Part 6

Chapter 62,988 wordsPublic domain

The Estimates for 1896–97 provided for five battleships which were somewhat sarcastically alluded to as “improved” _Majestics_. These ships were the _Canopus_ class, and they mark a species of early striving after the ideal of the battle-cruisers of to-day. That is to say, certain sacrifices were made in them with a view to securing increased speed.

Particulars of these ships:--

Displacement--12,950 tons.

Length--(over all) 418ft.

Beam--74ft.

Draught--(maximum) 26½ft.

Armament--Four 12in., 35 cal., twelve 6in. 40 cal., ten 12-pounders, four submerged tubes (18in.)

Armour--Harvey-Nickel. Belt amidships 6in. with 2in. extension to the bow and 1½in. skin aft on the water-line. Bulkheads and barbettes 12in. Turrets 8in.

Horse-power--31,500 = 18.25 knots.

Coal--(normal) 1,000 tons; (maximum) 2,300 tons = nominal radius of 8,000 miles at 10 knots.

The adoption of Harvey-Nickel armour, which was of superior resisting power to Harvey armour in the ratio of about 5 to 4, partly, but not entirely accounted for the thinning of the armour of this class. Theoretically, the 9in. armour belt of the _Majestic_ was equal to 18in. of iron, while the belt of the _Canopus_ class was equal to about 15in. of iron. In place of the 4in. deck of the _Majestics_, the _Canopus_ class had only a 2½in. deck. The thin bow (2in.) plating was introduced as a sop to a public agitation against soft-ended ships. Such a belt is, of course, perfectly useless against any heavy projectile, or, for that matter, against 6in., except at very long range indeed. Sir William White never made any secret of his cynical disbelief in these bow belts. They were and always have been what doctors call a “placebo.”

In the following year the sixth ship of this class was built--the _Vengeance_. She differed from the others in the form of her turrets, which were flat sided for the first time. In her also a mounting was first introduced, whereby, in addition to being loaded in any position, big guns could also be loaded at any elevation.

Some other details of the _Canopus_ class are:--

The cruisers of the following year were eight cruisers of the much discussed _Diadem_ class, small editions of the _Powerful_ (11,000 tons), and carrying a pair of 6-inch guns in place of the 9.2’s of the _Powerfuls_. For the first four (the _Diadem_, _Andromeda_, _Europa_, and _Niobe_) a speed of 20.5 knots only was provided, but in the late four (the _Argonaut_, _Ariadne_, _Amphitrite_, and _Spartiate_) the horse-power was increased to 18,000, in order to provide twenty-one knots. At the present time (1912) these ships have for all practical purposes already passed from the effective list, all the weak points of the _Powerfuls_ being exaggerated in them.

In the Estimates for the years 1895 to 1898, provision was made also for eleven small third-class cruisers of the “P” class of 2135 tons and twenty knot speed. The armament consisted of eight 4-inch guns. On trials most of them did well, but in a very short time their speeds fell off, and at the present time, such of them as remain on the active list are slower than the far older cruisers of the _Apollo_ class.

In the Estimates for 1897–98, in addition to the _Vengeance_, already mentioned, three improved copies of the _Majestic_ were provided. These ships were:--

The only difference between them and the _Majestics_ lies in advantage being taken of improvements in gunnery and armour to increase the offensive and defensive items. The absurd 2-inch bow belt of the _Canopus_ was repeated in them, but raised within 2½ft. of the main deck. A 40-calibre 12-inch was mounted, also a 45-calibre 6-inch.

These were the first ships of the British Navy in which Krupp cemented armour was used. This armour, generally known as “K.C.,” has approximately a resisting power three times that of iron armour. That is to say, the 9in. belts of the _Formidables_ were approximately 33 per cent. more effective than the similar belts of the _Majestics_. These ships proved faster and more handy, easily exceeding their designed eighteen knots. The superior handiness was brought about by a superior form of hull--the deadwood aft being cut away for the first time in them.

In this year’s Estimates armoured cruisers definitely re-appeared, six ships of the _Cressy_ type being laid down.

Particulars of these:--

Displacement--12,000 tons.

Length--454ft.

Beam--69½ft.

Draught--(maximum) 28ft.

Armament--Two 9.2, 40 cal., twelve 6-inch, 45 cal., twelve 12-pounders, two 18in. submerged tubes.

Armour--6in. Krupp belt amidships, 250ft. long by 11½ft. wide, 2in. continuation to the bow. Barbettes 6in. Casemates 5in.

Horse power--21,000 = 21 knots.

Coal--(normal) 800 tons; (maximum) 1,600 tons.

In substance these ships were armoured editions of the _Powerful_. They steamed very well in their time, but have now fallen off considerably and are no longer of any importance. Total weight of armour 2,100 tons. An innovation introduced in these ships was the fitting of non-flammable wood, which at a later date was objected to on the grounds that it deteriorated the gold lace of the uniforms stored in drawers made of it. The _Cressy_ was completed in 1901; the others, excepting the _Euryalus_, in 1902. This latter ship was greatly delayed from various causes, and not completed until 1903.

