Difference between revisions of "H.M.S. Dreadnought (1906)"
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** [[Evershed Bearing Indicator]]s added to fore top | ** [[Evershed Bearing Indicator]]s added to fore top | ||
* 7 June 1915 | * 7 June 1915 | ||
| − | ** | + | ** Fore top rebuilt to receive director tower |
** 36-in searchlight platforms added to foremast struts | ** 36-in searchlight platforms added to foremast struts | ||
| − | ** 9-foot RFs added to P, Q, X, and Y turrets | + | ** 9-foot FT8 RFs added to 'P', 'Q', 'X', and 'Y' turrets |
** bridge wings removed | ** bridge wings removed | ||
** searchlight control gear installation begins | ** searchlight control gear installation begins | ||
| Line 128: | Line 128: | ||
** 4 36-in searchlights replace main top with control position underneath | ** 4 36-in searchlights replace main top with control position underneath | ||
** stern torpedo tube removed | ** stern torpedo tube removed | ||
| − | ** upper 12-pdr magazine converted into | + | ** upper 12-pdr magazine converted into TS |
** 2 12-pdrs on quarterdeck converted to HA mountings | ** 2 12-pdrs on quarterdeck converted to HA mountings | ||
** pedestals for Evershed equipment added in fore bridge | ** pedestals for Evershed equipment added in fore bridge | ||
Revision as of 15:45, 15 August 2009
| H.M.S. Dreadnought | |
| Career | Details |
|---|---|
| Pendant Number: | 73 (April, 1918) |
| Built By: | Portsmouth Royal Dockyard |
| Ordered: | 1905 |
| Laid down: | 2 October, 1905 |
| Launched: | 10 February , 1906 |
| Commissioned: | 2 December, 1906 |
| Sold: | 9 May, 1921 |
| Fate: | Scrapped |
| Specifications | |
| Displacement: | 18,420 tons |
| Length: | 527 feet (160 metres) |
| Beam: | 82 feet (25 metres) |
| Draught: | 26 feet (8 metres) |
| Armour: | Belt: 4 to 11 inch (100 to 280 mm) midship, 2.5 inch (64 mm) at ends Deck: up to 3 inch (75 mm) |
| Armament: |
|
| Propulsion: | Boilers: 18 Babcock & Wilcox 3 drum type Turbines: 4 Parsons geared steam turbines |
| Range: | 6,620 nautical miles (12 260 km) at 10 knots (19 km/h), 4,910 nautical miles (9090 km) at 18.4 knots (34 km/h) |
| Complement: | 695–773 |
Contents
Construction
Career
From April, 1907 to May, 1912 Dreadnought served as flagship of the Royal Navy's Home Fleet, at which point she was relieved by HMS Neptune. On 5 August, 1907 HM King Edward VII with a number of other members of the Royal Family visited Dreadnought at Spithead. Accompanied by the Board of Admiralty, as well as the commander of the Home Fleet Vice-Admiral Francis Bridgeman, the Dreadnought went for a cruise flying the royal standard. For this the captain, Reginald Bacon, was appointed CVO and Bridgeman promoted KCVO by the king.
Bloomsbury Hoax
On 10 February, 1910 she attracted the attention of notorious hoaxer Horace de Vere Cole, who persuaded the Royal Navy to arrange for a party of Abyssinian royals to be given a tour of a ship at Weymouth. In reality, the "Abyssinian royals" were some of Cole's friends in blackface and disguise, including a young Virginia Woolf and her Bloomsbury Group friends; it became known as the Dreadnought hoax. Cole had picked Dreadnought because she was at that time the most prominent and visible symbol of Britain's naval might.
Pre war
On 27 July, 1910, soon after ascending to the throne, HM King George V visited Dreadnought at Torbay. For two days Dreadnought, under the command of Captain Herbert Richmond in company with the Commander-in-Chief William May went to sea on exercises.
War service
Post war
In Command
Other Notable Crew
- Commander Cecil Nugent Reyne, 1914-1918 (Commander and Gunnery Officer)
Modifications
John Roberts compiled a variety of important modifications to Dreadnought over her service life[1]:
- 1908-1909
- Main T.S. moved from middle deck to lower deck, old space being made into a plotting room[2].
- 1912-1913
- 30 April 1913
- 9-foot FT8 rangefinder added to 'A' turret (with data ties to T.S.s).
- 9-foot FQ2 rangefinder added to compass platform.
- 2 April 1914
- Evershed Bearing Indicators added to fore top
- 7 June 1915
- Fore top rebuilt to receive director tower
- 36-in searchlight platforms added to foremast struts
- 9-foot FT8 RFs added to 'P', 'Q', 'X', and 'Y' turrets
- bridge wings removed
- searchlight control gear installation begins
- open sights added to all turrets
- 12-pdr guns removed from 'A' turret and placed on quarterdeck
- two 6-pdr HA guns added to quarterdeck
- aft control position atop signal tower removed[5].
