HMS New Zealand was one of three Indefatigable-class battlecruisers built for the defence of the British Empire. Launched in 1911, the ship was funded by the government of New Zealand as a gift to Britain. She was commissioned into the Royal Navy in 1912 and served in the Grand Fleet during the First World War. New Zealand contributed to the destruction of two cruisers during her wartime service and was hit by enemy fire only once. The ship was broken up for scrap in 1922 to meet Britain’s tonnage limit in the disarmament provisions of the Washington Naval Treaty.
About HMS New Zealand (1911) in brief
HMS New Zealand was one of three Indefatigable-class battlecruisers built for the defence of the British Empire. Launched in 1911, the ship was funded by the government of New Zealand as a gift to Britain. She was commissioned into the Royal Navy in 1912 and served in the Grand Fleet during the First World War. New Zealand contributed to the destruction of two cruisers during her wartime service and was hit by enemy fire only once, sustaining no casualties. The ship was broken up for scrap in 1922 in order to meet Britain’s tonnage limit in the disarmament provisions of the Washington Naval Treaty. The ships were smaller and not as well protected as the contemporary German battlecruiser SMS Von der Tann and subsequent German designs. The main difference was the enlargement of the dimensions to give the ships’ two wing turrets a wider arc of fire. Their armoured deck extended 1.5 inches with the thickest portions protecting the steering gear in the stern and the turret faces were 7 inches thick, supported by barbettes of the same thickness. The ship was fitted with a single QF 6 pounder Hotchkiss anti-aircraft gun from October 1914 to the end of the World War I in October 1914. She had an overall length of 590 feet, a beam of 80 feet, and a draught of 29 feet 9 inches at deep load. The ship displaced 18,500 long tons at load and 22,130 long tons at deep load, and had a crew of 800 officers and ratings.
She carried eight BL 12-inch Mk X guns in four twin gun turrets. Two turrets were mounted fore and aft on the centreline, identified as ‘A’ and ‘X’ respectively. The other two were wing turrets mounted amidships and staggered diagonally: ‘P’ was forward and to port of the centre funnel, while ‘Q’ was situated starboard and aft. Her secondary armament consisted of sixteen 4-inch BL Mk VII guns positioned in the superstructure. She mounted two 18-inch submerged torpedo tubes, one on each side aft of’X’ barbette, and twelve torpedoes were carried. During trials in 1912, the turbines produced over 49,000 shp, which allowed New Zealand to reach 26. 39 knots. The ship carried enough coal and fuel oil to give her a range of 6,690 nautical miles at a speed of 10 knots. It was also equipped to control the entire main armament in the event that the normal fire control positions were knocked out or communication between the primary positions was knocked out. In 1920, the battlecruist was placed in reserve and she was broken down for scrap. The Indef atigable class was not a significant improvement on the preceding Invincible class. The lead ship of the class was laid down in February 1909, and the ship’s design was based on the German SMS Von der TANN.
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