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HMS New Zealand (1911)
Encyclopedia
HMS New Zealand was one of three s built for the defence of the British Empire
British Empire
The British Empire comprised the dominions, colonies, protectorates, mandates and other territories ruled or administered by the United Kingdom. It originated with the overseas colonies and trading posts established by England in the late 16th and early 17th centuries. At its height, it was the...
. Launched in 1911, the ship's construction was funded by the government of New Zealand
New Zealand
New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
as a gift to Britain, and she was commissioned into 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 1912. She had been intended for service on the China Station
China 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....
, but she was released by the New Zealand government at the request of the Admiralty
Admiralty
The Admiralty was formerly the authority in the Kingdom of England, and later in the United Kingdom, responsible for the command of the Royal Navy...
for service in British waters.
During 1913, New Zealand was sent on a ten-month tour of the British Dominions, with an emphasis on the visit to her namesake nation. She was back in British waters at the start of World War I
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...
, and operated as part of the Royal Navy's Grand Fleet, in opposition to the German High Seas Fleet
High Seas Fleet
The High Seas Fleet was the battle fleet of the German Empire and saw action during World War I. The formation was created in February 1907, when the Home Fleet was renamed as the High Seas Fleet. Admiral Alfred von Tirpitz was the architect of the fleet; he envisioned a force powerful enough to...
. During the war, the battlecruiser participated in all three of the major North Sea battles of World War I—Heligoland Bight, Dogger Bank
Battle of Dogger Bank (1915)
The Battle of Dogger Bank was a naval battle fought near the Dogger Bank in the North Sea on 24 January 1915, during the First World War, between squadrons of the British Grand Fleet and the German High Seas Fleet....
, and Jutland
Battle of Jutland
The Battle of Jutland was a naval battle between the British Royal Navy's Grand Fleet and the Imperial German Navy's High Seas Fleet during the First World War. The battle was fought on 31 May and 1 June 1916 in the North Sea near Jutland, Denmark. It was the largest naval battle and the only...
—and was involved in the response to the inconclusive Raid on Scarborough
Raid on Scarborough, Hartlepool and Whitby
The raid on Scarborough, Hartlepool and Whitby, which took place on 16 December 1914, was an attack by the Imperial German Navy on the British seaport towns of Scarborough, Hartlepool, West Hartlepool, and Whitby. The attack resulted in 137 fatalities and 592 casualties, many of which were civilians...
, and the Second Battle of Heligoland Bight
Second Battle of Heligoland Bight
The Second Battle of Heligoland Bight was a naval engagement during the First World War. On 17 November 1917, German minesweepers clearing a path through the British minefield in the Heligoland Bight near the coast of Germany were intercepted by two British light cruisers, and , performing...
. Although she contributed to the destruction of two 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, New Zealand was hit by enemy fire only once during her wartime service, and received no casualties; her status as a "lucky ship" was attributed by the crew to a Māori piupiu (warrior's skirt) and tiki
Tiki
Tiki refers to large wood and stone carvings of humanoid forms in Central Eastern Polynesian cultures of the Pacific Ocean. The term is also used in Māori mythology where Tiki is the first man, created by either Tūmatauenga or Tāne. He found the first woman, Marikoriko, in a pond – she seduced him...
(pendant) worn by the captain during battle.
After the war, New Zealand was sent on a second world tour, this time to allow Admiral John Jellicoe
John Jellicoe, 1st Earl Jellicoe
Admiral of the Fleet John Rushworth Jellicoe, 1st Earl Jellicoe, GCB, OM, GCVO was a British Royal Navy admiral who commanded the Grand Fleet at the Battle of Jutland in World War I...
to review the naval defences of the Dominions. In 1920, the battlecruiser was placed in reserve. The disarmament
Disarmament
Disarmament is the act of reducing, limiting, or abolishing weapons. Disarmament generally refers to a country's military or specific type of weaponry. Disarmament is often taken to mean total elimination of weapons of mass destruction, such as nuclear arms...
provisions of the Washington Naval Treaty
Washington Naval Treaty
The Washington Naval Treaty, also known as the Five-Power Treaty, was an attempt to cap and limit, and "prevent 'further' costly escalation" of the naval arms race that had begun after World War I between various International powers, each of which had significant naval fleets. The treaty was...
required the destruction of New Zealand as part of Britain's tonnage limit, and she was sold for scrap in 1922.
Design
The Indefatigable class was not a significant improvement on the preceding ; the main difference was the enlargement of the design to give the ships' two wing turrets a wider arc of fire. The ships were smaller and not as well protected as the contemporary German battlecruiser and subsequent German designs. While Von der Tanns characteristics were not known when the lead shipLead ship
The lead ship or class leader is the first of a series or class of ships all constructed according to the same general design. The term is applicable military ships and larger civilian craft.-Overview:...
of the class, , was laid down in February 1909, the Royal Navy obtained accurate information on the German ship before work began on New Zealand 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...
.
