H.M.S. Africa (1905)

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H.M.S. Africa (1905)
Pendant Number: 25 (1914)
02 (Jan 1918)
N.07 (Apr 1918)[1]
Builder: Chatham Royal Dockyard[2]
Ordered: 1903-04 Programme[3]
Laid down: 27 Jan, 1904[4]
Launched: 20 May, 1905[5]
Completed: 6 Nov, 1906[6]
Commissioned: 6 Nov, 1906[7]
Sold: 30 Jun, 1920[8]
Fate: Scrapped

H.M.S. Africa was one of eight King Edward VII class battleships. She entered service in late 1906 and spent most of her service in the Great War with a shifting roster of her sisters in the Third Battle Squadron.

Service

Commissioned at Chatham on 6 November, 1906.[9]

Re-commissioned at Chatham on 25 April, 1911 as flagship of the Third and Fourth Divisions of the Home Fleet.[10]

Completed to full crew at Sheerness 14 May, 1912.[11] Africa was assigned to the Third Battle Squadron upon its creation that same month and remained with the Squadron until being detached along with Britannia — a ship that would become her traveling buddy — in September, 1916.[12]

She arrived in Chatham on 30 September, 1913.[13]

She left Rosyth for Scapa with Albemarle in the forenoon of 30 October, 1915, arriving at daylight on 1 November.[14] The two ships left Scapa for Rosyth at 17:00 on 4 November, arriving at 08:30 on the 5th.[15]

In October, 1916, she was assigned to the British Adriatic Squadron, being one of six pre-dreadnoughts at its core.[16] In March, 1917, she and Britannia were sent to join the Ninth Cruiser Squadron.[17] The two battleships operated in the North Atlantic with Ninth Cruiser Squadron with a dwindling number of cruisers throughout the war. Africa was temporarily made the squadron flagship in July and August of 1918, but by November, 1918, they were gone.[18][19][20]

At 9am on 7 November, 1918, Captain D'Arcy paid off Africa.[21] She fell into the custody of a commander who also was overseeing Zealandia.[22]

In January, 1919, she was assigned as an accommodation ship in Portsmouth, paying off on 26 February,[23] remaining at Portsmouth into April, after which time her name suddenly drops from the Supplements to the Monthly Navy Lists.[24]

Captains

Dates of appointment are provided when known.

Radio

At the end of 1909, she was to receive one of eleven Short Distance Radio Sets, to be installed at her next refit behind armour near the fore bridge, intended to supplant flag signaling.[50] In mid-1913, this gear was redesignated as Type 3.[51]

See Also

Footnotes

  1. Dittmar; Colledge. British Warships 1914–1919. p. 31.
  2. Dittmar; Colledge. British Warships 1914–1919. p. 31.
  3. Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships 1860–1905. p. 38.
  4. Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships 1860–1905. p. 38.
  5. Dittmar; Colledge. British Warships 1914–1919. p. 31.
  6. Navy (Dockyard Expense Accounts), 1907&ndash1908. p. 36.
  7. The Navy List. (January, 1908). p. 273.
  8. Dittmar; Colledge. British Warships 1914–1919. p. 31.
  9. The Navy List. (January, 1908). p. 273.
  10. The Navy List. (July, 1911). pp. 273, 274.
  11. The Navy List. (July, 1913). p. 274.
  12. See Third Battle Squadron (Royal Navy) for details on her service in 3BS.
  13. "Naval And Military Intelligence." The Times (London, England), Wednesday, Oct 01, 1913; pg. 11; Issue 40331.
  14. Jellicoe Papers. British Library. Add MS 49000. f. 269.
  15. Jellicoe Papers. British Library. Add MS 49001. f. 8.
  16. Supplement to the Monthly Navy List. (October, 1916). p. 20.
  17. Supplement to the Monthly Navy List. (March, 1917). p. 14.
  18. Supplement to the Monthly Navy List. (July, 1918). p. 21.
  19. Supplement to the Monthly Navy List. (August, 1918). p. 21.
  20. Supplement to the Monthly Navy List. (November, 1918). p. 21.
  21. Her logbooks at The National Archives. ADM 53/32879
  22. The Navy List. (February, 1919). p. 945a.
  23. Supplement to the Monthly Navy List. (Sep, 1919). p. 725.
  24. Supplement to the Monthly Navy List. (January, 1919). p. 21 and supplements through May.
  25. The Navy List. (March, 1907). p. 273.
  26. The Navy List. (March, 1907). p. 273.
  27. Stewart Service Record. The National Archives. ADM 196/20. f. 619.
  28. The Navy List. (January, 1908). p. 273.
  29. Stewart Service Record. The National Archives. ADM 196/20. f. 619.
  30. Stewart Service Record. The National Archives. ADM 196/20. f. 619.
  31. The Navy List. (January, 1910). p. 273.
  32. Leveson Service Record. The National Archives. ADM 196/42. f. 472.
  33. Leveson Service Record. The National Archives. ADM 196/42. f. 472.
  34. Smith Service Record. The National Archives. ADM 196/42. f. 295.
  35. The Navy List. (April, 1911). p. 273.
  36. Smith Service Record. The National Archives. ADM 196/42. f. 295.
  37. Williamson Service Record. The National Archives. ADM 196/43. f. 22.
  38. Williamson Service Record. The National Archives. ADM 196/43. f. 22.
  39. "Naval Appointments and Retirements" (Official Appointments and Notices). The Times. Tuesday, 11 July, 1911. Issue 39634, col C, p. 15.
  40. Barton Service Record. The National Archives. ADM 196/42. f. 74.
  41. The Navy List. (March, 1913). p. 273.
  42. Jones Service Record. The National Archives. ADM 196/43. f. 256.
  43. Jones Service Record. The National Archives. ADM 196/43. f. 256.
  44. Millar Service Record. The National Archives. ADM 196/42. f. 325.
  45. Millar Service Record. The National Archives. ADM 196/42. f. 325.
  46. D'Arcy Service Record. The National Archives. ADM 196/42/400. ff. 478, 40.
  47. The Navy List. (November, 1917). p. 391c.
  48. D'Arcy Service Record. The National Archives. ADM 196/42/400. ff. 478, 40.
  49. The Navy List. (February, 1919). p. 945a.
  50. Annual Report of the Torpedo School, 1909. Wireless Appendix, p. 25.
  51. Admiralty Weekly Order No. 306 of 20 June, 1913.

Bibliography


King Edward VII Class Pre-dreadnought
  Africa Britannia Commonwealth Dominion  
  Hibernia Hindustan King Edward VII Zealandia  
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