HMS Temeraire (1907)

Design and description

The design of the Bellerophon class was derived from that of the revolutionary battleship HMS Dreadnought, with a slight increase in size, armour and a more powerful secondary armament. Temeraire had an overall length of 526 feet (160.3 m), a beam of 82 feet 6 inches (25.1 m), and a normal draught of 27 feet (8.2 m). She displaced 18,596 long tons (18,894 t) at normal load and 22,359 long tons (22,718 t) at deep load. In 1909 her crew numbered 681 officers and ratings and 729 in 1911.

Temeraire was powered by two sets of Parsons direct-drive steam turbines, each driving two shafts, using steam from eighteen Yarrow boilers. The turbines were rated at 23,000 shaft horsepower (17,000 kW) and intended to give the ship a maximum speed of 21 knots (39 km/h; 24 mph). During her sea trials on 5 March 1909, she reached a top speed of 21.55 knots (39.91 km/h; 24.80 mph) from 26,966 shp (20,109 kW). Temeraire had a range of 5,720 nautical miles (10,590 km; 6,580 mi) at a cruising speed of 10 knots (19 km/h; 12 mph).

Armament and armour

The Bellerophon class was equipped with ten breech-loading (BL) 12-inch (305 mm) Mk X guns in five twin-gun turrets, three along the centreline and the remaining two as wing turrets. The centreline turrets were designated 'A', 'X' and 'Y', from front to rear, and the port and starboard wing turrets were 'P' and 'Q' respectively. The secondary, or anti-torpedo boat armament, comprised 16 BL 4-inch (102 mm) Mk VII guns. Two of these guns were each installed on the roofs of the fore and aft centreline turrets and the wing turrets in unshielded mounts, and the other eight were positioned in the superstructure. All secondary guns were in single mounts. The ships were also fitted with three 18-inch (450 mm) torpedo tubes, one on each broadside and the third in the stern, and four 3-pounder (1.9 in (47 mm)) saluting guns.

The Bellerophon-class ships had a waterline belt of Krupp cemented armour that was 10 inches (254 mm) thick between the fore and aftmost barbettes, reducing to a thickness of 6 inches (152 mm) forward and 5 inches (127 mm) aft before it reached the ships' ends. Above this was a strake of armour 8 inches (203 mm) thick. A oblique bulkhead 8 inches thick connected the thickest parts of the waterline and upper armour belts to the rear barbette; there was no forward equivalent.

The three centreline barbettes were protected by armour 9 inches (229 mm) thick above the main deck that thinned to 5 inches (127 mm) below it, except for the rear barbette which was 9 inches thick for its entire height. The wing barbettes were similar except that they had 10 inches of armour on their outer faces. The gun turrets had 11-inch (279 mm) faces and sides with 3-inch (76 mm) roofs. The three armoured decks ranged in thicknesses from .75 to 4 inches (19 to 102 mm). The front and sides of the forward conning tower were protected by 11-inch plates, although the rear and roof were 8 inches and 3 inches thick, respectively. The aft conning tower had 8-inch sides and a 3-inch roof. The ships were the first British dreadnoughts to be provided with an anti-torpedo bulkhead, .75 to 3 inches (19 to 76 mm) thick, that covered the sides of the hull between the fore and aft magazines.

Modifications

The guns on the forward turret roof were transferred to the superstructure in 1914 and the guns from the wing turrets were remounted in the aft superstructure in 1914–1915; all of the four-inch guns in the superstructure were enclosed to better protect their crews. In addition, a single three-inch (76 mm) anti-aircraft (AA) gun was added on the former searchlight platform between the aft turrets. Shortly afterwards, the guns on the aft turret were removed as were one pair from the superstructure. Around the same time another three-inch AA gun was added to the aft turret roof.

By May 1916, a fire-control director had been installed high on the forward tripod mast and approximately 23 long tons (23 t) of additional deck armour was added after the Battle of Jutland. By April 1917, Temeraire had exchanged the three-inch AA gun on 'Y' turret for a four-inch gun and the stern torpedo tube had been removed. In 1918 a high-angle rangefinder was fitted and the four-inch AA gun was moved to the quarterdeck. After the war ended, four secondary guns were removed to provide extra space for naval cadets and both AA guns were removed.

