Queen Elizabeth Class Battleship (1913)

Design

In a paper of 5 December, 1913, Churchill referred to:

The argument for the design of the 'Queen Elizabeths' was fully explained to the Cabinet last year, and no doubt can be entertained of the decisive military advantages inherent in the creation of a fast division of vessels of the maximum fighting power. The fact that oil-burning ships can refuel at sea, and thus avoid the growing submarine menace which will await them near their coaling bases, is a newly realised advantage of first importance.

Armament

Main Battery

This section is sourced by The Sight Manual, 1916.

The 15-in guns were Mark I 42 calibre and able to elevate 20 degrees and depress 5 degrees.

The sights were cam-worked and capable of 15 degrees elevation, but the central sights had "20 degree super-elevation strips". The deflection gearing constant was 56.25 with 1 knot being 2.56 arc minutes. Range drums were graduated for 2400 fps for full charge and 2025 fps for 3/4 charge, as well as for 6-pdr sub-calibre and .303-in aiming rifle. There were no half-charge drums provided. MV was corrected by adjustable scale plate and deflection calibrated for 2450 fps at 5000 yards. Drift was allowed for by effectively inclining the periscope carrier 2.5 degrees. The central sighting scopes were 61 inches above and 46 inches aside the bore, and the side scopes were 43 inches above and 51.5 inches aside. There was also a temperature corrector fitted.

The trainer's sight could be made a free sight by releasing a clamp; the trainer then could vary the scope in pitch by shoulder supports. OOQ sights were fitted with settings for all but the .303-in aiming rifle.

Secondary Battery

The 6-in guns were Mark XII on P IX mountings. Deflection gearing constant was 53.7 and 1 knot equal to 2.68 arc minutes (2825 fps at 5000 yards). The range dials provided were full charge at 2750 fps, reduced charge at 2075 fps, 3-pdr sub-calibre, and 1-in and .303-in aiming rifles. Adjustable pointers permitted MV correction of +/- 150 fps. Drift correction was achieved by inclining the sight 1.75 degrees and by additionally setting 4 knots left deflection in reduced charge firings. The scopes were 19.5 inches above the bore.

The sights were cam-worked with equal-spaced range dials and FTP receivers; the eyepieces of the scopes coincided with the trunnion, reducing operator fatigue when tracking a target in roll. There was no "C" corrector fitted, but there were temperature and MV correctors.

Torpedoes

Four Service Bar 21-in submerged broadside tubes depressed 2 degrees. Forward bearing 80 degrees, aft 100.

Fire Control

Phones

Navyphones directly wired:

• a 3330 in the T.S. to a 3331 in the T.C.T.
• a 3330 in the T.S. to a 3331 in the C.T.
• a 3331 in the G.C.T. to a 3331 in the T.C.T.
• a 3331 at each tube to a 3331 with 2465 at the T.C.T.
• a 3331 at each tube to a 3331 with 2465 at the C.T.
• a 3331 in the T.C.T. to a 3331 in the C.T.
• a 3331 in the lower space of 'X' turret to a 3330 in the T.S. (this had a 6-cell battery for power)
• a 3333 in the bow spotting position to a 3330 in the T.S.

Each turret had a single, redundant circuit to a 3334 within the T.S., connecting each to a 3333 with telaupads and a 3334 within the turret. 'X', due to its directing gun had an additional 3333 on this circuit.

The armoured director tower and the light aloft director tower each had a 3331 with telaupads wired to the T.S.'s exchange board. The T.S. exchange was also wired to a pair of 3331's in the spotting top and another in the G.C.T.

The T.S.'s exchange board had four 3330s for operators. Presumably, these could be plugged to call any of the phones not hard-wired as above.

Rangefinders

The rangefinder in the TCT was a 9-foot F.T. 24 on an M.Q. 10 mounting.

Sometime, likely not before 1918, these were to be upgraded to 15-foot instruments, probably also F.T. 24, with new armoured hoods and racers and training driving the hood directly rather than through the rangefinder mounting. These rangefinders lacked hand-following gear to facilitate in transmission of range cuts, and when it was considered as an addition around 1917, space concerns were causing issues.

