HMS Galatea (1914)
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| Career (United Kingdom) |  |
|---|---|
| Name: | HMS Galatea |
| Builder: | William Beardmore and Company |
| Laid down: | 9 January 1913 |
| Launched: | 14 May 1914 |
| Commissioned: | December 1914 |
| Fate: | Sold for scrapping 25 October 1921 |
| General characteristics | |
| Class and type: | Arethusa-class light cruiser |
| Displacement: | 3,500 tons |
| Length: | 436 ft (133 m) Overall |
| Beam: | 39 ft (12 m) |
| Draught: | 13.5 ft (4.1 m) |
| Propulsion: | Parsons turbines Eight Yarrow boilers 40,000 hp |
| Speed: | 28.5 knots (53 km/h) |
| Range: | carried 482 tons (810 tons maximum) of fuel oil |
| Complement: | 318 |
| Armament: | 3 × BL 6-inch (152.4 mm) Mk XII guns 4 × QF 4-inch (101.6 mm) Mk V guns |
| Armour: | 3 inches (76 mm) side (amidships) 2.25–1.5 inches (57–38 mm) side (bows) 2.5–2 inches (64–51 mm) side (stern) 1 inch (25 mm) upper decks (amidships) 1 inch (25 mm) deck over rudder 6 inches (150 mm) conning tower |
HMS Galatea was an Arethusa-class light cruiser of the Royal Navy launched on 14 May, 1914 at William Beardmore and Company shipyard. She fought in the First World War, participating in the Battle of Jutland. Following the war, she was scrapped.
Service history
On her commissioning she was assigned as the leader to the 2nd Destroyer Squadron of the Harwich Force, guarding the eastern approaches to the English Channel. On the 4 May 1916, she took part in the shooting down of Zeppelin L 7. At the battle of Jutland, she was the flagship of the 1st Light Cruiser Squadron under Commodore E.S. Alexander-Sinclair. She was the first ship to report the presence of German ships, triggering the battle. Galatea was also the first to receive a hit by the German light cruiser SMS Elbing, but no explosion occurred.
Galatea was part of the screen around the Battle Cruiser Force under Admiral Beatty which was on a sweep across the North Sea on 31 May 1916. She was sent in company with her sister Phaeton to investigate a stopped merchant vessel, the Danish N J Fiord. At the same time, two destroyers, B-109 and B-110 from the German battlecruiser and cruiser Scouting Groups under Admiral Franz von Hipper, were sent to investigate the ship. The two fleets were previously unaware that they were less than 50 miles (80 km) apart.
She was sold for scrapping on 25 October 1921. Mount Galatea in Alberta, Canada is named after this ship.
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 Arethusa class
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