HMS Hibernia (1905)
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| Career (UK) |  |
|---|---|
| Name: | HMS Hibernia |
| Ordered: | 1903/04 Estimates |
| Builder: | Devonport Dockyard |
| Laid down: | 6 January 1904 |
| Launched: | 17 June 1905 |
| Fate: | Sold for scrap, 8 November 1921 |
| General characteristics | |
| Class and type: | King Edward VII class battleship |
| Displacement: | 16,350 tons (standard) 17,500 tons (full load) |
| Length: | 453 ft 6 in (138.2 m) |
| Beam: | 78 ft (24 m) |
| Draught: | 26 ft 9 in (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 MW) |
| Speed: | 18 knots (33 km/h) |
| Complement: | 777 |
| Armament: | 4 × 12 in (305 mm) guns (2 main turrets) 4 × 9.2 in (234 mm) guns (4 secondary turrets) 10 × 6 in (152 mm) guns 5 × 18 in (457 mm) torpedo tubes (4 broadside, one stern) 14 × 12 pounder guns 14 × 3 pounder guns 2 x Maxim machine guns |
| Armour: | 9 in (229 mm) belt amidships 12 in (305 mm) barbettes 9 in (229 mm) main turrets 7 in (178 mm) secondary turrets 2 in (51 mm) armoured deck |
HMS Hibernia was a King Edward VII-class battleship of Britain's Royal Navy, the last generation of British pre-dreadnoughts. Like all ships of the class (apart from HMS King Edward VII) she was named after an important part of the British Empire, namely Ireland.
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 flight deck constructed on her forecastle. On 2 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 3rd Battle Squadron of 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 II.
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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