HMS Achilles (1905)
| Company type | Armoured cruiser |
|---|---|
| Industry | Naval military vessel |
| Founded | February 22, 1904 at Elswick by Armstrong Whitworth |
| Defunct | May 9, 1921 |
| Fate | Sold for dismantling |
| Headquarters | Elswick , United Kingdom |
| Products | Warship (armoured cruiser) |
HMS Achilles was an armoured cruiser of the Warrior-class series constructed for the Royal Navy during the early 1900s. Throughout the majority of First World War, she was assigned to the 2nd Cruiser Squadron. Although she did not engage in the Battle of Jutland in 1916, she notably destroyed the German raider Leopard in 1917. In 1918, Achilles was converted into a training vessel before being sold for dismantling in 1921.
General description
The displacement of Achilles was 13,550 long tons (13,770 t) at standard load and increased to 14,500 long tons (14,700 t) when fully equipped. Her overall length measured 505 feet 4 inches (154.0 m), with a beam spanning 73 feet 6 inches (22.4 m), and a draught reaching 27 feet 6 inches (8.4 m). Propulsion was provided by two shafts driven by four-cylinder triple-expansion steam engines, generating a total of 23,650 indicated horsepower (17,640 kW) and enabling a top speed of 23.3 knots (43.2 km/h; 26.8 mph). The steam engines were supplied by nineteen Yarrow water-tube boilers alongside six cylindrical boilers. Fuel capacity included up to 2,050 long tons (2,080 t) of coal supplemented by 600 long tons (610 t) of fuel oil, which was sprayed onto the coal to enhance combustion efficiency. When fully fueled, the cruiser could travel approximately 7,960 nautical miles (14,740 km; 9,160 mi) at a cruising speed of 10 knots (19 km/h; 12 mph).
Armament
The principal weaponry of the ship included six BL 9.2 inch Mark X guns mounted individually in Mk V turrets. These were arranged with two centerline turrets—one positioned forward and one aft—and four additional turrets located at the corners near the funnels. The secondary battery comprised four BL 7.5 inch Mark II or Mark V guns housed in single Mk II turrets amidships, situated between the wing-mounted 9.2-inch guns. A total of twenty-six Vickers QF 3-pounder guns were installed, with ten placed on turret roofs and eight each on the forward and aft superstructures. The final four vessels of the Duke of Edinburgh class featured turreted 7.5-inch guns as their secondary armament instead of the 6-inch guns mounted in open barbettes found on the first two ships; these latter four are occasionally designated as the Warrior class. Due to the increased topweight caused by the turrets compared to their half-sisters, these ships exhibited reduced stability, which contributed to excellent seakeeping qualities and provided steady firing platforms because they experienced less rolling motion. Additionally, the vessel was equipped with three submerged 18-inch torpedo tubes, including one located in the stern.
Wartime modifications
In 1915, a single Hotchkiss QF 6-pounder anti-aircraft gun on a high-angle Mark Ic mounting was installed on the quarterdeck. This weapon had an elevation range from -8° depression to +60° elevation, firing a 6-pound shell at a muzzle velocity of 1765 feet per second and capable of discharging twenty rounds per minute. Although its maximum ceiling reached approximately 10,000 feet, its effective range was limited to around 1,200 yards. Following the Battle of Jutland in 1916, Achilles had her foremast converted into a tripod design to accommodate the weight of a fire-control director; however, the exact date when this director was fitted remains uncertain.
Construction and career
Ordered as part of the 1903–04 naval construction program, Achilles was the third of four armored cruisers commissioned. Her keel was laid down on 22 February 1904 at Elswick by Armstrong Whitworth. The ship was launched on 17 June 1905 and completed on 22 April 1907 at a cost of £1,191,103. Upon commissioning, she joined the 5th Cruiser Squadron in 1907 and undertook a port visit to Russia in 1908. Subsequently, she was reassigned to the 2nd Cruiser Squadron in 1909. On 2 August 1914, just days before World War I commenced, Achilles, alongside her sister ship Cochrane and three other armored cruisers, was dispatched to bolster defenses around the Shetland Islands. After hostilities began, she and her squadron became part of the Grand Fleet.
Achilles did not participate in the Battle of Jutland on 31 May 1916 due to being under refit at that time. On the evening of 18 August that year, responding to intercepted intelligence indicating that most of the German High Seas Fleet would sortie that night (excluding their II Battle Squadron), the Grand Fleet put to sea. The Germans intended to bombard Sunderland on 19 August with reconnaissance support from airships and submarines but abandoned this plan after pursuing what they believed was a lone British battle squadron—actually the Harwich Force under Commodore Reginald Tyrwhitt—and then turned back home. During this Grand Fleet operation, Achilles sighted a German U-boat. Later that year, during another High Seas Fleet sortie on 18 October, Achilles and three other armored cruisers were tasked with patrolling northern North Sea waters between Pentland Firth approaches and Norway’s Hardangerfjord but encountered no enemy vessels.
On 16 March 1917, while patrolling north of the Shetland Islands along with the armed boarding steamer Dundee, Achilles engaged the disguised German auxiliary cruiser Leopard. Upon ordering Leopard to stop, she complied but maneuvered to prevent boarding attempts by Dundee, subsequently launching two torpedoes which missed their target. In response, Dundee delivered raking fire to Leopard's stern causing severe damage before Achilles opened fire herself. The German ship sank approximately an hour later with no survivors. In August 1917, Achilles was reassigned to convoy escort duties within the North America and West Indies Station but returned to Britain for refitting between February and December 1918. After completing this overhaul, she served as a stoker training vessel at Chatham. The ship was ultimately sold for dismantling on 9 May 1921.
Footnotes
References
- Chesneau, Roger; Kolesnik, Eugene M., eds. (1979). Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships 1860–1905. Greenwich: Conway Maritime Press. ISBN 0-8317-0302-4.
- Corbett, Julian (1997) [1938]. Naval Operations to the Battle of the Falklands. History of the Great War: Based on Official Documents. Vol. I (2nd, repr. ed.). London and Nashville, TN: Imperial War Museum and Battery Press. ISBN 0-89839-256-X.
- Newbolt, Henry (1996) [1928]. Naval Operations. History of the Great War Based on Official Documents. Vol. IV (repr. ed.). Nashville, TN: Battery Press. ISBN 0-89839-253-5.
- Newbolt, Henry (1996) [1931]. Naval Operations. History of the Great War: Based on Official Documents. Vol. V (repr. ed.). London and Nashville, TN: Imperial War Museum and Battery Press. ISBN 1-870423-72-0.
- Parkes, Oscar (1990). British Battleships (reprint of the 1957 edition ed.). Annapolis, MD: Naval Institute Press. ISBN 1-55750-075-4.
{{cite book}}:|edition=has extra text (help) - Preston, Antony (1985). "Great Britain and Empire Forces". In Gardiner, Robert & Gray, Randal (eds.). Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships 1906–1921. Annapolis, Maryland: Naval Institute Press. pp. 1–104. ISBN 0-85177-245-5.
- Roberts, John (1989-10-01). "HMS Cochrane". Warship Series III. Warship. Vol. III. London: Conway Maritime Press. pp. 34–36. ISBN 0-85177-204-8. Retrieved 5 August 2009.
External links
- "HMS Achilles (1905)". www.tynebuiltships. Retrieved 2 Mar 2017.
- "Royal Navy Log Books - HMS Achilles". naval-history.net. Retrieved 2013-12-22. OldWeather.org transcription of HMS Achilles’s logbooks from September 1916 through December 1918