.gif)
HMS Goliath (1898)
Encyclopedia
HMS Goliath was one of the six Canopus-class
pre-dreadnought
battleships built by the Royal Navy
in the late 19th century. In the First World War
Goliath took part in the blockade of the German
light cruiser
in the Rufiji River
but unsuccessful to bombard the cruiser in the delta.
On 13 May 1915 Goliath was sunk in Morto Bay
off Cape Helles
by two torpedo
es from the Turkish
torpedo boat destroyer Muavenet-i Milliye
, which was manned by a combined German and Turkish crew, taking 570 of the 700-strong crew to the bottom including her commanding officer
, Captain
Thomas Lawrie Shelford.
on 4 January 1897 and was launched on 23 March 1898. She was commissioned in March 1900.
Goliath and her five sister ships were designed for service in the Far East, where the new rising power Japan was beginning to build a powerful and dangerous navy, and to able to transit the Suez Canal
. They were designed to be smaller (by about 2000 LT (2,032.1 t)), lighter, and faster than their predecessors, the Majestic-class
battleships, although they were slightly longer at 430 ft (131.1 m). In order to save weight, Goliath carried less armour than the Majestics, although the change from Harvey armour
in the Majestics to Krupp armour in Goliath meant that the loss in protection was not as great as it might have been, Krupp armour having greater protective value at a given weight than its Harvey equivalent. Still, Goliaths armour was light enough to make her almost a second-class battleship. Part of her armour scheme included the use of a special 1 in (2.5 cm) armoured deck over the belt to defend against plunging fire by howitzers that France
reportedly planned to install on its ships, although this report proved to be false.
Goliath had four 12 in (304.8 mm)/35 cal guns mounted in twin turret
s fore and aft; these guns were mounted in circular barbette
s that allowed all-around loading, although at a fixed elevation. She also mounted twelve 6 in (152.4 mm)/40 cal guns (sponson mounting allowing some of them to fire fore and aft) in addition to smaller guns, and four 18 in (457.2 mm) submerged torpedo tube
s.
Goliath and her sister ship
s were the first British battleships with water-tube boiler
s, which generated more power at less expense in weight compared with the cylindrical boilers used in previous ships. The new boilers led to the adoption of fore-and-aft funnels, rather than the side-by-side funnel arrangement used in may previous British battleships. The Canopus-class ships proved to be good steamers, consuming 10 ST (9.1 t) of coal
per hour at full speed, with a high speed for battleships of their time, a full 2 kn (2.4 mph; 3.9 km/h) faster than the Majestics.
.jpg)
, where she underwent a refit at Hong Kong
from September 1901-April 1902. She left the China Station in July 1903 and returned home, where she paid off into the commissioned Reserve at Chatham Dockyard
on 9 October 1903.
While in reserve, Goliath underwent a refit at Palmers
on the Tyne
from January–June 1904, then participated in maneuvers later in the year.
On 9 May 1905, Goliath returned to full commission at Chatham to relieve her sister ship
on the China Station. However, Great Britain and Japan ratified a treaty of alliance while she was on her outbound voyage, allowing the Royal Navy to reduce its presence on the China Station and recall all battleships from those waters; when Goliath reached Colombo
, Ceylon in June 1905, she was recalled, and was instead attached to the Mediterranean Fleet
. In January 1906, she was transferred to the Channel Fleet
.
_in_1907.jpg)
After being fitted with fire control, Goliath transferred to the Portsmouth Division of the new Home Fleet on 15 March 1907. She was based at Portsmouth, and underwent a machinery overhaul there from August 1907-February 1908.
Upon completion of her refit, Goliath commissioned on 4 February 1908 for Mediterranean Fleet service. During her voyage to Malta
, one of her propeller shafts fractured, and she required four-month repair period before she could begin her service. On 20 April 1909, she paid off at Portsmouth.
On 22 April, Goliath recommissioned to serve in the 4th Division, Home Fleet, at the Nore
. During this service, she was refitted at Chatham in 1910-1911 and was sent to Sheerness
. In 1913, she was mothballed and joined the 3rd Fleet, also known as the Pembroke Reserve, at Pembroke Dock
in Wales
.
broke out in August 1914, Goliath returned to full commission and was assigned to the 8th Battle Squadron, Channel Fleet, operating out of Devonport
. She was sent to Loch Ewe
as guard ship to defend the Grand Fleet anchorage, and then covered the landing of the Plymouth Marine Battalion at Ostend
, Belgium
on 25 August 1914.