The 1898–99 Estimates consisted of three battleships and four armoured cruisers. The battleships were practically sisters to the _Formidable_, but differed from her in that the main belt, instead of being a patch amidships, has a total length of 300ft. from the bow. At the bow it is 2in., quickly increasing to 4in., 5in., 6in., and finally to 9in., and this provided a measure of protection that the 2in. belts of preceding ships could never afford. The flat-sided turrets, first introduced in the _Vengeance_, were also fitted in these ships, the _Formidables_ having the old pattern turrets.

The advantages of flat-sided turrets lie in the fact that K.C. can be used for them instead of the relatively softer non-cemented. K.C. is not applicable to curved surfaces, for which reason barbettes, casemates, and batteries with curved portholes in them and rounded turrets cannot be constructed of it. Flat-sided turrets consist of a number of flat plates placed to meet each other at predetermined angles, thus forming one homogeneous whole.

These battleships were:--

All were completed in 1902.

The cruisers of the same year, the _Drake_ class, were “improved” _Cressies_, with increased displacement, power and speed. The increased displacement allowed of four extra 6-inch guns being mounted, these being placed in casemates on top of the amidships casemates.

Particulars of the _Drake_ class:--

Displacement--14,000 tons.

Length--(over all) 529½ft.

Beam--71ft.

Draught--(maximum) 28ft.

Armament--Two 9.2, 45 cal. (instead of 40 cal., as in the _Cressies_), sixteen 6-inch, 45 cal., and fourteen 12-pounders, two submerged tubes (18in.).

Armour--2,700 tons, as in _Cressy_, except that the casemates are 6in. thick.

Horse-power--30,000 = 23 knots. Boilers, 43 Belleville.

Coal--(normal) 1,250 tons; (maximum) 2,500.

These ships were altogether superior to the _Cressy_ class. On trial they all easily made their contract speeds and subsequently greatly exceeded them. It was discovered that increased speed was to be obtained by additional weight aft, and this was so much brought to a fine art that weights were adjusted accordingly, and in one of them, seeking to make a speed record, the entire crew were once mustered aft in order to vary the trim!

Building details are as follows:--

For some years these were the fastest ships in the world. In 1905, in a race by the Second Cruiser Squadron across the Atlantic, with ships of nominally equal speed, the _Drake_ came in first. In December, 1906, at four-fifths power for thirty hours, she averaged 22.5 knots. In 1907, the _King Alfred_ averaged 25.1 knots for one hour, and made an eight hours’ mean of 24.8. They proved very economical steamers, being able to do nineteen knots at an expenditure of eleven tons of coal an hour, and though they are now getting old, as warships go, they have never yet been beaten on the results achieved by horse-power per ton of displacement.

The Estimates of 1898–99 included a supplementary programme of four armoured ships which, like the _Canopus_ class, again foreshadowed the battle cruisers of to-day. These were the famous _Duncan_ class, and may be described as slightly smaller editions of the _London_, with armour thickness sacrificed for superior speed. The belt amidships was reduced from 9in. to 7in., but against this the belt at the extreme bow was made an inch thicker, and 25ft. away from the ram became 5in. thick. The displacement sank by 1,000 tons, the horse-power was increased by 3,000, and the speed by one knot.

The total weight of armour is about 3,500 against 4,300 tons in the _Londons_. The _Duncans_ may be regarded as a species of recrudescence of Barnaby ideas, plus a later notion that a well-extended partial protection was better than a more concentrated protection of less area. Generally speaking, they were improved duplicates of the _Canopus_ class, in the same way that the _Formidable_ and the ships that followed her were duplicates of the _Majestic_. Two ideas were obviously at work. In other forms these two ideas have (with variations) existed to the present day. Then it was purely a question between ratios devoted to speed and protection. To-day (1912) matters have been so far modified that increased displacements are given to secure speed advantages, but protection remains proportionately as it was. Reduced armament has always been accepted.

Construction details of the _Duncans_, of which two more figured in the estimates for 1899–1900:--

The _Montagu_ was wrecked on Lundy Island in 1906.

Contemporaneous with the _Drakes_, and extending over four ships in the Estimates of 1898–99 to two in the following and four in the year later, ten armoured cruisers were provided for, which in essence were little but an attempt to provide a normal second-class protected cruiser of the _Talbot_ class, with armour protection. These ships--the _County_ class--are of 9,800 tons displacement, and may also be regarded as diminutives of the _Drake_ and _Cressy_ classes, with a touch of the _Diadems_ thrown in. In place of the fore and aft 9.2’s of the _Drake_ and _Cressy_, they were supplied with a couple of pairs of 6-inch guns mounted in turrets fore and aft. The belt amidships was reduced to 4in. (a thickness in K.C. which has no virtues over armour of earlier type) with the usual extension of 2in. to the bow. The twin turrets, in which, like those of the _Powerful_, electrical control was once more introduced, have never given satisfaction, being very cramped for working purposes, and probably no more efficient than single gun turrets would have been, certainly less than the single gun 7--5in. turrets, originally proposed as an alternative, would have been.