- by mid 1916, perhaps ending on May 25th
- torpedo nets removed
- director added to roof of fore top
- given a Dreyer Fire Control Table Mark I in main TS[6].
- late 1916
- 6-pdr HA guns replaced by 2 3-in HA guns
- 27 Jan 1917
- extra 0.75 to 1-in armor added to middle deck over magazines
- 19 August 1917
- anti-flash scuttles added to magazine doors
- Type 16 W/T installed in former Lamp Room
- 4 36-in searchlights replace main top with control position underneath
- stern torpedo tube removed
- upper 12-pdr magazine converted into TS
- 2 12-pdrs on quarterdeck converted to HA mountings
- pedestals for Evershed equipment added in fore bridge
- bearing indicators added to 3-in and 12-pdr HA guns
- Henderson gear being added to director
- adding a Sperry gyrocompass
- 1917
- deflection scales painted on 'A' and 'Y'
- 1917-1918
- semaphore machine on bridge removed
- 1 June 1918
- converted upper 12-pdr magazine to Type 31 W/T room
- 31 December 1918
- wind screen added to director tower
- turrets get open director sights
- open trainer's sight added to director canopy
- 'A' turret's FT8 RF replaced by 9-foot FT24
- Henderson gear and Sperry gyro completely installed
- Argo RF moved to aft end of fore top, able to train all around
- aircraft flying platforms added to 'A' and 'Y'
- new 36-in searchlights installed
Fire Control Systems
Rangefinders
Dreadnought was completed with 2 9-foot rangefinders, and a variety of other 9-foot instruments were added over her service life[7]:
| Rangefinders | |
| Period | RFs |
|---|---|
| 1906-1912: | FQ2 on MP2 mounting in fore top FQ2 on MP2 mounting on signal tower |
| 1912-1915: | FQ2 on Argo mounting in fore top FQ2 on MP2 mounting on signal tower FT8 on MG3 in 'A' turret FQ2 on MN1 on compass platform |
| 1915-1918: | FQ2 on Argo mounting in fore top 5 FT8s on MG3s in the turrets FQ2 on MN1 on compass platform |
| 1915-1918: | FQ2 on Argo mounting in fore top FT24 on MG3 in 'A' turrets 4 FT8s on MG3s in other turrets FQ2 on MN1 on compass platform |
Directors
Main Battery
Dreadnought was completed without a director[8], but by mid 1916 was fitted with a tripod-type director in a light aloft tower on the fore top along with a directing gun in Y turret[9][10]. The battery was not divisible into for split director firing[11].
Secondary Battery
The 12-pdrs never had directors installed[12].
Control was exercised from either the spotting or main top, with the control officer in the top communicating via navyphone to the sightsetters of his assigned groups of 12-pdrs who wore telaupads[13].
Torpedo Control
Transmitting Stations
Dreyer Table
Dreadnought was retro-fitted around mid 1916[14] with a Mark I Dreyer table[15], but was never given Dreyer Turret Control Tables[16].
Miscellaneous
Dreadnought was fitted with Evershed Bearing Indicators in fore top between in extended work between a stop in Portsmouth 9 August, 1913 and one in Gibraltar, 2 April, 1914.
9-foot rangefinders in armoured hoods were added to all 5 turrets, tied to the T.S.s by range transmitters and receivers.
See Also
Footnotes
- ↑ Roberts, John. Anatomy of the Ship: The Battleship Dreadnought, pp. 33-5.
- ↑ Roberts, John. Anatomy of the Ship: The Battleship Dreadnought, p. 30.
- ↑ Roberts, John. Anatomy of the Ship: The Battleship Dreadnought, p. 31.
- ↑ Roberts, John. Anatomy of the Ship: The Battleship Dreadnought, p. 31
- ↑ Roberts, John. Anatomy of the Ship: The Battleship Dreadnought, p. 31.
- ↑ Roberts, John. Anatomy of the Ship: The Battleship Dreadnought, p. 31.
- ↑ Roberts, John. Anatomy of the Ship: The Battleship Dreadnought, p. 28.
- ↑ Roberts, John. Anatomy of the Ship: The Battleship Dreadnought
- ↑ The Director Firing Handbook, 1917. pp. 88, 142.
- ↑ Roberts, John. Anatomy of the Ship: The Battleship Dreadnought, p. 31.
- ↑ The Director Firing Handbook, 1917. p. 88.
- ↑ The Director Firing Handbook, 1917. p. 143.
- ↑ Roberts, John. Anatomy of the Ship: The Battleship Dreadnought, p. 31.
- ↑ Roberts, John. Anatomy of the Ship: The Battleship Dreadnought, p. 35.
- ↑ Handbook of Capt. F.C. Dreyer's Fire Control Tables, p. 3.
- ↑ Handbook of Capt. F.C. Dreyer's Fire Control Tables, p. 3.
Bibliography
Template:BibUKDirectorFiringHandbook1917 Template:BibUKDreyerTableHandbook1918 Template:BibBrooksDreadnoughtGunnery Template:BibRobertsAnatomyDreadnought