Goliath transferred to the East Indies Station
on 20 September to support cruiser
s on convoy
duty in the Middle East
, escorting an Indian convoy to the Persian Gulf
and German East Africa
until October. She then took part in the blockade of the German
light cruiser
in the Rufiji River
until November, during which crew member Commander
Henry Peel Ritchie
won the Victoria Cross
. She bombarded Dar es Salaam
on 28 November and 30 November.
Goliath underwent a refit at Simonstown, South Africa, from December 1914-February 1915. When it was completed, she went back into service as flagship
for Vice Admiral
King Hall and resumed operations against Königsberg at the Rufiji River until March 1915.
to participate in the campaign
there. She transferred her flag to second-class cruiser and departed for the Dardanelles on 1 April.
Commanded by Captain Thomas Lawrie Shelford, Goliath was part of the Allied fleet supporting the landing at X and Y Beaches during the landing at Cape Helles
on 25 April, sustaining some damage from the gunfire of Ottoman Turkish
forts and shore batteries, and supported Allied troops ashore during the First Battle of Krithia
that day. She covered the evacuation on 26 April. She was damaged by Turkish guns again on 2 May.
off Cape Helles
, along with and a screen of five destroyer
s, in foggy conditions. Around 01:00 on 13 May, the Turkish
torpedo boat destroyer Muavenet-i Milliye
, which was manned by a combined German and Turkish crew, eluded the destroyers and and closed on the battleships. Muavenet-i Milliye fired two torpedo
es which struck Goliath almost simultaneously abreast her fore turret and abeam the fore funnel, causing a massive explosion. Goliath began to capsize
almost immediately, and was lying on her beam ends when a third torpedo struck near her after turret. She then rolled over completely and began to sink by the bow
s, taking 570 of the 700-strong crew to the bottom, including her commanding officer
, Captain
Thomas Lawrie Shelford.
Although sighted and fired on after the first torpedo hit, Muavenet-i Milliye escaped unscathed. For sinking Goliath, Turkish Captain Ahmet Saffet Bey was promoted to rank of Major and the German captain of Muavenet-i Milliye, Kapitänleutnant Rudolph Firle, was awarded the Iron Cross 1st Class
as well as Austro-Hungarian and Turkish decorations.
Canopus class battleship
The Canopus class was a group of six pre-dreadnought battleships of the Royal Navy which were designed by Sir William White for use in the Far East and entered service between 1899 and 1902. The lead ship was which was followed by , , , and...
pre-dreadnought
Pre-dreadnought
Pre-dreadnought battleship is the general term for all of the types of sea-going battleships built between the mid-1890s and 1905. Pre-dreadnoughts replaced the ironclad warships of the 1870s and 1880s...
battleships built by the Royal Navy
Royal Navy
The Royal Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Founded in the 16th century, it is the oldest service branch and is known as the Senior Service...
in the late 19th century. In the First World War
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
Goliath took part in the blockade of the German
German Navy
The German Navy is the navy of Germany and is part of the unified Bundeswehr .The German Navy traces its roots back to the Imperial Fleet of the revolutionary era of 1848 – 52 and more directly to the Prussian Navy, which later evolved into the Northern German Federal Navy...
light cruiser
Light cruiser
A light cruiser is a type of small- or medium-sized warship. The term is a shortening of the phrase "light armored cruiser", describing a small ship that carried armor in the same way as an armored cruiser: a protective belt and deck...
in the Rufiji River
Rufiji River
The Rufiji River lies entirely within the African nation of Tanzania. The river is formed by the convergence of the Kilombero and Luwegu rivers. It is approximately 600 km long, with its source in southwestern Tanzania and its mouth on the Indian Ocean at a point between Mafia Island called Mafia...
but unsuccessful to bombard the cruiser in the delta.