Beam (nautical)
The beam of a ship is its width at the widest point. Generally speaking, the wider the beam of a ship , the more initial stability it has, at expense of reserve stability in the event of a capsize, where more energy is required to right the vessel from its inverted position...
of 80 feet (24.4 m), and a draught
Draft (hull)
The draft of a ship's hull is the vertical distance between the waterline and the bottom of the hull , with the thickness of the hull included; in the case of not being included the draft outline would be obtained...
of 29 in 9 in (9.07 m) at deep load. She displaced 18500 long tons (18,796.9 t) at load and 22130 long tons (22,485.2 t) at deep load. The battlecruiser's Parsons
Parsons Marine Steam Turbine Company
Parsons Marine Steam Turbine Company was a British engineering company based in Wallsend, North England, on the River Tyne.-History:The company was founded by Charles Algernon Parsons in 1897 with £500,000 of capital, and specialised in building the steam turbine engines that he had invented for...
direct-drive steam turbine
Steam turbine
A steam turbine is a mechanical device that extracts thermal energy from pressurized steam, and converts it into rotary motion. Its modern manifestation was invented by Sir Charles Parsons in 1884....
s were designed to produce 44000 shp, propelling the ship at 25 knots (13.6 m/s). However, during trials in 1912, the turbines produced over 49000 shp, which allowed New Zealand to reach 26.39 knots (14.4 m/s). The ship carried approximately 3200 long tons (3,251.4 t) of coal, and an additional 850 long tons (863.6 t) of fuel oil
Fuel oil
Fuel oil is a fraction obtained from petroleum distillation, either as a distillate or a residue. Broadly speaking, fuel oil is any liquid petroleum product that is burned in a furnace or boiler for the generation of heat or used in an engine for the generation of power, except oils having a flash...
; this was sprayed on the coal to increase its burn rate. This gave her a range of 6690 nautical miles (12,389.9 km) at a speed of 10 knots (5.4 m/s).
The ship carried eight BL 12-inch Mk X guns
BL 12 inch Mk X naval gun
The BL 12 inch Gun Mark X was a British 45-calibres naval gun which was mounted as primary armament on battleships and battlecruisers from 1906...
in four twin gun 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. Two turrets were mounted fore and aft on the centreline, identified as 'A' and 'X' respectively. The other two were wing turrets mounted amidships and staggered diagonally: 'P' was forward and to port of the centre funnel
Funnel (ship)
A funnel is the smokestack or chimney on a ship used to expel boiler steam and smoke or engine exhaust. They can also be known in as stacks.-Purpose:...
, while 'Q' was situated starboard and aft. Each wing turret had a limited ability to fire to the opposite side. Her secondary armament consisted of sixteen 4-inch BL Mk VII guns
BL 4 inch naval gun Mk VII
The BL 4-inch gun Mk VII was a British high-velocity naval gun introduced in 1908 as an anti-torpedo boat gun in large ships, and in the main armament of smaller ships...
positioned in the superstructure. She mounted two 18-inch
British 18 inch torpedo
There have been a number of 18 inch torpedoes in service with the United Kingdom. These have been used on ships of the Royal Navy and aircraft of both the Fleet Air Arm and Royal Air Force...
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, one on each side aft of 'X' 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...
, and twelve torpedoes were carried.
New Zealands 'A' turret was fitted with a 9 feet (2.7 m) rangefinder
Rangefinder
A rangefinder is a device that measures distance from the observer to a target, for the purposes of surveying, determining focus in photography, or accurately aiming a weapon. Some devices use active methods to measure ; others measure distance using trigonometry...
at the rear of the turret roof. It was also equipped to control the entire main armament in the event that the normal fire control positions were knocked out or communication between the primary positions and the gun layers was disabled.
Wartime modifications
The ship was fitted with a single QF 6 pounder HotchkissQF 6 pounder Hotchkiss
The QF 6 pounder Hotchkiss was a light 57 mm naval gun and coast defence gun of the late 19th century used by many countries, and was adapted for use in the early British tanks in World War I.- Canada History :...
anti-aircraft
Anti-aircraft warfare
NATO defines air defence as "all measures designed to nullify or reduce the effectiveness of hostile air action." They include ground and air based weapon systems, associated sensor systems, command and control arrangements and passive measures. It may be to protect naval, ground and air forces...
(AA) gun from October 1914 to the end of 1915. In March 1915, a single QF 3 inch 20 cwt
QF 3 inch 20 cwt
The QF 3 inch 20 cwt anti-aircraft gun became the standard anti-aircraft gun used in the home defence of the United Kingdom against German airships and bombers and on the Western Front in World War I. It was also common on British warships in World War I and submarines in World War II...
"cwt" is the abbreviation for hundredweight
Hundredweight
The hundredweight or centum weight is a unit of mass defined in terms of the pound . The definition used in Britain differs from that used in North America. The two are distinguished by the terms long hundredweight and short hundredweight:* The long hundredweight is defined as 112 lb, which...
, 20 cwt referring to the weight of the gun. AA gun was added. It was provided with 500 rounds. The battlecruiser's 4-inch guns were enclosed in casemate
Casemate
A casemate, sometimes rendered casement, is a fortified gun emplacement or armored structure from which guns are fired. originally a vaulted chamber in a fortress.-Origin of the term:...
s and given blast shields during a refit in November to better protect the gun crews from weather and enemy action, although two aft guns were removed at the same time.
