HMS Hibernia (1905)
|
| Career | |
|---|
| Ordered: | 1903 naval programme |
| Laid down: | 6 January 1904 |
| Launched: | 17 June 1905 at Devonport Dock Yard |
| Commissioned: |
| Decommissioned: |
| Fate: | Sold for scrap, 8 November 1921 |
| Struck: |
| General Characteristics |
|---|
| Displacement: | normal 16,350 tons, full draft 17,500 tons |
| Length: | 453 feet 6 inches (138 m) |
| Beam: | 78 feet (23.7 m) |
| Draught: | 26 feet 9 inches (8.2 m) |
| Propulsion: | Coal fired (with oil sprayers) water tube boilers, Two 4-cylinder vertical compound expansion stream engines, 2 screws, 18,000 hp (13.4 MW) |
| Speed: | 18 knots (33 km/h) |
| Range: |
| Complement: | 777 |
| Armament: | Four 12 inch guns (2 main turrets), four 9.2 inch guns (4 secondary turrets), ten 6-inch guns, five 18 inch torpedo tubes (4 broadside, one stern), 14 12 pounder guns, fourteen 3 pounder guns, two maxim machine guns |
| Armour: | 9 inch belt amidships, 12 inch barbettes, 9 inch main turrets, 7 inch secondary turrets. 2 inch armoured deck |
HMS Hibernia was a
King Edward VII-class battleship of
Britain's
Royal Navy, the last generation of British
pre-dreadnoughts.
She was commissioned into Atlantic Fleet but was transferred to the Channel Fleet in early
1907 as
flagship of its
Vice admiral. During this period,
William Boyle, 12th Earl of Cork, served as her
commander. In March
1909 she was transferred to the Home Fleet as flagship of the
rear admiral (second in command) of the 2nd Division.
She was placed in reserve at the
Nore with a small reserve crew in January
1912. In May
1912 she was used for experiments with early naval aircraft and had a wooden
runway constructed on her
forecastle. On
4 May 1912 Commander
Charles Samson became the first man to take off from a ship which was underway. He did this in a
Shorts S27 biplane whilst
Hibernia steamed at 10.5 knots (19 km/h) at the
Royal Fleet Review in
Weymouth Bay,
England.
When
World War I broke out she immediately joined the
Grand Fleet and in October
1915 sailed for the
Dardanelles as
Rear Admiral Fremantle's flagship, from where she returned in May
1916. Among those serving aboard her during this time was
Augustus Agar, later
V.C. and famous for exploits against the
Bolsheviks and as captain of
HMS Dorsetshire in
World War Two.
In
1917 her 6-inch guns were removed from their
casemates since these were flooded in heavy seas, and replaced with four on the higher shelter deck. At the end of the war she returned to the Nore where she was used as an accommodation ship until she was scrapped.
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Maritimequest HMS Hibernia Photo Gallery