On 13 May 1915 Goliath was sunk in Morto Bay
Morto Bay
Morto bay is an inlet on the South West tip of Cape Helles on the Gallipoli Peninsula. Cape Helles was the main landing area for the Gallipoli invasion and HMS Ocean was lost in Morto Bay after failing to save HMS Irresistible....
off Cape Helles
Cape Helles
Cape Helles is the rocky headland at the south-westernmost tip of the Gallipoli peninsula, Turkey. It was the scene of heavy fighting between Turkish and British troops during the landing at Cape Helles at the beginning of the Gallipoli Campaign in 1915....
by two torpedo
Torpedo
The modern torpedo is a self-propelled missile weapon with an explosive warhead, launched above or below the water surface, propelled underwater towards a target, and designed to detonate either on contact with it or in proximity to it.The term torpedo was originally employed for...
es from the Turkish
Ottoman Navy
The Ottoman Navy was established in the early 14th century. During its long existence it was involved in many conflicts; refer to list of Ottoman sieges and landings and list of Admirals in the Ottoman Empire for a brief chronology.- Pre-Ottoman:...
torpedo boat destroyer Muavenet-i Milliye
Muavenet-i Milliye
Muavenet-i Milliye or Muâvenet-i Millîye was a destroyer built for the Ottoman Navy prior to World War I. The ship is most notable for sinking the British pre-dreadnought battleship during the Dardanelles Campaign in World War I.- Naming :...
, which was manned by a combined German and Turkish crew, taking 570 of the 700-strong crew to the bottom including her commanding officer
Commanding officer
The commanding officer is the officer in command of a military unit. Typically, the commanding officer has ultimate authority over the unit, and is usually given wide latitude to run the unit as he sees fit, within the bounds of military law...
, Captain
Captain (naval)
Captain is the name most often given in English-speaking navies to the rank corresponding to command of the largest ships. The NATO rank code is OF-5, equivalent to an army full colonel....
Thomas Lawrie Shelford.
Technical Characteristics
HMS Goliath was laid down at Chatham DockyardChatham Dockyard
Chatham Dockyard, located on the River Medway and of which two-thirds is in Gillingham and one third in Chatham, Kent, England, came into existence at the time when, following the Reformation, relations with the Catholic countries of Europe had worsened, leading to a requirement for additional...
on 4 January 1897 and was launched on 23 March 1898. She was commissioned in March 1900.
Goliath and her five sister ships were designed for service in the Far East, where the new rising power Japan was beginning to build a powerful and dangerous navy, and to able to transit the Suez Canal
Suez Canal
The Suez Canal , also known by the nickname "The Highway to India", is an artificial sea-level waterway in Egypt, connecting the Mediterranean Sea and the Red Sea. Opened in November 1869 after 10 years of construction work, it allows water transportation between Europe and Asia without navigation...
. They were designed to be smaller (by about 2000 LT (2,032.1 t)), lighter, and faster than their predecessors, the Majestic-class
Majestic class battleship
The Majestic class was a class of pre-dreadnought battleships, built under the Spencer Programme of 8 December 1893, that sought to counter the growing naval strength of France and the Russian Empire...
battleships, although they were slightly longer at 430 ft (131.1 m). In order to save weight, Goliath carried less armour than the Majestics, although the change from Harvey armour
Harvey armor
Harvey armor was a type of steel armor developed in the early 1890s in which the front surfaces of the plates were case hardened. The method for doing this was known as the Harvey process....
in the Majestics to Krupp armour in Goliath meant that the loss in protection was not as great as it might have been, Krupp armour having greater protective value at a given weight than its Harvey equivalent. Still, Goliaths armour was light enough to make her almost a second-class battleship. Part of her armour scheme included the use of a special 1 in (2.5 cm) armoured deck over the belt to defend against plunging fire by howitzers that France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
reportedly planned to install on its ships, although this report proved to be false.