New Zealand received a fire-control director sometime between mid-1915 and May 1916; this centralised fire control under the director officer, who now fired the guns. The turret crewmen merely had to follow pointers transmitted from the director to align their guns on the target. This greatly increased accuracy, as it was easier to spot the fall of shells and eliminated the problem of the ship's roll dispersing the shells when each turret fired independently. An additional inch of armour was added to the top of the magazines and turret roofs after the Battle of Jutland.
By 1918, New Zealand carried a Sopwith Pup
Sopwith Pup
The Sopwith Pup was a British single seater biplane fighter aircraft built by the Sopwith Aviation Company. It entered service with the Royal Flying Corps and the Royal Naval Air Service in the autumn of 1916. With pleasant flying characteristics and good maneuverability, the aircraft proved very...
and a Sopwith 1½ Strutter
Sopwith 1½ Strutter
The Sopwith 1½ Strutter was a British one or two-seat biplane multi-role aircraft of the First World War. It is significant as the first British-designed two seater tractor fighter, and the first British aircraft to enter service with a synchronised machine gun...
on flying-off ramps fitted on top of 'P' and 'Q' turrets. The Pup was intended to shoot down Zeppelin
Zeppelin
A Zeppelin is a type of rigid airship pioneered by the German Count Ferdinand von Zeppelin in the early 20th century. It was based on designs he had outlined in 1874 and detailed in 1893. His plans were reviewed by committee in 1894 and patented in the United States on 14 March 1899...
s while the 1½ Strutter was used for spotting and reconnaissance. Each platform had a canvas hangar
Hangar
A hangar is a closed structure to hold aircraft or spacecraft in protective storage. Most hangars are built of metal, but other materials such as wood and concrete are also sometimes used...
to protect the aircraft during inclement weather.
Acquisition and construction
At the start of the 20th century, the British AdmiraltyAdmiralty
The Admiralty was formerly the authority in the Kingdom of England, and later in the United Kingdom, responsible for the command of the Royal Navy...
maintained that naval defence of the British Empire
British Empire
The British Empire comprised the dominions, colonies, protectorates, mandates and other territories ruled or administered by the United Kingdom. It originated with the overseas colonies and trading posts established by England in the late 16th and early 17th centuries. At its height, it was the...
, including the Dominions, should be unified under the Royal Navy. Attitudes on this matter softened during the first decade, and at the 1909 Imperial Conference, the Admiralty proposed the creation of Fleet Units: forces consisting of a battlecruiser, three light cruisers, six destroyers, and three submarines. While Australia and Canada were encouraged to purchase fleet units to serve as the core of new national navies, other fleet units would be operated by the Royal Navy at distant bases, particularly in the Far East
Far East
The Far East is an English term mostly describing East Asia and Southeast Asia, with South Asia sometimes also included for economic and cultural reasons.The term came into use in European geopolitical discourse in the 19th century,...
; New Zealand was asked to partially subsidise a fleet unit for the China Station.
To this end, the Prime Minister of New Zealand
Prime Minister of New Zealand
The Prime Minister of New Zealand is New Zealand's head of government consequent on being the leader of the party or coalition with majority support in the Parliament of New Zealand...
, Sir Joseph Ward
Joseph Ward
Sir Joseph George Ward, 1st Baronet, GCMG was the 17th Prime Minister of New Zealand on two occasions in the early 20th century.-Early life:...
, announced on 22 March 1909 that his country would fund a battleship as an example to other countries, although this was later changed to an . It is unclear why this design was selected, given that it was known to be inferior to the battlecruisers entering service with the German Imperial Navy . Historian John Roberts has suggested that the request may have been attributable to the Royal Navy's practice of using small battleships and large cruisers as flagships of stations far from Britain, or it might have reflected the preferences of the First Sea Lord
First Sea Lord
The First Sea Lord is the professional head of the Royal Navy and the whole Naval Service; it was formerly known as First Naval Lord. He also holds the title of Chief of Naval Staff, and is known by the abbreviations 1SL/CNS...
and Admiral of the Fleet John Fisher, preferences not widely shared.
New Zealands keel
Keel
In boats and ships, keel can refer to either of two parts: a structural element, or a hydrodynamic element. These parts overlap. As the laying down of the keel is the initial step in construction of a ship, in British and American shipbuilding traditions the construction is dated from this event...
was laid at Fairfield Shipbuilding and Engineering’s yard on the Clyde
River Clyde
The River Clyde is a major river in Scotland. It is the ninth longest river in the United Kingdom, and the third longest in Scotland. Flowing through the major city of Glasgow, it was an important river for shipbuilding and trade in the British Empire....
on 20 June 1910. Launched on 1 July 1911, the battlecruiser was commissioned into the Royal Navy four days before she was completed on 23 November 1912.
