10 October for service in the [[Mediterranean Station|Mediterranean]].  Captain [[Alexander William Chisholm-Batten|Alexander W. Chisholm-Batten]] paid off the {{UK-1Resolution}} on 9 October and he and his crew turned over to ''Formidable'' on the following day.<ref>"Naval & Military Intelligence."  ''The Times''.  3 October, 1901.  p. 4.</ref>

Gunnery Lieutenant [[Arthur Pringle]] and two sailors died on 28 April 1902 when a boat derrick they were restowing after use fell on them at Terranova Pausania, Italy.  Generous offers of support and sympathy from the local populace and Italian Marine Admiral Marchese from Maddalena were politely acknowledged.{{ToL|The Accident On Board the Formidable|Wednesday, April 30, 1902, Issue 36755, p.9}}

''Formidable'' served in the [[Mediterranean Fleet (Royal Navy)|Mediterranean Fleet]] up to April, 1908 when she was transferred to the [[Channel Fleet (Royal Navy)|Channel Fleet]].  She went to [[Chatham Royal Dockyard]] for refit from April, 1909 to August, 1909, after which she joined the [[Home Fleet (Royal Navy)|Home Fleet]] and later the [[Atlantic Fleet (Royal Navy)|Atlantic Fleet]] until May, 1912.  She was reduced to a "nucleus" crew with the Second Fleet at the [[Nore Station|Nore]].  Between 1912–14, ''Formidable'' was part of the {{UK-BS|5}}, in which she was serving at the outbreak of [[World War I]].

After covering the safe transportation of the British Expeditionary Forces in August 1914, ''Formidable'' took part in the transportation of the Portsmouth [[Royal Marines]] Battalion to Ostend on 25 August.  She was sunk on 1 January, 1915 while on Channel patrol off Portland Bill by torpedoes of German U-boat {{DE-U24}}.  The ship sank quickly during bad weather resulting in the loss of 547 men from her complement of 780, and became the second battleship serving with the Royal Navy to be sunk during the First World War (after {{UK-Audacious|f=p}}).

===Torpedoing and Loss===
The squadron was participating in gunnery exercises off Portland, supported by the cruisers {{UK-Topaze}} and {{UK-1Diamond}}. On the night of 31 December after the exercises, the fleet remained at sea even though submarine activity had been reported in the area.  With the wind increasing and rough sea conditions, submarine attacks would have been difficult to carry out effectively and so were not thought to be a significant threat.  The next day, ''Formidable'' was steaming at 10&nbsp;knots at the rear of the squadron just 20&nbsp;miles from Star Point, when at 02:20 she was struck by a torpedo on the starboard side giving her a list of 20 degrees.  45&nbsp;minutes later she was struck by a second torpedo.  The pinnace and launch along with two other boats (one of which capsized soon after) were launched, and the two light cruisers managed to pick up 80 men.  ''Formidable'' remained afloat until 04:45, and then went down quickly with Captain [[Arthur Noel Loxley|Loxley]] still on the bridge along with his Fox Terrier Bruce.  In rough seas near Berry Head, a Brixham trawler, the ''Provident'' under the command of Captain W. Piller, picked up the men from the launch before it sank, saving 71 members of the crew.  The second pinnace took off another 70 men.  This boat was spotted from the shore the following night and a further 48 men were brought ashore alive 22 hours after the sinking.

The total loss of life in ''Formidable'' was 35 Officers and 512 men out of 780.

The wreck site is designated and controlled under the Protection of Military Remains Act.  Captain Loxley's dog, Bruce, was washed ashore and is buried in a marked grave in Abbotsbury Gardens in Dorset.