Goliath had four 12 in (304.8 mm)/35 cal guns mounted in twin turret
Gun turret
A gun turret is a weapon mount that protects the crew or mechanism of a projectile-firing weapon and at the same time lets the weapon be aimed and fired in many directions.The turret is also a rotating weapon platform...
s fore and aft; these guns were mounted in circular barbette
Barbette
A barbette is a protective circular armour feature around a cannon or heavy artillery gun. The name comes from the French phrase en barbette referring to the practice of firing a field gun over a parapet rather than through an opening . The former gives better angles of fire but less protection...
s that allowed all-around loading, although at a fixed elevation. She also mounted twelve 6 in (152.4 mm)/40 cal guns (sponson mounting allowing some of them to fire fore and aft) in addition to smaller guns, and four 18 in (457.2 mm) submerged torpedo tube
Torpedo tube
A torpedo tube is a device for launching torpedoes. There are two main types of torpedo tube: underwater tubes fitted to submarines and some surface ships, and deck-mounted units installed aboard surface vessels...
s.
Goliath and her sister ship
Sister ship
A sister ship is a ship of the same class as, or of virtually identical design to, another ship. Such vessels share a near-identical hull and superstructure layout, similar displacement, and roughly comparable features and equipment...
s were the first British battleships with water-tube boiler
Water-tube boiler
A water tube boiler is a type of boiler in which water circulates in tubes heated externally by the fire. Fuel is burned inside the furnace, creating hot gas which heats water in the steam-generating tubes...
s, which generated more power at less expense in weight compared with the cylindrical boilers used in previous ships. The new boilers led to the adoption of fore-and-aft funnels, rather than the side-by-side funnel arrangement used in may previous British battleships. The Canopus-class ships proved to be good steamers, consuming 10 ST (9.1 t) of coal
Coal
Coal is a combustible black or brownish-black sedimentary rock usually occurring in rock strata in layers or veins called coal beds or coal seams. The harder forms, such as anthracite coal, can be regarded as metamorphic rock because of later exposure to elevated temperature and pressure...
per hour at full speed, with a high speed for battleships of their time, a full 2 kn (2.4 mph; 3.9 km/h) faster than the Majestics.
Operational history
Pre-World War I
Goliath commissioned on 27 March 1900 to serve on the China StationChina Station
The China Station was a historical formation of the British Royal Navy. It was formally the units and establishments responsible to the Commander-in-Chief, China....
, where she underwent a refit at Hong Kong
Hong Kong
Hong Kong is one of two Special Administrative Regions of the People's Republic of China , the other being Macau. A city-state situated on China's south coast and enclosed by the Pearl River Delta and South China Sea, it is renowned for its expansive skyline and deep natural harbour...
from September 1901-April 1902. She left the China Station in July 1903 and returned home, where she paid off into the commissioned Reserve at Chatham Dockyard
Chatham Dockyard
Chatham Dockyard, located on the River Medway and of which two-thirds is in Gillingham and one third in Chatham, Kent, England, came into existence at the time when, following the Reformation, relations with the Catholic countries of Europe had worsened, leading to a requirement for additional...
on 9 October 1903.
While in reserve, Goliath underwent a refit at Palmers
Palmers Shipbuilding and Iron Company
Palmers Shipbuilding and Iron Company Limited, often referred to simply as Palmers, was a British shipbuilding company. The Company was based in Jarrow, in Northeast England and also had operations in Hebburn and Willington Quay on the River Tyne....
on the Tyne
River Tyne
The River Tyne is a river in North East England in Great Britain. It is formed by the confluence of two rivers: the North Tyne and the South Tyne. These two rivers converge at Warden Rock near Hexham in Northumberland at a place dubbed 'The Meeting of the Waters'.The North Tyne rises on the...
from January–June 1904, then participated in maneuvers later in the year.
On 9 May 1905, Goliath returned to full commission at Chatham to relieve her sister ship
Sister ship
A sister ship is a ship of the same class as, or of virtually identical design to, another ship. Such vessels share a near-identical hull and superstructure layout, similar displacement, and roughly comparable features and equipment...
on the China Station. However, Great Britain and Japan ratified a treaty of alliance while she was on her outbound voyage, allowing the Royal Navy to reduce its presence on the China Station and recall all battleships from those waters; when Goliath reached Colombo
Colombo
Colombo is the largest city of Sri Lanka. It is located on the west coast of the island and adjacent to Sri Jayawardenapura Kotte, the capital of Sri Lanka. Colombo is often referred to as the capital of the country, since Sri Jayawardenapura Kotte is a satellite city of Colombo...