Service
New Zealand was sent on a ten-month flag-showing tour of New Zealand via South Africa in 1913. During this tour, the ship was seen by an estimated half-million New Zealanders—almost half the population—and her captain was presented with a Māori piupiu (a warrior’s skirt made from rolled flax) and a greenstone tikiTiki
Tiki refers to large wood and stone carvings of humanoid forms in Central Eastern Polynesian cultures of the Pacific Ocean. The term is also used in Māori mythology where Tiki is the first man, created by either Tūmatauenga or Tāne. He found the first woman, Marikoriko, in a pond – she seduced him...
(pendant) which were intended to ward off evil.
When the tour concluded, New Zealand was originally to remain in the Pacific region, but the Admiralty requested that she instead return to the United Kingdom. The New Zealand Government acceded to the request, and upon her arrival on 8 December 1913, New Zealand joined the 1st Battlecruiser Squadron
1st Battlecruiser Squadron (United Kingdom)
The First Battlecruiser Squadron was a Royal Navy squadron of battlecruisers that saw service as part of the Grand Fleet during the First World War. It was created in 1909 as the First Cruiser Squadron and was renamed in 1913 to First Battle Cruiser Squadron. It participated in the battles of...
(1st BCS) of the Grand Fleet. The squadron visited Brest
Brest, France
Brest is a city in the Finistère department in Brittany in northwestern France. Located in a sheltered position not far from the western tip of the Breton peninsula, and the western extremity of metropolitan France, Brest is an important harbour and the second French military port after Toulon...
in February 1914, and Riga
Riga
Riga is the capital and largest city of Latvia. With 702,891 inhabitants Riga is the largest city of the Baltic states, one of the largest cities in Northern Europe and home to more than one third of Latvia's population. The city is an important seaport and a major industrial, commercial,...
, Reval and Kronstadt
Kronstadt
Kronstadt , also spelled Kronshtadt, Cronstadt |crown]]" and Stadt for "city"); is a municipal town in Kronshtadtsky District of the federal city of St. Petersburg, Russia, located on Kotlin Island, west of Saint Petersburg proper near the head of the Gulf of Finland. Population: It is also...
in the Russian Empire
Russian Empire
The Russian Empire was a state that existed from 1721 until the Russian Revolution of 1917. It was the successor to the Tsardom of Russia and the predecessor of the Soviet Union...
the following June. On 19 August 1914, shortly after World War I began, New Zealand was transferred to the 2nd Battlecruiser Squadron
2nd Battlecruiser Squadron (United Kingdom)
The 2nd Battlecruiser Squadron was a Royal Navy squadron of battlecruisers that saw service as part of the Grand Fleet during the First World War.-August 1914:In August 1914, the 2nd Battlecruiser Squadron was in the Mediterranean, and consisted of:-1915:...
(2nd BCS).
Battle of Heligoland Bight
The ship's first wartime action was the Battle of Heligoland Bight on 28 August 1914 as part of the battlecruiser force under the command of Admiral BeattyDavid Beatty, 1st Earl Beatty
Admiral of the Fleet David Richard Beatty, 1st Earl Beatty, GCB, OM, GCVO, DSO was an admiral in the Royal Navy...
. Beatty's ships were originally intended to provide distant support for the British cruisers and destroyers closer to the German coast, in case large units of the High Seas Fleet
High Seas Fleet
The High Seas Fleet was the battle fleet of the German Empire and saw action during World War I. The formation was created in February 1907, when the Home Fleet was renamed as the High Seas Fleet. Admiral Alfred von Tirpitz was the architect of the fleet; he envisioned a force powerful enough to...
sortied in response to the British attacks. When the British light forces failed to disengage on schedule at 11:35 a.m.,The times used in this section are in UTC
Coordinated Universal Time
Coordinated Universal Time is the primary time standard by which the world regulates clocks and time. It is one of several closely related successors to Greenwich Mean Time. Computer servers, online services and other entities that rely on having a universally accepted time use UTC for that purpose...
, which is one hour behind CET
Central European Time
Central European Time , used in most parts of the European Union, is a standard time that is 1 hour ahead of Coordinated Universal Time . The time offset from UTC can be written as +01:00...
, which is often used in German works. the battlecruisers, led by Beatty aboard his flagship, , began to head south at full speed; the rising tide meant that German capital ships would be able to clear the bar at the mouth of the Jade estuary.
The brand-new light cruiser had been crippled earlier in the battle and was under fire from the light cruisers and when Beatty's battlecruisers loomed out of the mist at 12:37 p.m. Strassburg was able to evade fire by hiding in the mists, but Köln remained visible and was quickly crippled by the British squadron. Before the German ship could be sunk, Beatty was distracted by the sudden appearance of the elderly light cruiser directly to his front. He turned to pursue, but Ariadne was set afire and began to sink after only three salvo
Salvo
A salvo is the simultaneous discharge of artillery or firearms including the firing of guns either to hit a target or to perform a salute.Troops armed with muzzleloaders required time in which to refill their arms with gun powder and shot...
s fired from under 6000 yards (5,486.4 m). At 1:10, Beatty turned north and made a general signal to retire. Shortly after turning north, the battlecruisers encountered the crippled Köln, which was sunk by two salvos from Lion. During the battle, New Zealands captain, Lionel Halsey
Lionel Halsey
Admiral Sir Lionel Halsey GCMG GCVO KCIE CB ADC was a British Royal Navy officer and courtier.-Early life and career:...
