HMS Gloucester (1909)
.jpg) Gloucester in 1918 | |
| Career (United Kingdom) |  |
|---|---|
| Name: | HMS Gloucester |
| Namesake: | Gloucester |
| Builder: | William Beardmore and Company |
| Laid down: | 15 April 1909 |
| Launched: | 28 October 1909 |
| Commissioned: | October 1910 |
| Fate: | Sold for scrapping 9 May 1921 |
| General characteristics | |
| Class and type: | Town-class light cruiser |
| Displacement: | 4,800 long tons (4,900 t) |
| Length: | 453 ft (138 m) o.a |
| Beam: | 47 ft (14 m) |
| Draught: | 15 ft 6 in (4.72 m) |
| Installed power: | 22,000 shp (16,000 kW) |
| Propulsion: | 4 ×Parson steam turbines 12 × Yarrow boilers 4 × shafts |
| Speed: | 25 kn (29 mph; 46 km/h) |
| Capacity: | Coal:600 short tons (540 t) (1,353 short tons (1,227 t) maximum) Fuel oil: 260 short tons (235.8680 t) |
| Complement: | 411 |
| Armament: | 2 × BL 6 in (150 mm) Mk XI guns 10 × BL 4 in (100 mm) Mk VII guns 1 × 3 inch gun 4 × 3-pounder guns 4 × machine guns 2 × 18 in (460 mm) torpedo tubes |
| Armour: | 2 inch, 1¾ inch, ¾ inch deck 6 inch conning tower |
HMS Gloucester was a Town-class light cruiser of the Royal Navy launched on 28 October 1909 from the yards of William Beardmore and Company. She formed part of the Bristol subgroup.
Service history
On being commissioned, Gloucester was assigned to the 2nd Light Cruiser Squadron in the Mediterranean and in August 1914 she was involved in the hunt for the German cruisers SMS Goeben and Breslau. For this operation, she was under the command of Captain Howard Kelly and managed to slightly damage Breslau with one hit at the waterline in the ensuing exchange of gun fire. She was unable to prevent the German ships escaping however. Later that year, Gloucester was operating off the west coast of Africa, hunting for German raiders. In February 1915, she was reassigned to the 3rd Light Cruiser Squadron of the Grand Fleet.
It has been long rumoured that she shelled Galway, Ireland during the Easter Rising in April 1916, but she was probably confused with HMS Laburnum, which did shell the outskirts of Galway a day before Gloucester arrived in Galway Bay landing 100 marines.
On 31 May-1 June 1916, she took part in the Battle of Jutland and later that year was reassigned to the 2nd Light Cruiser Squadron. A posting in the Mediterranean followed in December 1916 on joining the 8th Light Cruiser Squadron in the Adriatic. She also served in East Africa in 1917. She survived the war and was sold for scrapping on 9 May 1921 to Ward, of Portishead and Briton Ferry.
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
- Gray, Randal (ed), "Conway's All The Worlds Fighting Ships, 1906-1921", (Conway Maritime Press, London, 1985), ISBN 0-85177-245-5
- Ships of the Bristol group
- Witness Statement to Shelling Incident in 1916, Given to Irish Bureau of Military History in 1950
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