, Ceylon in June 1905, she was recalled, and was instead attached to the Mediterranean Fleet
Mediterranean Fleet
Several countries have or have had a Mediterranean Fleet in their navy. See:* Mediterranean Fleet * French Mediterranean Fleet* Mediterranean Squadron * United States Sixth Fleet...
. In January 1906, she was transferred to the Channel Fleet
Channel Fleet
The Channel Fleet was the Royal Navy formation of warships that defended the waters of the English Channel from 1690 to 1909.-History:The Channel Fleet dates back at least to 1690 when its role was to defend England against the French threat under the leadership of Edward Russell, 1st Earl of...
.
Upon completion of her refit, Goliath commissioned on 4 February 1908 for Mediterranean Fleet service. During her voyage to Malta
Malta
Malta , officially known as the Republic of Malta , is a Southern European country consisting of an archipelago situated in the centre of the Mediterranean, south of Sicily, east of Tunisia and north of Libya, with Gibraltar to the west and Alexandria to the east.Malta covers just over in...
, one of her propeller shafts fractured, and she required four-month repair period before she could begin her service. On 20 April 1909, she paid off at Portsmouth.
On 22 April, Goliath recommissioned to serve in the 4th Division, Home Fleet, at the Nore
Nore
The Nore is a sandbank at the mouth of the Thames Estuary, England. It marks the point where the River Thames meets the North Sea, roughly halfway between Havengore Creek in Essex and Warden Point in Kent....
. During this service, she was refitted at Chatham in 1910-1911 and was sent to Sheerness
Sheerness
Sheerness is a town located beside the mouth of the River Medway on the northwest corner of the Isle of Sheppey in north Kent, England. With a population of 12,000 it is the largest town on the island....
. In 1913, she was mothballed and joined the 3rd Fleet, also known as the Pembroke Reserve, at Pembroke Dock
Pembroke Dock
Pembroke Dock is a town in Pembrokeshire, south-west Wales, lying north of Pembroke on the River Cleddau. Originally a small fishing village known as Paterchurch, the town was greatly expanded from 1814 onwards following the construction of a Royal Naval Dockyard...
in Wales
Wales
Wales is a country that is part of the United Kingdom and the island of Great Britain, bordered by England to its east and the Atlantic Ocean and Irish Sea to its west. It has a population of three million, and a total area of 20,779 km²...
.
World War I
When the First World WarWorld War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
broke out in August 1914, Goliath returned to full commission and was assigned to the 8th Battle Squadron, Channel Fleet, operating out of Devonport
HMNB Devonport
Her Majesty's Naval Base Devonport , is one of three operating bases in the United Kingdom for the Royal Navy . HMNB Devonport is located in Devonport, in the west of the city of Plymouth in Devon, England...
. She was sent to Loch Ewe
Loch Ewe
Loch Ewe is a sea loch in the region of in the Northwest Highlands of Scotland. The shores are inhabited by a traditionally Gàidhlig speaking people living in or sustained by crofting villages, the most notable of which, situated on the north-eastern shore, is the Aultbea settlement...
as guard ship to defend the Grand Fleet anchorage, and then covered the landing of the Plymouth Marine Battalion at Ostend
Ostend
Ostend is a Belgian city and municipality located in the Flemish province of West Flanders. It comprises the boroughs of Mariakerke , Stene and Zandvoorde, and the city of Ostend proper – the largest on the Belgian coast....
, Belgium
Belgium
Belgium , officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a federal state in Western Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts the EU's headquarters, and those of several other major international organisations such as NATO.Belgium is also a member of, or affiliated to, many...
on 25 August 1914.
Goliath transferred to the East Indies Station
East Indies Station
The East Indies Station was a formation of the British Royal Navy from 1865 to 1941.From 1831 to 1865 the East Indies and the China Station were a single command known as the East Indies and China Station...
on 20 September to support cruiser
Cruiser
A cruiser is a type of warship. The term has been in use for several hundreds of years, and has had different meanings throughout this period...
s on convoy
Convoy
A convoy is a group of vehicles, typically motor vehicles or ships, traveling together for mutual support and protection. Often, a convoy is organized with armed defensive support, though it may also be used in a non-military sense, for example when driving through remote areas.-Age of Sail:Naval...
duty in the Middle East
Middle East
The Middle East is a region that encompasses Western Asia and Northern Africa. It is often used as a synonym for Near East, in opposition to Far East...