, wore the Māori piupiu over his uniform, setting a tradition followed for the duration of the war. Two days after the battle, New Zealand was transferred back to the 1st BCS, when the battlecruiser arrived from the Mediterranean.
Raid on Scarborough
The German Navy had decided on a strategy of bombarding British towns on the North Sea coast in an attempt to draw out the Royal Navy and destroy elements of it in detail. An earlier raid on YarmouthRaid on Yarmouth
The Raid on Yarmouth, which took place on 3 November 1914, was an attack by the German Navy on the British North Sea port and town of Great Yarmouth. Little damage was done to the town since shells only landed on the beach after German ships laying mines offshore were interrupted by British...
on 3 November 1914 had been partially successful, but a larger-scale operation was devised by Admiral Franz von Hipper
Franz von Hipper
Franz Ritter von Hipper was an admiral in the German Imperial Navy . Franz von Hipper joined the German Navy in 1881 as an officer cadet. He commanded several torpedo boat units and served as watch officer aboard several warships, as well as Kaiser Wilhelm II's yacht Hohenzollern...
afterwards. The fast battlecruisers would conduct the bombardment, while the rest of the High Seas Fleet stationed itself east of Dogger Bank
Dogger Bank
Dogger Bank is a large sandbank in a shallow area of the North Sea about off the east coast of England. It extends over approximately , with its dimensions being about long and up to broad. The water depth ranges from 15 to 36 metres , about shallower than the surrounding sea. It is a...
, so they could cover the battlecruisers' return and destroy any pursuing British vessels. Having broken the German naval codes, the British were planning to catch the raiding force on its return journey, although they were not aware of the High Seas Fleet's presence. Admiral Beatty's 1st BCS (now reduced to four ships, including New Zealand) and the 2nd Battle Squadron (consisting of six dreadnought
Dreadnought
The dreadnought was the predominant type of 20th-century battleship. The first of the kind, the Royal Navy's had such an impact when launched in 1906 that similar battleships built after her were referred to as "dreadnoughts", and earlier battleships became known as pre-dreadnoughts...
s) were detached from the Grand Fleet in an attempt to intercept the Germans near Dogger Bank.
Admiral Hipper set sail on 15 December 1914 for the raid, and successfully bombarded several English towns, but British destroyers escorting the 1st BCS had already encountered German destroyers of the High Seas Fleet at 5:15 a.m. and fought an inconclusive action with them. Vice Admiral Sir George Warrender, commanding the 2nd Battle Squadron, had received a signal at 5:40 a.m. that the destroyer was engaging enemy destroyers, although Beatty had not. The destroyer spotted the German armoured cruiser and her escorts at about 7:00 a.m., but could not transmit the message until 7:25 a.m. Admiral Warrender received the signal, as did New Zealand, but Beatty, aboard Lion, did not, despite the fact that New Zealand had been specifically tasked to relay messages between the destroyers and the flagship. Warrender attempted to pass on Shark's message to Beatty at 7:36 a.m., but did not manage to make contact until 7:55 a.m. On receiving the message, Beatty reversed course, and dispatched New Zealand to search for Roon. She was being overhauled by New Zealand when Beatty received messages that Scarborough was being shelled at 9:00 a.m. Beatty ordered New Zealand to rejoin the squadron and turned west for Scarborough.
New Zealand became flagship of the 2nd Battlecruiser Squadron
2nd Battlecruiser Squadron (United Kingdom)
The 2nd Battlecruiser Squadron was a Royal Navy squadron of battlecruisers that saw service as part of the Grand Fleet during the First World War.-August 1914:In August 1914, the 2nd Battlecruiser Squadron was in the Mediterranean, and consisted of:-1915:...
(2nd BCS) of the Grand Fleet on 15 January 1915, and saw action the following week in the Battle of Dogger Bank.
Battle of Dogger Bank
On 23 January 1915, a force of German battlecruisers under the command of Admiral Hipper sortied to clear the Dogger Bank of any British fishing boats or small craft that might be there to collect intelligence on German movements. Alerted by decoded German transmissions, a larger force of British battlecruisers, including New Zealand, sailed under the command of Admiral Beatty to intercept. Contact was initiated at 7:20 a.m. on the 24th, when the British light cruiser Arethusa spotted the German light cruiser . By 7:35, the Germans had spotted Beatty's force and Hipper ordered a turn to the south at 20 knots (10.9 m/s), believing that this be sufficient to outdistance any British battleships to the northwest; if they turned out to be battlecruisers, he could then increase speed to 's maximum of 23 knots (12.5 m/s).Beatty ordered his battlecruisers to make all practicable speed to catch the Germans before they could escape. New Zealand and Indomitable were the slowest of Beatty's ships, and gradually fell behind the newer and faster battlecruisers. Despite this, New Zealand was able to open fire on Blücher by 9:35, and continued to engage the armoured cruiser after the other British battlecruisers had switched targets to the German battlecruisers. After about an hour, New Zealand had knocked out Blüchers forward turret, and Indomitable began to fire on her as well at 10:31. Two 12-inch shells pierced the German ship's armoured deck and exploded in an ammunition room four minutes later. This started a fire amidships that destroyed her two port 21 cm (8.3 in) turrets, while the concussion damaged her engines so that her speed dropped to 17 knots (9.3 m/s), and jammed her steering gear. At 10:48, Beatty ordered Indomitable to attack her, but the combination of a signalling error by Beatty's flag lieutenant and heavy damage to Beatty's flagship , which had knocked out her radio and caused enough smoke to obscure her signal halyard
Halyard
In sailing, a halyard or halliard is a line that is used to hoist a sail, a flag or a yard. The term halyard comes from the phrase, 'to haul yards'...
