HMS Irresistible (1898)
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 HMS Irresistible listing and sinking in the Dardanelles, 18 March 1915 (photograph taken from HMS Lord Nelson) |
|
| Career (UK) |  |
|---|---|
| Name: | HMS Irresistible |
| Ordered: | 1897 Programme |
| Builder: | Chatham Dockyard |
| Laid down: | 11 April 1898 |
| Launched: | 15 December 1898 |
| Commissioned: | 4 February 1902 |
| Fate: | Sunk by mine at Battle of the Dardanelles on 18 March 1915 |
| General characteristics | |
| Class and type: | Formidable class battleship |
| Displacement: | 14,685 tons load 15,805 tons deep |
| Length: | 411 ft (125 m) waterline 431 ft 9 in (131.6 m) (131 m) overall |
| Beam: | 75 ft (23 m) |
| Draught: | 26 ft 9 in (8.2 m) |
| Propulsion: | Water tube boilers, 2 × vertical triple expansion engines, 2 shafts, 15,500 ihp (11.6 MW) |
| Speed: | 18.0 knots (33 km/h) |
| Range: | 5,500 nautical miles (approx) at 10 knots (18 km/h) |
| Complement: | 780 |
| Armament: | 4 × Mk IX 12-inch (305 mm) guns 12 × Mk VII 6-inch (152 mm) guns 16 × 12 pounder (5.4 kg) guns 6 × 3 pounder (1.4 kg) guns 2 × machine guns 4 × 18 in submerged torpedo tubes |
HMS Irresistible was a Formidable-class battleship of the British Royal Navy, built at the Chatham shipyards, that served in the First World War before it was sunk in an attempt to capture the Dardanelles, a narrow strait in the north-western Turkey at 18 March 1915. HMS Irresistible has been the name of four Royal Navy ships.
[edit] History
Irresistible's first assignment was with the 5th Battle Squadron of the Home Fleet, and on 25 August 1914 she took part in the transportation of the Portsmouth Marine Battalion to Ostend. Between October and November the same year, she was attached to the Dover Patrol to assist with attacks on the Belgian coast, and then during February 1915 was sent to join the Dardanelles squadron.
During the Dardanelles Campaign HMS Irresistible struck a Turkish mine at about 4:16 PM local time on 18 March 1915 while participating in the final attempt to force the Dardanelles straits, and sank about four hours later.
All the crew, except for the captain and a few volunteers, were transferred to HMS Wear which then transferred them to HMS Queen Elizabeth. HMS Ocean was sent to bring Irresistible under tow, but the water was shallow and Irresistible continued to drift nearer the shore. The Ocean rescued the remaining men from Irresistible as her fate became clearer.
Whilst under fire from on-shore forts and just after she began to withdraw about 6.05pm, the Ocean struck a mine and moments later received a shell strike. All on board the Ocean were rescued by Royal Navy ships in the vicinity before she sank about one and a half hours later.
The Royal Navy sent HMS Jed back into the Dardenelles, in case the abandoned Pre-dreadnoughts had remained afloat to torpedo them, to ensure that they could not become available to the enemy; however, they were not found.
[edit] References
- Roger Chesneau and Eugene M. Kolesnik, ed., Conway's All The Worlds Fighting Ships, 1860-1905, (Conway Maritime Press, London, 1979), ISBN 0-85177-133-5
- Dittmar, F. J. & Colledge, J. J., "British Warships 1914-1919", (Ian Allen, London, 1972), ISBN 0-7110-0380-7
[edit] External links
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