HMS Campania (1914)
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|
| Career |  |
|---|---|
| Builder: | Fairfield, Glasgow, Scotland |
| Laid down: | 1892 |
| Launched: | 8 September 1893 |
| Acquired: | 27 November 1914 |
| Commissioned: | 17 April 1915 |
| Status: | Sank during gale 5 November 1918 |
| General Characteristics | |
| Displacement: | 12884 tons gross, 18000 tons normal |
| Length: | 622 ft (189.6m) |
| Beam: | 65 ft (19.8m) |
| Draught: | 26ft (7.9m) |
| Propulsion: | 5 cylinder Triple Expansion 28000 ihp 2 shafts |
| Speed: | 19.5 kts |
| Complement: | 600 |
| Armament: | 6 x 4.7in QF guns, 1 x 3in AA |
| Aircraft carried: | 10 |
HMS Campania was a seaplane and aircraft carrier, and the first Royal Navy vessel to launch aircraft whilst underway.
Originally built as a passenger liner for Cunard Line's Liverpool-New York service in 1893, RMS Campania was holder of the Blue Riband from 1893 to 1894, losing it to her sister ship RMS Lucania. A collision with the barque Embleton on 21 July 1900 sank the latter, with loss of 11 lives. In 1904, a rogue wave swept five steerage passengers overboard, the first time in history the Cunard Line lost passengers through an accident. On 14 April 1914 she made her 250th crossing, before being sold to the shipbreakers TW Ward.
RMS Campania was purchased by the Royal Navy on 27 November 1914 and converted to an aircraft carrier and renamed HMS Campania. The fore funnel was later removed in a 1916 refit and replaced by two smaller smoke pipes. A 160-foot wooden flight deck was added at the bow, making her more suitable for launching Sopwith Pup fighters: the original configuration of a short wooden flight deck forward of the fore funnel having caused problems during take-off. Like many warships of the time she was painted in dazzle pattern.
For the majority of the war, the Campania worked out of Scapa Flow, however, in the autumn of 1918 she transferred operations to the Forth. She missed the Battle of Jutland because of engine trouble.
On the morning of November 5, 1918, the Campania was lying at anchor in the Firth of Forth. A sudden Force 10 squall caused the ship to drag anchor. She collided first with the bow of the nearby battleship HMS Royal Oak, and then scraped along the side of the battlecruiser HMS Glorious. Campania’s hull was breached by the initial collision with Royal Oak, flooding her engine room and losing all main electrical power. The ship then started to settle by the stern, sinking some five hours after breaking free. The ship's crew were all rescued by neighbouring vessels. A Naval Board of Enquiry into the incident held Campania’s watch officer largely responsible for her loss, citing specifically the failure to drop a second anchor once the ship started to drift.
The wreck of HMS Campania was designated in 2001 under the Protection of Wrecks Act 1973 as a site of historic importance, making it an offence to dive it without a licence.
[edit] References
- Conways All the Worlds Fighting Ships 1906-1921, Conway Maritime Press, London, 1985. ISBN 0-85177-245-5
- Admiralty (1918), ADM156/90: Board of Enquiry into sinking of HMS Campania, HM Stationery Office
- Scottish Statutory Instrument 2001 No. 384. Office of Public Sector Information. Retrieved on October 19, 2006.