s, caused the rest of the British battlecruisers, temporarily under the command of Rear-Admiral Sir Gordon Moore
Gordon Moore (Royal Navy officer)
Admiral Sir Gordon Moore KCB CVO was a Royal Navy officer who went on to be Third Sea Lord.-Naval career:...
in New Zealand, to think that that signal applied to them. In response, they turned away from Hipper's main body and engaged Blücher. New Zealand fired 147 shells at Blücher before she capsized and sank at 12:07 after being torpedoed. Captain Halsey had again wore the piupiu over his uniform during the battle, the lack of damage to New Zealand was again attributed to its warding properties.
New Zealand was relieved by as flagship of the 2nd BCS on 22 February 1915. The squadron joined the Grand Fleet in a sortie on 29 March, in response to intelligence that the German fleet was leaving port as the precursor to a major operation. By the next night, the German ships had withdrawn, and the squadron returned to Rosyth. On 11 April, the British fleet was again deployed on the intelligence that a German force was planning an operation. The Germans intended to lay mines at the Swarte Bank, but after a scouting Zeppelin
Zeppelin
A Zeppelin is a type of rigid airship pioneered by the German Count Ferdinand von Zeppelin in the early 20th century. It was based on designs he had outlined in 1874 and detailed in 1893. His plans were reviewed by committee in 1894 and patented in the United States on 14 March 1899...
located a British light cruiser squadron, they began to prepare for what they thought was a British attack. Heavy fog and the need to refuel caused Australia and the British vessels to return to port on 17 April, and although they were redeployed that night, they were unable to stop two German light cruisers from laying the minefield. From 26 to 28 January 1916, the 2nd BCS was positioned off the Skagerrak
Skagerrak
The Skagerrak is a strait running between Norway and the southwest coast of Sweden and the Jutland peninsula of Denmark, connecting the North Sea and the Kattegat sea area, which leads to the Baltic Sea.-Name:...
while the 1st Light Cruiser Squadron swept the strait in an unsuccessful search of a possible minelayer.
On the morning of 21 April 1916, the 2nd BCS sailed again for the Skagerrak, this time to support efforts to disrupt the transport of Swedish ore to Germany. The planned destroyer sweep of the Kattegat
Kattegat
The Kattegat , or Kattegatt is a sea area bounded by the Jutland peninsula and the Straits islands of Denmark on the west and south, and the provinces of Västergötland, Scania, Halland and Bohuslän in Sweden on the east. The Baltic Sea drains into the Kattegat through the Øresund and the Danish...
was cancelled when word came that the High Seas Fleet was mobilising for an operation of their own (later learned to be timed to coincide with the Irish Easter Rising
Easter Rising
The Easter Rising was an insurrection staged in Ireland during Easter Week, 1916. The Rising was mounted by Irish republicans with the aims of ending British rule in Ireland and establishing the Irish Republic at a time when the British Empire was heavily engaged in the First World War...
), and the British ships were ordered to a rendezvous point in the middle of the North Sea, while the rest of the Grand Fleet made for the south-eastern end of the Long Forties
Long Forties
200px|rightThe Long Forties is an area of the northern North Sea that is fairly consistently forty fathoms deep . It is located between the northeast coast of Scotland and the southwest coast of Norway, centred about 57°N 0°30′E...
. On the afternoon of 22 April, the Battlecruiser Fleet was patrolling to the north-west of Horn Reefs when heavy fog came down. The ships were zigzagging to avoid submarine attack, which, combined with the weather conditions, caused Australia to collide with sister ship New Zealand twice in three minutes. Australia was damaged badly enough to be put out of action for several months, but New Zealand returned to the fleet on 30 May, a day before the start of the Battle of Jutland, relieving as flagship.
Battle of Jutland
On 31 May 1916, the 2nd BCS consisted of New Zealand (flagship of Rear Admiral William Christopher PakenhamWilliam Christopher Pakenham
Admiral Sir William Christopher Pakenham, KCB, KCMG, KCVO was a British observer with the Imperial Japanese Navy during the Russo-Japanese War, during World War I he commanded the 2nd Battle Cruiser Squadron during the Battle of Jutland, and from December 1916 was Commander-in-Chief of the Battle...
