H.M.S. Orion (1910)

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H.M.S. Orion (1910)
Pendant Number: 52 (1914)
91 (Jan 1918)
86 (Apr 1918)[1]
Builder: Portsmouth Royal Dockyard[2]
Ordered: 1909 Programme[3]
Laid down: 29 Nov, 1909[4]
Launched: 20 Aug, 1910[5]
Commissioned: 2 Jan, 1912
Sold: 19 Dec, 1922[6]
Fate: Scrapped


Career

Commander Julian Francis Chichester Patterson, 1914-1917 (Gunnery Officer)

In 24-25 August 1915, Orion won the Second Battle Squadron Pulling Regatta at Scapa. Dreyer rowed in boats that proved victorious in the Officers' Cutter Race and the Officers' Veterans Skiff Race. The ship also won the 2BS Sailing Regatta held on 23 September.[7]

Jutland

Main article

Main Battery

Orion was built with 13.5-inch Mk II mountings for her guns.[8]

Secondary Battery

Orion differed from her sisters in using a P IV* mounting (as in the Colossus class) rather than a P II* mounting for her sixteen 4-in guns. Their details can be found here.

Torpedoes

The ships had three 21-in submerged torpedo tubes. Orion's broadside tubes were angled at 90 degrees, unlike her sisters, whose were angled 10 degrees in advance of the beam.[9]

Alterations

In 1913, Orion was slated as part of the seventeen ship order to receive a director for her main battery. It was fitted in late April or early May, 1915 during a weeklong refit in Devonport, and the wiring was completed in May at Scapa Flow. Very soon thereafter, a test of six half salvoes in Scapa demonstrated mean patterns of 200 yards at 12,000 yards.[10][11] [12]

In late 1914, it was decided that Orion should receive one of 22 Open Director Sights for her "Q" turret. It was fitted between April 1916 and June 1917.[13]

In 1915, it was also decided to outfit her 4-in battery with director firing as a test, as resources did not permit wholesale support of the ships with 4-in secondaries. However, this installation did not actually occur until mid-1918.[14] It seems that Orion was the only capital ship in the Royal Navy to have a director for a 4-in secondary battery.

Captains

Dates of appointment are provided when known.

See Also

Footnotes

  1. Dittmar; Colledge. British Warships 1914–1919. p. 33.
  2. Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships 1906–1921. p. 28.
  3. Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships 1906–1921. p. 28.
  4. Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships 1906–1921. p. 28.
  5. Dittmar; Colledge. British Warships 1914–1919. p. 33.
  6. Dittmar; Colledge. British Warships 1914–1919. p. 33.
  7. Dreyer. The Sea Heritage: A Study of Maritime Warfare, p. 95.
  8. Hodges. The Big Gun. p. 62.
  9. Annual Report of the Torpedo School, 1917, p. 190.
  10. The Technical History and Index: Fire Control in HM Ships. pp. 9-10.
  11. Dreyer. The Sea Heritage: A Study of Maritime Warfare, pp. 94-95.
  12. Burt. British Battleships, p. 140.
  13. The Technical History and Index: Fire Control in HM Ships. p. 18.
  14. The Technical History and Index: Fire Control in HM Ships. pp. 16-7.
  15. Waller Service Record. The National Archives. ADM 196/43. f. 207.
  16. The Navy List (December, 1914). p. 364.
  17. The Navy List (December, 1916). p. 396h.
  18. The Navy List (December, 1918). p. 856.
  19. The Monthly Navy List (August, 1919). p. 855.

Bibliography


Orion Class Dreadnought
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<– Colossus Class Battleships (UK) King George V Class –>