HMS Birkenhead (1915)
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| Career (Greece) | .svg.png){kind=small} |
|---|---|
| Name: | Antinavarchos Kountouriotis |
| Namesake: | Pavlos Kountouriotis |
| Builder: | Cammell Laird, Birkenhead, England |
| Laid down: | 21 March 1914 |
| Launched: | 18 January 1915 |
| Out of service: | 1915 |
| Fate: | Sold to the United Kingdom 1915 |
| Career (United Kingdom) |  |
| Name: | HMS Birkenhead |
| Namesake: | Birkenhead |
| Launched: | 18 January 1915 |
| Commissioned: | May 1915 |
| Fate: | Sold for scrapping 26 October 1921 |
| General characteristics | |
| Class and type: | Town-class light cruiser |
| Displacement: | 5,235 tons |
| Length: | 446 ft (135.9 m) Overall |
| Beam: | 50 ft (15.2 m) |
| Draught: | 15.5 ft (4.7 m) |
| Propulsion: | Parsons compound re-action turbines Quadruple propellers Twelve Yarrow boilers 25,000 hp |
| Speed: | 25.5 knots (47.2 km/h) |
| Range: | carried 1070 tons coal and 352 tons fuel oil (max) |
| Complement: | 452 |
| Armament: | 10 × BL 5.5 inch Mark I (140 mm) /50 guns on mountings CP Mk.I one 3 inch (76 mm) guns 21 inch (533 mm) torpedo tubes |
| Armour: | 2 inches (51 mm) belt 1.5 inches (38 mm) deck 4 inches (100 mm) conning tower |
HMS Birkenhead was one of two Town-class light cruisers originally ordered for the Greek Navy in 1914. She was to be named Antinavarchos Kountouriotis after Vice Admiral Pavlos Kountouriotis. The order was placed with Cammell Laird and production continued for the Greek account after the outbreak of World War I in August 1914. In 1915, however, the two cruisers were purchased by the British government, and entered service with the Royal Navy.
Design
The two Greek ships differed from standard British practice in several ways: the main armament consisted of the new 5.5 inch (140mm) Coventry Ordnance Works gun. This weapon was significantly lighter than the standard 6 inch gun and fired an 85 pounds (39 kg) shell rather than the 100 pounds (45 kg) shell of the 6 inch weapon. It therefore had a higher rate of fire with little loss in hitting power.
Service
Like her sister, Chester, Birkenhead was assigned to the 3rd Light Cruiser Squadron of the Grand Fleet. On 31 May to 1 June 1916, they both took part in the Battle of Jutland. She survived the battle, and the war and was sold for scrapping on 26 October 1921 to Cashmore, of Newport.
References
- Colledge, J. J.; Warlow, Ben (2006) [1969]. Ships of the Royal Navy: The Complete Record of all Fighting Ships of the Royal Navy (Rev. ed.). London: Chatham Publishing. ISBN 978-1-86176-281-8. OCLC 67375475.
- Jane's Fighting Ships of World War One (1919), Jane's Publishing Company
- Ships of the Birkenhead group
- Conway's All the World's Fighting ships 1906-1922
- DK Brown. The Grand Fleet, Warship Design and Development 1906-1922, Chatham Publishing 1999
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