, escorting an Indian convoy to the Persian Gulf
Persian Gulf
The Persian Gulf, in Southwest Asia, is an extension of the Indian Ocean located between Iran and the Arabian Peninsula.The Persian Gulf was the focus of the 1980–1988 Iran-Iraq War, in which each side attacked the other's oil tankers...
and German East Africa
German East Africa
German East Africa was a German colony in East Africa, which included what are now :Burundi, :Rwanda and Tanganyika . Its area was , nearly three times the size of Germany today....
until October. She then took part in the blockade of the German
German Navy
The German Navy is the navy of Germany and is part of the unified Bundeswehr .The German Navy traces its roots back to the Imperial Fleet of the revolutionary era of 1848 – 52 and more directly to the Prussian Navy, which later evolved into the Northern German Federal Navy...
light cruiser
Light cruiser
A light cruiser is a type of small- or medium-sized warship. The term is a shortening of the phrase "light armored cruiser", describing a small ship that carried armor in the same way as an armored cruiser: a protective belt and deck...
in the Rufiji River
Rufiji River
The Rufiji River lies entirely within the African nation of Tanzania. The river is formed by the convergence of the Kilombero and Luwegu rivers. It is approximately 600 km long, with its source in southwestern Tanzania and its mouth on the Indian Ocean at a point between Mafia Island called Mafia...
until November, during which crew member Commander
Commander
Commander is a naval rank which is also sometimes used as a military title depending on the individual customs of a given military service. Commander is also used as a rank or title in some organizations outside of the armed forces, particularly in police and law enforcement.-Commander as a naval...
Henry Peel Ritchie
Henry Peel Ritchie
Henry Peel Ritchie VC was a recipient of the Victoria Cross, the highest and most prestigious award for valour "in the face of the enemy" that can be given to members of the British and Commonwealth armed forces...
won the Victoria Cross
Victoria Cross
The Victoria Cross is the highest military decoration awarded for valour "in the face of the enemy" to members of the armed forces of various Commonwealth countries, and previous British Empire territories....
. She bombarded Dar es Salaam
Dar es Salaam
Dar es Salaam , formerly Mzizima, is the largest city in Tanzania. It is also the country's richest city and a regionally important economic centre. Dar es Salaam is actually an administrative province within Tanzania, and consists of three local government areas or administrative districts: ...
on 28 November and 30 November.
Goliath underwent a refit at Simonstown, South Africa, from December 1914-February 1915. When it was completed, she went back into service as flagship
Flagship
A flagship is a vessel used by the commanding officer of a group of naval ships, reflecting the custom of its commander, characteristically a flag officer, flying a distinguishing flag...
for Vice Admiral
Vice Admiral
Vice admiral is a senior naval rank of a three-star flag officer, which is equivalent to lieutenant general in the other uniformed services. A vice admiral is typically senior to a rear admiral and junior to an admiral...
King Hall and resumed operations against Königsberg at the Rufiji River until March 1915.
Dardanelles campaign
On 25 March 1915, Goliath was ordered to the DardanellesDardanelles
The Dardanelles , formerly known as the Hellespont, is a narrow strait in northwestern Turkey connecting the Aegean Sea to the Sea of Marmara. It is one of the Turkish Straits, along with its counterpart the Bosphorus. It is located at approximately...
to participate in the campaign
Naval operations in the Dardanelles Campaign
The naval operations in the Dardanelles Campaign of the First World War were mainly carried out by the Royal Navy with substantial support from the French and minor contributions from Russia and Australia. The Dardanelles Campaign began as a purely naval operation...
there. She transferred her flag to second-class cruiser and departed for the Dardanelles on 1 April.
Landing at Cape Helles
The landing at Cape Helles was part of the amphibious invasion of the Gallipoli peninsula by British and French forces on April 25, 1915 during the First World War. Helles, at the foot of the peninsula, was the main landing area. With the support of the guns of the Royal Navy, a British division...
on 25 April, sustaining some damage from the gunfire of Ottoman Turkish
Ottoman Empire
The Ottoman EmpireIt was usually referred to as the "Ottoman Empire", the "Turkish Empire", the "Ottoman Caliphate" or more commonly "Turkey" by its contemporaries...
forts and shore batteries, and supported Allied troops ashore during the First Battle of Krithia
First Battle of Krithia
The First Battle of Krithia was the first Allied advance of the Battle of Gallipoli during the First World War. Starting at Helles on 28 April, three days after the initial landings, the attack broke down due to poor leadership and planning, lack of communications and exhaustion and demoralisation...
that day. She covered the evacuation on 26 April. She was damaged by Turkish guns again on 2 May.
