HMS Formidable (1898)

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HMS Formidable (1898)

Career
Ordered:	1897 Programme
Builders:	Portsmouth Dockyard
Laid down:	March 1898
Launched:	17 November 1898
Commissioned:	September 1901
Refit:	Chatham dockyard (Apr to Aug 1909)
Fate:	Torpedoed twice by U-boat U-24 on 1st January 1915 and sunk
General Characteristics
Displacement:	14,685 tons load 15,805 tons deep
Length:	411 ft (126 m) waterline 431 ft 9 in (131 m) overall
Beam:	75 ft (23 m)
Draught:	26 ft 9 in (8.2 m)
Propulsion:	Water tube boilers, 2 x vertical triple expansion engines, 2 shafts, 15,500 ihp (11.6 megawatts)
Speed:	18.0 knots (33 km/h)
Range:	5,500 nautical miles (approx) at 10 knots (18 km/h)
Complement:	780 (as flagship 810)
Armament:	four Mk IX 12 in guns twelve Mk VII 6 in guns sixteen 12 pounder (5.4 kg) guns six 3 pounder (1.4 kg) guns two machine guns four 18 in submerged torpedo tubes
Aircraft:	None
Motto:

HMS Formidable (1898) was the lead ship of the Formidable class of battleship and the third of four to have the name HMS Formidable to serve in the British Royal Navy. [1]HMS Formidable served in the Mediterranean Fleet up to April 1908 when she was transferred to the Channel Fleet. She went to Chatham dockyard for refit from April 1909 to August 1909, after which she joined the Home Fleet and later stayed with the Atlantic Fleet until May 1912. She was reduced to a "nucleus" crew with the 2nd Fleet at the Nore. Between 1912-14, HMS Formidable was part of the 5th Battle Squadron, in which she was serving at the outbreak of World War I. After covering the safe transportation of the British Expeditionary Forces in August 1914, Formidable took part in the transportation of the Portsmouth Marine Battalion to Ostend on 25 August. She was sunk on 1 January 1915 while on Channel patrol off Portland Bill by torpedoes of German U-boat U-24. The ship sank quickly during bad weather resulting in the loss of 547 men from her complement of 780, and became the first battleship serving with the British Royal Navy to be sunk during World War I.

The squadron was participating in gunnery exercises off Portland, supported by the cruisers HMS Topaze and HMS Diamond. On the night of 31 December after the exercises, the fleet remained at sea even though submarine activity had been reported in the area. With the wind increasing and rough sea conditions, submarine attacks would have been difficult to carry out effectively and so were not thought to be a significant threat. The next day, HMS Formidable was steaming at 10 knots at the rear of the squadron just 20 miles from Star Point, when at 02:20 she was struck by a torpedo on the starboard side giving her a list of 20 degrees. 45 minutes later she was struck by a second torpedo. The pinnace and launch along with two other boats (one of which capsized soon after) were launched, and the two light cruisers managed to pick up 80 men. HMS Formidable remained afloat until 04:45, and then went down quickly with Captain Loxley still on the bridge along with his Fox terrier. In rough seas near Berry Head, a Brixham trawler, the Provident under the command of Captain W. Piller, picked up the men from the launch before it sank saving 71 members of the crew. The second pinnace took off another 70 men. This boat was spotted from the shore the following night and a further 48 men were brought ashore alive 22 hours after the sinking [2] The total loss of life of HMS Formidable was 35 Officers and 512 men.