H.M.S. Superb (1907)

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H.M.S. Superb (1907)
Pendant Number: 49 (1914)
A0 (Jan 1918)
49 (Apr 1918)[1]
Builder: Armstrong, Whitworth & Company, Elswick[2]
Laid down: 6 Feb, 1907[3]
Launched: 7 Nov, 1907[4]
Commissioned: 9 June, 1909
Sold: 12 Dec, 1922[5]
Fate: Scrapped

H.M.S. Superb was one of three dreadnoughts of the Bellerophon class.

Service

She was first commissioned at Portsmouth on 29 May, 1909.[6] Six men were injured when a hawser broke while she was being taken out of No. 4 basin at Portsmouth Dockyard on 7 June, 1909. The three most serious cases were taken to Haslar Naval Hospital.[7]

Superb recommissioned at Portsmouth 6 May, 1913 for service with the First Battle Squadron.[8]

Great War

On 24 October, 1915, Superb was transferred from the First Battle Squadron to the Fourth Battle Squadron, exchanging places with Agincourt. She returned from refit at Cromarty on the 28th.[9]

Jutland

Main article: H.M.S. Superb at the Battle of Jutland

The ship was commanded by Captain Edmond Hyde Parker as part of the Fourth Battle Squadron.

Post-War

She paid off at the Nore on 25 March, 1920.[10]

Motto

Her motto was "Ense et animo."

Equipment

The ship was one of seven which tested Willis and Robinson Electric Revolution Telegraphs. Testing was completed in late 1913.[11]

Habitability

In October 1914, the ship was to be given 3 Pattern 1582 Electric Radiators to warm cabins whose stoves could not be used for heating them.[12]

Performance

Her tactical turning diameter was 405 yards at full speed (best of the class), with the rudder being put over in 10 seconds.[13]

Radio

By the end of 1913, she and the rest of the First Battle Squadron were all equipped with Battleship Auxiliary W/T sets.[14]

Alterations

Turrets

In October 1914, additions of screened-in positions within her turrets required the existing alternative plans for loading to be abolished, and required further alterations to support a new fall-back means of loading.[15]

Director

Superb was listed as part of the seventeen ship order in 1913 and received a director for her main battery sometime after the war started but prior to May, 1915.[16]

It appears that her director installation was tested for Tilt on 5 September, 1916. Her aloft director's greatest tilt was 8 arcminutes on a bearing of 348 degrees. Her turrets tilts were measured as follows: [17]

  • "A" 8.5 arcminutes at 344 degrees
  • "P" 7.5 arcminutes at 349 degrees
  • "Q" 6.0 arcminutes at 6 degrees
  • "X" 3.5 arcminutes at 353 degrees
  • "Y" 5.0 arcminutes at 352 degrees

Captains

Dates of appointment are provided when known.

See Also

Footnotes

  1. Dittmar; Colledge. British Warships 1914–1919. p. 32.
  2. Dittmar; Colledge. British Warships 1914–1919. p. 32.
  3. Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships 1906–1921. p. 22.
  4. Dittmar; Colledge. British Warships 1914–1919. p. 32.
  5. Dittmar; Colledge. British Warships 1914–1919. p. 32.
  6. The Navy List (July 1909), p 379. Note, however, that a report printed in The Times of 8 June, 1909, states, "The Superb ... will be commissioned tomorrow" ("Naval and Military Intelligence" (Official Appointments and Notices). The Times. Tuesday, 8 June, 1909. Issue 38980, col E, p. 9.)
  7. The Times. Tuesday, 8 June, 1909. Issue 38980, col E, p. 9.
  8. The Navy List. (April, 1914). p. 378.
  9. Jellicoe Papers. British Library. Add MS 49000. f. 266.
  10. The Navy List. (January, 1921). p. 868.
  11. Admiralty Weekly Order No. 607 of 24 Oct, 1913.
  12. Admiralty Weekly Order No. 512 of 16 Oct, 1914.
  13. Burt. British Battleships of World War One. p. 69.
  14. Annual Report of the Torpedo School, 1913. W/T Appendix, p. 13.
  15. Admiralty Weekly Order No. 525 of 20 Oct, 1914.
  16. The Technical History and Index, Vol. 3, Part 23. pp. 9-10.
  17. The Director Firing Handbook. pp. 107-110.
  18. Tudor Service Record. The National Archives. ADM 196/42. f. 90.
  19. Tudor Service Record. The National Archives. ADM 196/42. f. 90.
  20. Heath Service Record. The National Archives. ADM 196/42. f. 200.
  21. The Navy List. (April, 1911). p. 379.
  22. Heath Service Record. The National Archives. ADM 196/42. f. 200.
  23. Gaunt Service Record. The National Archives. ADM 196/42. f. 276.
  24. The Navy List. (August, 1912). p. 379.
  25. Gaunt Service Record. The National Archives. ADM 196/20. f. 575.
  26. Hope Service Record. The National Archives. ADM 196/43. f. 44.
  27. Hope Service Record. The National Archives. ADM 196/43. f. 23/44.
  28. Lewes Service Record. The National Archives. ADM 196/42. f. 300.
  29. Lewes Service Record. The National Archives. ADM 196/42. f. 300.
  30. The Navy List. (December, 1914). p. 382a.
  31. Bentinck Service Record. The National Archives. ADM 196/43. f. 47.
  32. Parker Service Record. The National Archives. ADM 196/43. f. 2.
  33. The Navy List. (November, 1917). p. 398b.
  34. Hyde Parker Service Record. The National Archives. ADM 196/88. f. 126.
  35. Drury-Lowe Service Record. The National Archives. ADM 196/43. f. 214.
  36. Drury-Lowe Service Record. The National Archives. ADM 196/43. f. 214.
  37. Radcliffe Service Record. The National Archives. ADM 196/43. f. 342.
  38. Radcliffe Service Record. The National Archives. ADM 196/43. f. 342.
  39. The Navy List. (March, 1919). p. 912.
  40. Bruton Service Record. The National Archives. ADM 196/44. f. 116.
  41. Bruton Service Record. The National Archives. ADM 196/44. f. 116.

Bibliography


Bellerophon Class Dreadnought
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