Loss
On the night of 12–13 May, Goliath was anchored in Morto BayMorto Bay
Morto bay is an inlet on the South West tip of Cape Helles on the Gallipoli Peninsula. Cape Helles was the main landing area for the Gallipoli invasion and HMS Ocean was lost in Morto Bay after failing to save HMS Irresistible....
off Cape Helles
Cape Helles
Cape Helles is the rocky headland at the south-westernmost tip of the Gallipoli peninsula, Turkey. It was the scene of heavy fighting between Turkish and British troops during the landing at Cape Helles at the beginning of the Gallipoli Campaign in 1915....
, along with and a screen of five destroyer
Destroyer
In naval terminology, a destroyer is a fast and maneuverable yet long-endurance warship intended to escort larger vessels in a fleet, convoy or battle group and defend them against smaller, powerful, short-range attackers. Destroyers, originally called torpedo-boat destroyers in 1892, evolved from...
s, in foggy conditions. Around 01:00 on 13 May, the Turkish
Ottoman Navy
The Ottoman Navy was established in the early 14th century. During its long existence it was involved in many conflicts; refer to list of Ottoman sieges and landings and list of Admirals in the Ottoman Empire for a brief chronology.- Pre-Ottoman:...
torpedo boat destroyer Muavenet-i Milliye
Muavenet-i Milliye
Muavenet-i Milliye or Muâvenet-i Millîye was a destroyer built for the Ottoman Navy prior to World War I. The ship is most notable for sinking the British pre-dreadnought battleship during the Dardanelles Campaign in World War I.- Naming :...
, which was manned by a combined German and Turkish crew, eluded the destroyers and and closed on the battleships. Muavenet-i Milliye fired two torpedo
Torpedo
The modern torpedo is a self-propelled missile weapon with an explosive warhead, launched above or below the water surface, propelled underwater towards a target, and designed to detonate either on contact with it or in proximity to it.The term torpedo was originally employed for...
es which struck Goliath almost simultaneously abreast her fore turret and abeam the fore funnel, causing a massive explosion. Goliath began to capsize
Capsize
Capsizing is an act of tipping over a boat or ship to disable it. The act of reversing a capsized vessel is called righting.If a capsized vessel has sufficient flotation to prevent sinking, it may recover on its own if the stability is such that it is not stable inverted...
almost immediately, and was lying on her beam ends when a third torpedo struck near her after turret. She then rolled over completely and began to sink by the bow
Bow (ship)
The bow is a nautical term that refers to the forward part of the hull of a ship or boat, the point that is most forward when the vessel is underway. Both of the adjectives fore and forward mean towards the bow...
s, taking 570 of the 700-strong crew to the bottom, including her commanding officer
Commanding officer
The commanding officer is the officer in command of a military unit. Typically, the commanding officer has ultimate authority over the unit, and is usually given wide latitude to run the unit as he sees fit, within the bounds of military law...
, Captain
Captain (naval)
Captain is the name most often given in English-speaking navies to the rank corresponding to command of the largest ships. The NATO rank code is OF-5, equivalent to an army full colonel....
Thomas Lawrie Shelford.
Although sighted and fired on after the first torpedo hit, Muavenet-i Milliye escaped unscathed. For sinking Goliath, Turkish Captain Ahmet Saffet Bey was promoted to rank of Major and the German captain of Muavenet-i Milliye, Kapitänleutnant Rudolph Firle, was awarded the Iron Cross 1st Class
Iron Cross
The Iron Cross is a cross symbol typically in black with a white or silver outline that originated after 1219 when the Kingdom of Jerusalem granted the Teutonic Order the right to combine the Teutonic Black Cross placed above a silver Cross of Jerusalem....
as well as Austro-Hungarian and Turkish decorations.