Evershed Bearing Indicators

All 5 units were likely fitted with this equipment before late 1914.^[Inference]

Details likely resembled those for the King George V class.

Mechanical Aid-to-Spotter

At some point, all ships in this class were equipped with four Mark II Mechanical Aid-to-Spotters:

• one on each side of the foretop, driven by flexible shafting from the Evershed rack on the director
• one on each side of the Gun Control Tower employing an electrical F.T.P. system.

As the need for such gear was apparently first identified in early 1916, it seems likely that these installations were effected well after Jutland.

Gunnery Control

The control arrangements were almost certainly developed along lines similar to the King George V class, outlined here as follows.^[Inference]

Control Positions

The 15-in guns had 3 control positions:^{[Citation needed]}

• Gunnery control tower
• 'B' turret
• 'X' turret

The 6-in guns had 4 control positions:

1. 6-in Gun Control Tower (P & S)
2. Transmitting Station
3. Alternative Position (A) in spotting top
4. Alternative Position (B), A.K.A. "Deck Alternative Position"

Control Groups

The four 15-in turrets were each a separate group with a local C.O.S. so that it could be connected to

• Transmitting Station
• Local control from officer's position within turret

In 1915, the 6-in guns on Queen Elizabeth were divided into 3 groups on each broadside:

1. 3 guns
2. 3 guns
3. 2 guns

but this was soon to change along with a pattern already established in Warspite: removal of number 3 group, returning 2 guns and moving the others to the foredeck, presumably with some or total loss in fire control cohesion for that weapon.

Directors

Main Battery

These ships were fitted with 2 cam-type tripod-mounted directors, one in an armoured tower and one in a light aloft tower, as well as a directing gun (in 'X' turret?).

The main battery was divisible into two groups, fore ('A' & 'B') and aft ('X' & 'Y'). A C.O.S. in the TS offered the following options:

• All guns on aloft director
• All guns on armoured director
• All guns on directing gun
• Forward group on aloft director, aft group on armoured director
• Forward group on armoured director, aft group on directing gun

Each gun had a local C.O.S. with 3 positions:

• Gunlayer's firing (local trigger circuits connected)
• Director 1 (director main to local main, director aux to local aux)
• Director 2 (director main to local aux, director aux to local main)

Henderson Gear
Wiring as in the Queen Elizabeth and Revenge classes.

Sometime in 1916 or thereafter, it was likely that the directors in these ships were augmented by the addition of Henderson Firing Gear, as the initiative was underway that all main battery directors should be so endowed.

Secondary Battery

Diagram of 6-in Director Firing Circuits
As shown in Annual Report of the Torpedo School, 1915.

All units except Queen Elizabeth had a pair of pedestal-mounted directors for their secondary batteries. Queen Elizabeth's 6-in guns were supported by a pair of tripod-mounted directors.

The secondary directors were situated port and starboard high on her forward superstructure. The broadside-mounted secondary guns were in port and starboard groups, and either were laid and fired locally or under the control of the director on their side. The system in the follow-on Revenge class was so similar that the Annual Report of the Torpedo School, 1915 saw fit to document the two together.

Transmitting Stations

Following evolutionary lines of development which were firming up in the King George V class, these ships probably had a TS for the main battery (with a Dreyer Table), and one for the 6-in guns (likely without a Dreyer table, or just a Turret Control Table).^[Inference]

Dreyer Table

Each ships had a Mark IV* Dreyer Table, although it is possible that Queen Elizabeth was originally given a Mark IV Dreyer Table which was later upgraded to the Mark IV* standard.

Each ship also had 4^[Inference] Dreyer Turret Control Tables.

Fire Control Instruments

Fire Control Systems
As shown in Annual Report of the Torpedo School, 1914.

Continuing the pattern established in the Colossus class, all 5 units used Mark III Vickers F.T.P. receivers on the gun sights, connected to a variety of transmitter Marks III (for local control) and Mark III* or IV* in the T.S. for working through cross-connecting gear.