==Captains==
Dates of appointment are provided when known.
<div name=fredbot:officeCapt otitle="Captain of H.M.S. ''Formidable''">
{{Tenure|rank=Captain|name=Alexander William Chisholm-Batten|nick=Alexander W. Chisholm-Batten|appt=10 October, 1901<ref>"Naval & Military Intelligence."  ''The Times'' (London, England), Thursday, Oct 03, 1901; pg. 4; Issue 36576.</ref><ref>Chisholm-Batten Service Record.  {{TNA|ADM 196/18.}}  f. 254.</ref>|end=30 September, 1904<ref>Chisholm-Batten Service Record.  {{TNA|ADM 196/18.}}  f. 254.</ref>|precBy=New Command}}
{{Tenure|rank=Captain|name=Thomas Philip Walker|nick=Thomas P. Walker|appt=September, 1904<ref>Walker Service Record.  {{TNA|ADM 196/39.}} f. 295/1378.</ref>|ass=1 October, 1904{{NLNov05|p. 316}}|end=}}
{{Tenure|rank=Captain|name=Ernest Alfred Simons|nick=Ernest A. Simons|appt=15 March, 1906<ref>Simons Service Record.  {{TNA|ADM 196/39.}} f. 1189.</ref>|end=1 January, 1907<ref>Simons Service Record.  {{TNA|ADM 196/39.}} f. 1189.</ref>}}
{{Tenure|rank=Captain|name=Herbert Lyon|nick=Herbert Lyon|appt=25 January, 1907<ref>Lyon Service Record at {{TNA|ADM 196/19.}}  f. 446.</ref>|end=17 August, 1908<ref>Lyon Service Record at {{TNA|ADM 196/19.}}  f. 446.</ref>}}
{{Tenure|rank=Captain|name=Reginald Arthur Allenby|nick=Reginald A. Allenby|appt=20 April, 1909{{NLJan10|p. 318}}<ref>Allenby Service Record.  {{TNA|ADM 196/42.}}  f. 47.</ref>|end=4 April, 1911<ref>Allenby Service Record.  {{TNA|ADM 196/42}}  f. 47.</ref>}}
{{Tenure|rank=Captain|name=Philip Nelson-Ward|nick=Philip Nelson-Ward|appt=4 April, 1911<ref>Nelson-Ward Service Record.  {{TNA|ADM 196/42.}}  f. 378.</ref>{{NLAug12|p. 316}}|end=11 December, 1912<ref>Nelson-Ward Service Record.  {{TNA|ADM 196/42.}}  f. 378.</ref>}}
{{Tenure|rank=Captain|name=Drury St. Aubyn Wake|nick=Drury St. A. Wake|appt=11 December, 1912<ref>Wake Service Record.  {{TNA|ADM 196/42.}}  f. 125.</ref>|end=2 September, 1914<ref>Wake Service Record.  {{TNA|ADM 196/42.}}  f. 125.</ref>}}
{{Tenure|rank=Captain|name=Arthur Noel Loxley|nick=Arthur N. Loxley|appt=2 September, 1914{{NLDec14|p. 318}}<ref>Loxley Service Record.  {{TNA|ADM 196/44.}}  f. 33.</ref>|end=1 January, 1915<ref>Loxley Service Record.  {{TNA|ADM 196/44.}}  f. 33.</ref>|succBy=Vessel Lost|note=killed while in command}}
</div name=fredbot:officeCapt>

==Radio==
In 1901, while serving in the Mediterranean, she had or was slated to receive a [[Wireless Telegraphy Apparatus Mark II|"1 to 52" W/T set]].{{ARTS1901|p. 111}}

==Torpedoes==
In 1904, in a competition to investigate how rapidly submerged tubes could be fired four times sequentially, starting with the tube loaded and the bar out, the ship's crew was able to do this in one minute, 48 seconds, later improved to 1 minute 31 seconds.  The best time was achieved by {{UK-Cressy}} at 50.75 seconds, though 2:30 was more typical.{{ARTS1904|pp. 45-7}}

==Footnotes==
{{reflist}}

==Bibliography==
{{refbegin}}
*{{UKDockyardExpenseAccounts1902}}
*Potts, Mark; Marks, Tony (2007).  ''Before the Bells Have Faded: The Sinking of HMS Formidable 11 January, 1915''.  London: Naval and Military Press.  ISBN 9781847346834.
* {{TNA|ADM 137/142}}, "Loss of Formidable"
{{refend}}

==See Also==
{{refbegin}}
{{WP|https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HMS_Formidable_(1898)}}
*[http://www.worldwar1.co.uk worldwar1.co.uk website: World War I naval history – WWI battles, pictures and maps]
*[http://www.battleships-cruisers.co.uk/index.htm  battleships-cruisers.co.uk ''History of the World's Navy's vessels'' Home page] 
*[http://hmsformidable.org/1898/1901-hmsformidable.htm Images on hmsformidable.org website]
*[http://www.burtonbradstock.org.uk/History/Wrecks%20off%20Burton%20Bradstock/HMS%20Formidable.htm Burton Bradstock village website]
{{refend}}

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