HMS Vanguard (1909)
HMS Vanguard was one of three St Vincent-class dreadnought battleships built for the Royal Navy in the first decade of the 20th century. She spent her career assigned to the Home and Grand Fleets. She participated in the Battle of Jutland in May 1916 and the inconclusive Action of 19 August several months later. Shortly before midnight on 9 July 1917 at Scapa Flow, Vanguard suffered a series of magazine explosions. She sank almost instantly, killing 843 of the 845 men aboard. The wreck was heavily salvaged after the war, but was eventually protected as a war grave in 1984.
About HMS Vanguard (1909) in brief
HMS Vanguard was one of three St Vincent-class dreadnought battleships built for the Royal Navy in the first decade of the 20th century. She spent her career assigned to the Home and Grand Fleets. Aside from participating in the Battle of Jutland in May 1916 and the inconclusive Action of 19 August several months later, her service during World War I mostly consisted of routine patrols and training in the North Sea. Shortly before midnight on 9 July 1917 at Scapa Flow, Vanguard suffered a series of magazine explosions. She sank almost instantly, killing 843 of the 845 men aboard. The wreck was heavily salvaged after the war, but was eventually protected as a war grave in 1984. It was designated as a controlled site under the Protection of Military Remains Act 1986, and diving on the wreck is generally forbidden. She was the eighth ship of that name to serve in the Royal Royal Navy, was laid down on 6 February 1908, launched on 22 April 1908, and completed on 1 March 1910. Including the armament, the ship cost about £1.1 million, including refit and refit, and she was assigned to 1st Division of the Home Fleet. Vanguard also participated in the Coronation Review at Spithead on June 24, 1911, and trained with the Atlantic Fleet at the beginning of the following month before being relieved by Captain Arthur Eustace. The St Vincent class was equipped with ten breech-loading 12-inch Mk XI guns in five twin-gun turrets, three along the centreline and the remaining two as wing turrets.
All guns were in single mounts. The ships were also fitted with three 18-inch torpedo tubes, one on each broadside and the third in the stern. The ship was protected by a waterline armoured belt 8–10 inches thick that extended between the end barbettes. Their decks ranged in thickness between 0. 75 to 3 inches with the thickest portions protecting the steering gear in the prow. In 1910 her crew numbered 753 officers and ratings, In 1914, the guns on the forward turret roof were removed in 1910–1911. Approximately 50 long tons of additional deck armour were added afterwards. By April 1917, Vanguard mounted thirteen 4-inch anti-torpedo boat guns as well as one 3-inch and one 3inch AA gun, and was on her way to the Mediterranean. She visited the King George V Fleet Review at Torbay in July late that year and visited the fleet in late July in late August. She also visited the Fleet Review in Torbay when King George IV visited the UK in late September and October of that year. In December 1909, she unofficially reached a top speed of 22. 3 knots from 25,780 shp, although she must have been lightly loaded to reach this speed. She carried enough coal and fuel oil to give her a range of 6,900 nautical miles at a cruising speed of 10 knots.
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This page is based on the article HMS Vanguard (1909) published in Wikipedia (as of Nov. 03, 2020) and was automatically summarized using artificial intelligence.