) and Indefatigable; Australia was still under repair following her collision with New Zealand on 22 April. It was assigned to Admiral Beatty's Battlecruiser Fleet, which had put to sea to intercept a sortie by the High Seas Fleet
High Seas Fleet
The High Seas Fleet was the battle fleet of the German Empire and saw action during World War I. The formation was created in February 1907, when the Home Fleet was renamed as the High Seas Fleet. Admiral Alfred von Tirpitz was the architect of the fleet; he envisioned a force powerful enough to...
into the North Sea. The British were able to decode the German radio messages and left their bases before the Germans put to sea. Hipper's battlecruisers spotted the Battlecruiser Fleet to their west at 3:20 p.m., but Beatty's ships didn't spot the Germans to their east until 3:30. Two minutes later, he ordered a course change to east south-east to position himself astride the German's line of retreat and called his ships' crews to action stations. He also ordered the 2nd BCS, which had been leading, to fall in astern of the 1st BCS. Hipper ordered his ships to turn to starboard, away from the British, to assume a south-easterly course, and reduced speed to 18 knots (9.8 m/s) to allow three light cruisers of the 2nd Scouting Group to catch up. With this turn, Hipper was falling back on the High Seas Fleet, then about 60 miles (96.6 km) behind him. Around this time, Beatty altered course to the east as it was quickly apparent that he was still too far north to cut off Hipper.
This began what was to be called the 'Run to the South' as Beatty changed course to steer east south-east at 3:45, paralleling Hipper's course, now that the range closed to under 18000 yards (16,459.2 m). The Germans opened fire first at 3:48, followed almost immediately afterwards by the British. The British ships were still in the process of making their turn, and only the two leading ships, and , had steadied on their course when the Germans opened fire. The British formation was echeloned to the right with Indefatigable in the rear and the furthest to the west, and New Zealand ahead of her and slightly further east. The German fire was accurate from the beginning, but the British over-estimated the range as the German ships blended into the haze. Indefatigable aimed at , while New Zealand targeted , while remaining unengaged herself. By 3:54, the range was down to 12900 yards (11,795.8 m) and Beatty ordered a course change two points
Boxing the compass
Boxing the compass is the action of naming all thirty-two points of the compass in clockwise order. Such names are formed by the initials of the cardinal directions and their intermediate ordinal directions, and are very handy to refer to a heading in a general or colloquial fashion, without...
to starboard to open up the range at 3:57 Indefatigable was destroyed at about 4:03, when her magazines exploded.
After Indefatigables loss, New Zealand shifted her fire to Von der Tann in accordance with Beatty's standing instructions. The range had grown too far for accurate shooting, so Beatty altered course four points to port to close the range again between 4:12 and 4:15. By this time, the 5th Battle Squadron, consisting of four s, had closed up and was engaging Von der Tann and Moltke. At 4:23, a 13.5 inches (34.3 cm) shell from struck near Von der Tanns rear turret, starting a fire among the practice targets stowed there that completely obscured the ship and caused New Zealand to shift fire to Moltke. At 4:26, the ship was hit by a 28 centimetres (11 in) shell, fired by Von der Tann, on 'X' barbette that detonated on contact and knocked loose a piece of armour that briefly jammed 'X' turret and blew a hole in the upper deck. Four minutes later, Southampton, scouting in front of Beatty's ships, spotted the lead elements of the High Seas Fleet charging north at top speed. Three minutes later, she sighted the topmasts of Vice-Admiral Reinhard Scheer
Reinhard Scheer
Reinhard Scheer was an Admiral in the German Kaiserliche Marine. Scheer joined the navy in 1879 as an officer cadet; he progressed through the ranks, commanding cruisers and battleships, as well as major staff positions on land. At the outbreak of World War I, Scheer was the commander of the II...
's battleships, but did not transmit a message to Beatty for another five minutes. Beatty continued south for another two minutes to confirm the sighting himself before ordering a sixteen point turn to starboard in succession. New Zealand, last ship in the fleet, turned prematurely to stay outside the range of the oncoming battleships.
New Zealand was straddled several times by the battleship , during the 'Run to the North', but she was not hit. Beatty's ships maintained full speed in an attempt to increase the distance between them and the High Seas Fleet, and gradually moved out of range. They turned north and then northeast to try to rendezvous with the main body of the Grand Fleet. At 5:40, they opened fire again on the German battlecruisers. The setting sun blinded the German gunners, and as they could not make out the British ships, they turned away to the northeast at 5:47. Beatty gradually turned more towards the east to allow him to cover the deployment of the Grand Fleet into its battle formation and to move ahead of it, but he mistimed his manoeuvre and forced the leading division to fall off towards the east, further away from the Germans. By 6:35, Beatty was following Indomitable and of the 3rd BCS as they were steering east-southeast, leading the Grand Fleet, and continuing to engage Hipper's battlecruisers to their southwest. A few minutes earlier, Scheer had ordered a simultaneous 180° starboard turn and Beatty lost sight of them in the haze. Twenty minutes later, Scheer ordered another 180° turn which put them on a converging course again with the Grand Fleet, which had altered course itself to the south. This allowed the Grand Fleet to cross Scheer's T
Crossing the T
Crossing the T or Capping the T is a classic naval warfare tactic attempted from the late 19th to mid 20th century, in which a line of warships crossed in front of a line of enemy ships, allowing the crossing line to bring all their guns to bear while receiving fire from only the forward guns of...