Construction and career

Temeraire was named after the French 74-gun ship of the line Téméraire, captured in 1759, and was the fourth ship of her name to serve in the Royal Navy. The ship was ordered on 30 October 1906 and was laid down at HM Dockyard, Devonport on 1 January 1907. She was launched on 24 August 1910 and completed that May. Including her armament, her cost is variously quoted at £1,744,287 or £1,751,144. Temeraire was commissioned on 15 May 1910 and assigned to the 1st Division of the Home Fleet. She was commanded by Captain Alexander Duff and participated in combined fleet manoeuvres in June–July. On 31 July, the ship was reviewed by King Edward VII and Tsar Nicholas II of Russia during Cowes Week. Temeraire was refitted in 1911 at Devonport and then participated in the Coronation Fleet Review for King George V at Spithead on 24 June 1911. On 1 May 1912, the 1st Division was renamed the 1st Battle Squadron (BS). The ship was present in the Parliamentary Naval Review on 9 July at Spithead and then participated in manoeuvres in October. In July 1913, the squadron visited Cherbourg, France.

First World War

On 15 July 1914, Temeraire was transferred to the 4th Battle Squadron and took part in a test mobilisation and fleet review between 17 and 20 July as part of the British response to the July Crisis. Arriving in Portland on 27 July, she was ordered to proceed with the rest of the Home Fleet to Scapa Flow two days later to safeguard the fleet from a possible German surprise attack. In August, following the outbreak of the First World War, the Home Fleet was reorganised as the Grand Fleet, and placed under the command of Admiral John Jellicoe. On the evening of 22 November, the Grand Fleet conducted a fruitless sweep in the southern half of the North Sea; Temeraire stood with the main body in support of Vice-Admiral David Beatty's 1st Battlecruiser Squadron. The fleet was back in port in Scapa Flow by 27 November. On 16 December, the Grand Fleet sortied during the German raid on Scarborough, Hartlepool and Whitby, but failed to make contact with the High Seas Fleet. Temeraire and the 4th BS conducted target practice north of the Hebrides on 24 December and then rendezvoused with the rest of the Grand Fleet for another sweep of the North Sea on 25–27 December.

Jellicoe's ships, including Temeraire, conducted gunnery drills on 10–13 January 1915 west of the Orkneys and Shetlands. On the evening of 23 January, the bulk of the Grand Fleet sailed in support of Beatty's battlecruisers, but Temeraire and the rest of the fleet did not participate in the ensuing Battle of Dogger Bank the following day. On 7–10 March, the Grand Fleet conducted a sweep in the northern North Sea, during which it conducted training manoeuvres. Another such cruise took place on 16–19 March. On 11 April, the Grand Fleet conducted a patrol in the central North Sea and returned to port on 14 April; another patrol in the area took place on 17–19 April, followed by gunnery drills off the Shetlands on 20–21 April. The Grand Fleet conducted sweeps into the central North Sea on 17–19 May and 29–31 May without encountering any German vessels. Temeraire was refitted at Devonport in mid-1915 and rejoined the 4th BS in August. On 2–5 September, the fleet went on another cruise in the northern end of the North Sea and conducted gunnery drills. Throughout the rest of the month, the Grand Fleet conducted numerous training exercises. The ship, together with the majority of the Grand Fleet, conducted another sweep into the North Sea from 13 to 15 October. Almost three weeks later, Temeraire participated in another fleet training operation west of Orkney during 2–5 November.