These ships were the first to employ the new Barr and Stroud Mark I fall-of-shot instruments. Queen Elizabeth was given transmitters in the bow spotting position (soon abolished and resited in 'A' turret) and in 'X' turret. These worked receivers in the TS, spotting top and the 15-in GCT.

Barr and Stroud Fire Control Instruments of a variety of Marks (III and IV, primarily) were used for other purposes.

The 6-in broadside batteries each had separate cease-fire gong circuits, each with a push in the conning tower. The gongs for the two sides were made to sound quite different in tone, and each gun had a gong, as did both 6-in control towers. The 6-in TS had 1 gong of each type.

The ships also had Gun Ready signals in the TS and control positions, but had no Target Visible signals.

In 1916, it was approved that the ships should have a range rate transmitter/receiver pair between T.S. and spotting top for the main armament. Additionally, it was ordered that Lion and King George V classes and` later should receive instruments such that the fore top could be interchangeable as a gun control position with the GCT.

Torpedo Control

Torpedo Control

By the end of 1915, Warspite and Queen Elizabeth were fitted with a Torpedo Control Plotting Instrument Mark I in the TCT. The other three ships were fitted some time before mid 1917.

Torpedo Control Tower

The arrangements for torpedo control are documented in the Annual Report of the Torpedo School, 1914. They note right off that these ships differ from the Iron Duke by the fact that the TS contains no torpedo control equipment.

The ships had two control positions: the C.T. and the T.C.T. Each had 4 sets of equipment for commanding the four torpedo tubes. Each such set contained:

• Mark I Torpedo Order instrument
• Mark II Angled gyro instrument
• A firing pistol
• A firing gong

The torpedo control tower exercised authority over the conning tower, however, in that it was equipped with a pair of Mark III single-range transmitters and a pair of Mark I course and speed transmitters while the conning tower had the receivers. Presumably, this was because the TCT had a 9-foot rangefinder for the express purpose of torpedo control. The control positions also each had a device called an "order instrument" wired directly to that in the other control position.

Each tube had a 2-way C.O.S. to select which control position's corresponding firing key would be connected to electromagnetically drop its firing ball. The order and gyro angle instruments, however, did not pass through a C.O.S. at all; the indications from both control positions were continually indicated by a duplicate set of instruments at each tube.

Navyphones for Torpedo and Fire Control
As shown in Annual Report of the Torpedo School, 1914.

It is not clear to me why each torpedo tube has 4 fire gongs near it, or why the torpedo control positions have fire gongs. Also, the "speed indicator" in the plan of the TCT is not explained. It is possible that it may have been a means of seeing whether the torpedoes were set for low or high speed, or

In 1916, a number of further changes were decided upon:

• Navyphone communication between CT and aft torpedo flat and TCT and fore torpedo flat
• removal of secondary director hoods
• "transfer of instruments in the secondary positions" to the CT and TCT. I presume that "secondary positions" means the secondary director hoods.
• it was approved that the ships should have a transmitters in the T.S. and receivers in T.C.T. and C.T. so that gunnery data for range, course and speed could be shared with the torpedo control group.
• arrangements were to be made that all capital ships with 21-in torpedoes to receive transmitters and receivers so that the T.C.T. could pass the plotted torpedo deflection to the C.T., which could then use a reciprocal set of equipment to send the T.C.T. a deflection to be placed on the sight and range to open fire.

See Also

• Wikipedia

Bibliography

• Template:BibUKARTS1914
• Template:BibUKARTS1915
• Template:BibUKFireControlInHMShips1919
• Admiralty, Gunnery Branch (1914). Handbook for Fire Control Instruments, 1914. G. 01627/14. C.B. 1030. Copy 1235 at The National Archives. ADM 186/191.
• Template:BibBrooksDreadnoughtGunnery
• Template:BibUKDirectorFiringHandbook1917
• Template:BibUKDreyerTableHandbook1918