H.M.S. Warspite (1913)

From The Dreadnought Project
Revision as of 14:55, 16 August 2012 by FredBot (Talk | contribs) (using new CatShip templates)

Jump to: navigation, search
H.M.S. Warspite
Career Details
Pendant Number: 12 (April, 1918)[1]
Ordered: 1912-1913 Programme
Built By: Devonport Royal Dockyard
Laid Down: 31 October, 1912
Launched: 26 November, 1913
Commissioned: 8 March, 1915
Wrecked: 23 April, 1947
Fate: Scrapped

Launch

Warspite was launched on 26 November, 1913, in "beautiful" weather at 15:15. Mrs. Austen Chamberlain launched the ship, accompanied by Mr. Austen Chamberlain and their son. Also in attendance were the First Lord of the Admiralty, Winston Churchill, Sir Francis Hopwood, Civil Lord of the Admiralty, the Naval Secretary to the First Lord, Dudley de Chair, Sir James Marshall, Director of Dockyards, Sir George Le Clerc Egerton, Commander-in-Chief, Plymouth, Vice-Admiral R. H. S. Stokes, Admiral-Superintendent, Admiral Charles Henry Cross, Rear-Admiral Arthur Henry Christian, Commanding the Devonport Division of the Home Fleets, and Admiral William Marrack.

Also present were Lady Chesterfield, Lady Valletort, the Hon. John and Lady Boscawen, Lady Gwendoline Churchill, Lady Vivian, Mr. and the Hon. Mrs. Rochfort Maguire, the Hon. Mrs. Cyril Ward, Colonel the Hon. Charles Edgcumbe, Sir Ernest Cassel, the Bishop of Exeter, Commander Eklund and Commander Froding of the Royal Swedish Navy, Major Morrison-Bell, M.P., Lady St. Levan, Lady St. Germans, the Hon. Mrs. Tremayne, Lady Jackson, Lady Buller and Lady Egerton.

Jutland

Main article

Captain Edward Montgomery Phillpotts was in command.

Reconstruction

On 18 March, 1937, Warspite returned to Portsmouth to conduct gunnery and aircraft catapult trials. While firing her 15-inch guns in misty weather, Gunnery Officer Stephen Roskill nearly struck a Royal Mail passenger liner with two shells, which fortunately missed.[2] Roskill declined to admit his involvement with the incident.

Alterations

Warspite was either completed with a director firing installation or received one soon after, as she had one by May, 1915, and it had been decided that all capital ships were to be completed with directors on 2 January, 1915.[3]

In March, 1915, Open Director Sights were ordered for all[Inference] her turrets. They were likely in place by her completion.[4]

By the end of 1915, she (along with Queen Elizabeth) had been equipped with a Torpedo Control Plotting Instrument Mark II in her TCT.[5]

Her secondary battery directors were installed in July, 1917.[6]

At some point, she and her sisters were also outfitted with Turret Control Tables, although there is no indication whether this was 1 table per ship, or 2 in the controlling turrets, or one in all four turrets.[7]

Rangefinders

When in 1918 it was desired to give each capital ship possible an additional effective 9-foot rangefinder to support torpedo control, Warspite reported that the top of the charthouse was not available and a directional W/T office sat atop the beef screen and so proposed one on either side of Number 1 searchlight which should then be fitted with weather and blast screens.[8]

Captains

Dates of appointment are provided when known.

See Also

Footnotes

  1. ↑ Dittmar; Colledge. p. 34.
  2. ↑ Roskill. H.M.S. Warspite. p. 165.
  3. ↑ The Technical History and Index: Fire Control in HM Ships. pp. 9-10.
  4. ↑ The Technical History and Index: Fire Control in HM Ships. p. 18.
  5. ↑ Handbook of Torpedo Control, 1916, p. 38.
  6. ↑ The Technical History and Index: Fire Control in HM Ships. p. 16.
  7. ↑ Handbook of Capt. F.C. Dreyer's Fire Control Tables. p. 3.
  8. ↑ Annual Report of the Torpedo School, 1918, p. 177.
  9. ↑ Wikipedia
  10. ↑ Navy List (October, 1917). p. 399e.
  11. ↑ Navy List (December, 1918). p. 941.
  12. ↑ Scott's Service Records ADM 196/45.

Bibliography

Template:Queen Elizabeth Class (1913)

Retrieved from "http://www.dreadnoughtproject.org/tfs/index.php?title=H.M.S._Warspite_(1913)&oldid=43128"