The fleet departed for a cruise in the North Sea on 26 February 1916; Jellicoe had intended to use the Harwich Force of cruisers and destroyers to sweep the Heligoland Bight, but bad weather prevented operations in the southern North Sea. As a result, the operation was confined to the northern end of the sea. Another sweep began on 6 March, but had to be abandoned the following day as the weather grew too severe for the escorting destroyers. On the night of 25 March, Temeraire and the rest of the fleet sailed from Scapa Flow to support Beatty's battlecruisers and other light forces raiding the German Zeppelin base at Tondern. By the time the Grand Fleet approached the area on 26 March, the British and German forces had already disengaged and a strong gale threatened the light craft, so the fleet was ordered to return to base. On 21 April, the Grand Fleet conducted a demonstration off Horns Reef to distract the Germans while the Imperial Russian Navy relaid its defensive minefields in the Baltic Sea. The fleet returned to Scapa Flow on 24 April and refuelled before proceeding south in response to intelligence reports that the Germans were about to launch a raid on Lowestoft, but only arrived in the area after the Germans had withdrawn. On 2–4 May, the fleet conducted another demonstration off Horns Reef to keep German attention focused on the North Sea.

Battle of Jutland

In an attempt to lure out and destroy a portion of the Grand Fleet, the High Seas Fleet, composed of 16 dreadnoughts, 6 pre-dreadnoughts, and supporting ships, departed the Jade Bight early on the morning of 31 May. The fleet sailed in concert with Rear Admiral Franz von Hipper's five battlecruisers. The Royal Navy's Room 40 had intercepted and decrypted German radio traffic containing plans of the operation. In response the Admiralty ordered the Grand Fleet, totalling some 28 dreadnoughts and 9 battlecruisers, to sortie the night before to cut off and destroy the High Seas Fleet.

On 31 May, Temeraire, now under the command of Captain Edwin Underhill, was the fifteenth ship from the head of the battle line after deployment. During the first stage of the general engagement, the ship fired five salvos from her main guns at the crippled light cruiser SMS Wiesbaden from 18:34, claiming two to three hits. At 19:17, the ship fired seven salvos at the battlecruiser SMS Derfflinger, but did not make any hits. About ten minutes later, Temeraire engaged several German destroyer flotillas with three salvos from her main armament without result. This was the last time that the ship fired her guns during the battle. She received no damage and fired a total of 72 twelve-inch shells (all high explosive) and 50 shells from her four-inch guns during the battle.

Subsequent activity

The Grand Fleet sortied on 18 August to ambush the High Seas Fleet while it advanced into the southern North Sea, but a series of miscommunications and mistakes prevented Jellicoe from intercepting the German fleet before it returned to port. Two light cruisers were sunk by German U-boats during the operation, prompting Jellicoe to decide to not risk the major units of the fleet south of 55° 30' North due to the prevalence of German submarines and mines. The Admiralty concurred and stipulated that the Grand Fleet would not sortie unless the German fleet was attempting an invasion of Britain or there was a strong possibility it could be forced into an engagement under suitable conditions.

The Grand Fleet sortied on the afternoon of 23 April 1918 after radio transmissions revealed that the High Seas Fleet was at sea after a failed attempt to intercept the regular British convoy to Norway. The Germans were too far ahead of the British, and no shots were fired. In October, Temeraire and her sister ship, Superb, were transferred to the Mediterranean Fleet, commanded by Vice-Admiral Sir Somerset Gough-Calthorpe. They were part of the squadron that entered the Ottoman capital, Constantinople, on 13 November, following the Armistice of Mudros. A month later, Gough-Calthorpe tasked Temeraire to provide a crew for the Russian destroyer Schastlivy, which had been turned over to the Allies by the Germans after the Armistice of 11 November. The ship remained in the Black Sea and Ottoman waters until 3 April 1919, when she departed for home, having visited Sevastopol, Russia, and Haifa, Palestine, during her deployment.

Upon her arrival at Devonport on 23 April, Temeraire was reduced to reserve. Five months later, to the day, she recommissioned as a cadet training ship and began her first training cruise to the Mediterranean on 8 October. Upon her arrival at Portsmouth on 11 April 1921, the ship was relieved of her duty and she sailed for Rosyth, Scotland, four days later to be listed for disposal. She was sold to the Stanlee Shipbreaking & Salvage Co. for scrap in late 1921 and was towed to Dover for demolition in February 1922.