HMS Gorgon (1914)

HMS Gorgon

Company type	Monitor
Industry	Naval warfare
Predecessor	HNoMS Nidaros (intended)
Founded	9 June 1914 (launch)
Fate	Scrapped in 1928
Headquarters	Elswick , United Kingdom
Products	Coastal defence ship / Monitor warship

HMS Gorgon and her sister vessel, Glatton, were a pair of monitors initially constructed as coastal defence ships intended for the Royal Norwegian Navy, named HNoMS Nidaros and Bjørgvin, respectively. Both were built by Armstrong Whitworth at Elswick. At the onset of the First World War, the United Kingdom acquired Gorgon from Norway; although she was launched more than three years earlier, completion was delayed until 1918. During the final months of the conflict, she engaged targets located in Occupied Flanders and notably fired some of the war’s concluding rounds on 15 October 1918. After unsuccessful attempts to sell her, she was eventually employed as a target ship before being scrapped in 1928.

Background

Ordered by Norway in 1913, Nidaros was intended to reinforce their existing fleet of older coastal defence vessels from the Eidsvold and Tordenskjold classes. In Norwegian service, she would have carried the designation P/S Nidaros, with P/S standing for Panserskip meaning "armoured ship," while Nidaros refers to the historic name for Trondheim. However, following the outbreak of the First World War, the Royal Navy seized most warships being constructed in Britain for foreign navies, refunding two-thirds of the £370,000 already paid by Norway for Bjørgvin.

Construction and description

The vessel originally named Nidaros was constructed by Armstrong Whitworth at their Elswick shipyard, with the keel laid on 11 June 1913 and the launch occurring on 9 June 1914. Subsequently, she was renamed Gorgon, in honor of a previous breastwork monitor from 1871. Completion faced significant delays due to British alterations, which included adapting the boilers to burn both oil and coal and converting twelve double-bottom tanks for oil storage. This modification process commenced on 9 January 1915 but was halted in May of the same year when it was assessed that approximately 10–12 months of work remained. The suspension aimed to prioritize accelerated construction of the large light cruisers Furious and Courageous at Armstrong's Naval Yard downstream. Work resumed in September 1917 with a revised design incorporating a substantial anti-torpedo bulge extending over roughly three-quarters of the hull length, removal of torpedo tubes and the originally planned 100-millimetre (3.9 in) guns specified by the Norwegians, and installation of a prominent tripod mast behind the single funnel to support fire control directors for both the 6-inch (152 mm) and 9.2-inch (230 mm) artillery. Both gun calibers were re-bored to conform with standard British ammunition, and the mounting of the 9.2-inch gun was altered to allow a maximum elevation of 40°, enabling a maximum firing range of 39,000 yards (36,000 m). Although adding the bulges reduced her top speed by about 2 knots (3.7 km/h; 2.3 mph), it prevented an increase in draft caused by the added weight from these modifications. The ship was ultimately completed on 4 June 1918.

As built, Gorgon had a deep load displacement of approximately 5,700 long tons (5,800 t), measured 310 feet (94.5 m) in length, with a maximum beam of 73 feet 7 inches (22.4 m), while her main hull beam was narrower at 55 feet (16.8 m), and she drew 16 feet 4 inches (5.0 m) of water. Propulsion was provided by two vertical triple expansion steam engines powered by four Yarrow watertube boilers, generating a combined output of around 4,000 indicated horsepower (3,000 kW) and achieving a top speed near 12 knots (22 km/h; 14 mph).

Her primary armament consisted of two 9.2-inch guns housed in single turrets positioned fore and aft. The secondary battery included four six-inch guns, also mounted singly; two were arranged to superfiring positions above the 9.2-inch turrets, while the other two were located on either side of the superstructure. Each centerline six-inch turret carried one 3 in (76 mm) anti-aircraft gun. Additionally, she was equipped with four 3-pounder and four 2-pounder weapons mounted on high-angle platforms.

Service

Gorgon reached Dover on 6 June 1918 and underwent five weeks of trials and crew training. Her initial combat action occurred on 26 July when she fired eight shells at a German howitzer emplacement from a distance of approximately 33,000 yards (30,000 m), aiming to calibrate her gunnery systems; this provoked retaliatory fire from a German 380-millimetre (15 in) artillery piece at Batterie Pommern, located south of Ostend. Three days later, she supported a bombardment targeting Batterie "Tirpitz" alongside HMS Marshal Soult (1915) (1915). Over the following six weeks, Gorgon alternated between patrolling duties in the English Channel and preparing for an anticipated coastal bombardment planned for late September.

At dawn on 28 September 1918, Gorgon, accompanied by HMS General Wolfe (1915) (1915), anchored roughly 7 \mi off De Panne, Belgium, commencing fire around 7:15 against a bridge at Snaeskerke from about 36,000 \yd range. Adverse wind and tidal conditions hampered operations; during firing, her stern anchor cable snapped causing her to pivot on her bow anchor so that only her aft turret could engage the target. Due to lack of aerial spotting support, accuracy was limited, resulting in only eleven rounds fired. Throughout the day, German aircraft launched several attacks against Gorgon and other monitors with minimal success, while coastal defense batteries attempted to engage through smoke screens deployed by motor launches assisting the operation. The following day saw thirteen more shells fired in another effort to destroy the bridge; one hit was claimed but could not be verified by later observations.

On 14 October, Gorgon conducted similar operations targeting Middelkerke batteries. She discharged forty-one rounds during the morning at an estimated range of 26,000 \yd, then joined Vice-Admiral Roger Keyes, 1st Baron Keyes aboard destroyer HMS Termagant (1915) (1915) on a reconnaissance mission assessing German coastal strength. The Tirpitz and Raversyde Batteries soon dispelled any optimism by firing upon them; Gorgon had to retreat at full speed (14 \kn), exceeding her trial speed, as near misses caused splinter damage. Returning the next day to her original target, she fired thirty rounds within twenty minutes. These marked the final British monitor artillery strikes against German positions along the Belgian coast.

Post-war, she was transferred to Portsmouth to assist investigations into her sister ship Glatton's magazine explosion. In April 1919, she moved to HMNB Devonport serving temporarily as tender to shore establishment Vivid. She was decommissioned on 31 August and assigned to the Reserve Fleet in September. An offer to return her to Norway was declined due to her excessive beam being incompatible with their dock facilities at Horten. After unsuccessful attempts to sell her, she was disarmed in 1922 and used as a target vessel for testing underwater bomb detonations near ships and assessing impacts from six-inch gunfire. Ultimately sold for scrap on 26 August 1928, she was dismantled at Pembroke Dock's former naval yard.

References

• Buxton, Ian (2008). Big Gun Monitors: Design, Construction and Operations 1914–1945 (2nd, revised and expanded ed.). Annapolis, Maryland: Naval Institute Press. ISBN 978-1-59114-045-0.
• Gardiner, Robert; Gray, Randal, eds. (1985). Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships 1906–1921. Annapolis: Naval Institute Press. ISBN 0-85177-245-5.

External links

• "Gorgon class monitors". Retrieved 2007-12-30.