HMS Black Prince (1904)

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HMS Black Prince was a Duke of Edinburgh class armoured cruiser of the Royal Navy (RN) during World War I. At the beginning of the war, the Black Prince was one of the four armored cruisers serving in Ernest Troubridge's British Mediterranean Fleet. It was one of four British cruisers to participate in the Pursuit of Goeben and Breslau. Sir Thomas Bonham was its captain throughout the war.

Reassigned to Rear Admiral Sir Robert Arbuthnot's First Cruiser Squadron, the Black Prince participated in the Battle of Jutland, where it was sunk with full loss of life. The circumstances under which it sunk were mysterious for some years after. During the battle, the ship lost contact with the rest of the British fleet, sending off a wireless signal at 8:48 to report a submarine sighting. As the British had lost contact and did not see the ship destroyed, they were unsure as to whether a submarine or surface ship was responsible for sinking the Black Prince. ^[1]

Recent historians, however, hold to the German account of the ship's sinking. Separated from the rest of the British fleet, the Black Prince approached the German lines at approximately midnight. Realizing his error, Bonham ordered his crew to turn around, but it was too late. The German ship Thuringen fixed the Black Prince in its spotlights and opened fire. Up to five other German ships, most of them within 1000 yards, joined in the bombardment; the Black Prince was sunk within 15 minutes.

Duke of Edinburgh-class cruiser

Duke of Edinburgh | Black Prince

Warrior | Cochrane | Achilles | Natal

List of cruisers of the Royal Navy