Had the ships been regarded frankly as modern variants of the second-class protected cruisers, they probably would have been esteemed more than they were. Unfortunately they have always been regarded as “armoured ships” and discounted on account of their obvious inferiority to the _Drakes_. In the matter of steaming all of them have invariably done well (except in the case of the _Essex_, over which a mistake in design was made). The anticipated twenty-three knots was made quite easily, once certain early propeller difficulties were overcome. The Boiler Commission, already referred to, affected these ships, in so far that, instead of the hitherto inevitable Bellevilles, the _Berwick_ and _Suffolk_ were given Niclausse boilers and the _Cornwall_ Babcocks. The total weight of armour is 1,800 tons.

Details of the construction of this class are:--

All were completed during 1903 and 1904.

For the year 1900–01 only two battleships were provided: the _Queen_, built at Devonport and engined by Harland and Wolff, and the _Prince of Wales_, built at Chatham and engined by the Greenock Foundry Co. These were laid down in 1901 and completed in 1904. They were copies of the _Londons_ in every detail, saving that, instead of being enclosed, their upper deck batteries were left open as in the _Duncans_. The _Queen_ was given Babcock boilers instead of Bellevilles.

The 1901–02 Estimates provided three battleships and six armoured cruisers of the _County_ class. These were the last ships designed by Sir William White. The battleships, of which eight were built altogether--three for 1901–02, two for the next year--were of a different type from any which had preceded them, and to some extent may be said to mark the birth of the _Dreadnought_ era. That is to say, in them the old idea of the two calibres, 12in. and 6in., died out, and heavier auxiliary guns began to appear.

Particulars of these ships, _the King Edward VII_ class, are as follows:--

Displacement--16,350 tons.

Length--(over all) 453¾ft.

Beam--78ft.

Draught--(maximum) 26¾ft.

Armament--Four 12-inch, 40 cal., four 9.2, 45 cal., ten 6-inch, 45 cal., twelve 12-pounders, fourteen 3-pounders, five 18-inch submerged tubes (of which one is in the stern).

Armour--As in the _London_ (but a 6in. battery instead of casemates).

Horse-power--18,000 = 18.9 knots.

Coal--(normal) 950 tons; (maximum) 2,150 tons, also 400 tons of oil, except in the _New Zealand_.

Except the last three, all were completed in 1905. The others were completed very shortly afterwards.

The boilers fitted to these ships varied considerably. The _King Edward_, _Hindustan_, and _Britannia_ were given a mixed installation of Babcocks and cylindricals; the _New Zealand_ Niclausse boilers; the other ships Babcock only. In the _Britannia_, super-heaters were also fitted to six of her boilers. The point differentiating these ships from their predecessors was the mounting of four 9.2 guns in single turrets at the angles of the superstructure. Equally novel was the placing of 6-inch guns in a battery behind the armour on the main deck.[21] Fighting tops, a feature of all previous ships, disappeared, and in place of them fire-control platforms were substituted.

When produced, these ships were considered as something like the “last word”; but in service later on it was very soon found that the two calibres of big guns rendered fire-control extremely difficult, and they have been a somewhat costly lesson in that respect. They cost about £1,500,000 each, and were found to be all that could be desired tactically, their turning circles with engines being only about 340yds. at fifteen knots. All of them did not make their speeds on trials, and some have never quite come up to expectations in that respect, but they have all proved remarkably reliable steamers.

Six armoured cruisers provided for in the 1901–02 Estimates were the _Devonshires_. These were originally intended to have been enlarged _Counties_, carrying a single 7.5 fore and aft, in place of the twin 6-inch turrets of the prototype ships. The design was, however, modified to the extent of substituting a single 7.5 for each of the forward pairs of 6-inch casemates.

Details of these ships are:--

Displacement--10,850 tons.

Length (between perpendiculars)--450ft.

Beam--68½ft.

Draught--(maximum) 25½ft.

Armament--Four 7.5, six 6-inch, 45 cal.; two 12-pounders, twenty-two 3-pounders, two 18in. torpedo tubes submerged.

Armour Belt--(length 325ft. from the bow, width 10½ft.), 6in. amidships, thinning to 2in. right forward. Barbettes 6in. Turrets 5in. Casemates 6in.

Horse-power--21,000==22.5 knots.

Coal--(normal) 800; (maximum) 1,800 tons.

Other details are:--

Like the _King Edwards_, various boilers were given to them. All of them have one-fifth cylindrical boilers. The _Devonshire_ and _Carnarvon_ were otherwise given Niclausse; _Antrim_ and _Hampshire_, Yarrow; _Argyll_, Babcock; and _Roxburgh_, Dürr. The designed speed was exceeded by all on trials, but none have proved successful steamers ever since. They were completed between 1904 and 1905.

These were the last ships to be designed by Sir William White. He resigned his position from ill-health; but, like his predecessors, left under a cloud--at any rate, with his services not really appreciated. He had created a magnificent fleet; but its very magnificence made many of his designs look poor on paper against any foreign construction of less displacement, but--_on paper_--of equal or superior qualities. It is the fate of the naval architect in peace-time to be judged on paper with small regard to issues such as nautical qualities, constructional strength, and a score of other details which are not to be expressed by any statistical formulæ, but yet make all the difference between efficiency and the absence of it.