, and they badly damaged his leading ships. Scheer ordered yet another 180° turn at 7:13 in an attempt to extricate the High Seas Fleet from the trap into which he had sent them.
This was successful, and the British lost sight of the Germans until 8:05, when spotted smoke bearing west-northwest. Ten minutes later, she had closed the range enough to identify German torpedo boats, and engaged them. Beatty turned west upon hearing the sounds of gunfire and spotted the German battlecruisers only 8500 yards (7,772.4 m) away. Inflexible opened fire at 8:20, followed almost immediately by the rest of Beatty's battlecruisers. New Zealand and Indomitable concentrated their fire on , and hit her five times before she turned west to disengage. Shortly after 8:30, the pre-dreadnought battleships of Rear Admiral Mauve's II Battle Squadron were spotted and fire switched to them. The Germans were able to fire only a few rounds at them because of the poor visibility, and turned away to the west. The British battlecruisers hit the German ships several times before they blended into the haze around 8:40. After this, Beatty changed course to south-southeast and maintained that course, ahead of both the Grand Fleet and the High Seas Fleet, until 2:55 the next morning, when the order was given to reverse course and head home.
New Zealand fired 420 twelve-inch shells during the battle; more than any other ship on either side. Despite this, only four successful hits were credited to the battlecruiser; three on Seydlitz and one on the pre-dreadnought . She was hit only once during the battle, confirming for the crew the preventative value of the piupiu and tiki worn by her new captain, J.F.E. (Jimmy) Green
John Green (Royal Navy officer)
John Green CB became Chaplain of the Fleet; Director General, Naval Chaplaincy Service and Archdeacon for the Royal Navy in March 2006.He was born on 14 August 1953 and educated at North East London Polytechnic. From 1974 to 1980 he was a Project Engineer with Thorn Lighting Ltd...
.
Post-Jutland career
On 9 June, Australia returned from the dockyard and relieved New Zealand as flagship. She was temporarily attached to 1st Battlecruiser Squadron until September, when she was relieved by . On the evening of 18 August, the Grand Fleet put to sea in response to a message deciphered by Room 40Room 40
In the history of Cryptanalysis, Room 40 was the section in the Admiralty most identified with the British cryptoanalysis effort during the First World War.Room 40 was formed in October 1914, shortly after the start of the war...
, which indicated that the High Seas Fleet, minus II Squadron, would be leaving harbour that night. The German objective was to bombard Sunderland on 19 August, with extensive reconnaissance provided by airships and submarines. The Grand Fleet sailed with 29 dreadnought battleships and six battlecruisers. Throughout the next day, Jellicoe and Scheer received conflicting intelligence, with the result that having reached its rendezvous in the North Sea, the Grand Fleet steered north in the erroneous belief that it had entered a minefield before turning south again. Scheer steered south-eastward to pursue a lone British battle squadron sighted by an airship, which was in fact the Harwich Force
Harwich Force
The Harwich Force was a squadron of the Royal Navy, formed during the First World War, that went on to play a significant role in the war.-History:...
of 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 and 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 under Commodore Tyrwhitt
Reginald Tyrwhitt
Admiral of the Fleet Sir Reginald Yorke Tyrwhitt, 1st Baronet, GCB, DSO was a senior officer of the Royal Navy in World War I who commanded light forces stationed at Harwich on the east coast of England during the first part of the war.-Naval career:Tyrwhitt entered the Navy as a cadet in July, 1885...
. Having realised their mistake, the Germans changed course for home. The only contact came in the evening when Tyrwhitt sighted the High Seas Fleet but was unable to achieve an advantageous attack position before dark, and broke off contact. Both the British and the German fleets returned home; the British lost two cruisers to submarine attacks, while one German dreadnought had been torpedoed. New Zealand underwent a refit at Rosyth
Rosyth
Rosyth is a town located on the Firth of Forth, three miles south of the centre of Dunfermline. According to an estimate taken in 2008, the town has a population of 12,790....
in November 1916. She temporarily replaced Australia as squadron flagship between 29 November and 7 January 1917.
The Admiralty
Admiralty
The Admiralty was formerly the authority in the Kingdom of England, and later in the United Kingdom, responsible for the command of the Royal Navy...
decided on a large operation to destroy the German minesweeper
Minesweeper (ship)
A minesweeper is a small naval warship designed to counter the threat posed by naval mines. Minesweepers generally detect then neutralize mines in advance of other naval operations.-History:...
s and their escorting light cruisers attempting to clear British-laid minefields in the Heligoland Bight
Heligoland Bight
The Heligoland Bight, also known as Helgoland Bight, is a bay which forms the southern part of the German Bight, itself a bay of the North Sea, located at the mouth of the Elbe river...
in late 1917. Based on intelligence reports it decided on 17 November and allocated two light cruiser squadrons and the 1st Cruiser Squadron
1st Cruiser Squadron
The First Cruiser Squadron was a Royal Navy squadron of armored cruisers that saw service as part of the Mediterranean and Grand Fleets during the First World War. It was originally formed in 1909, but was renamed on 1 January 1913 to First Battle Cruiser Squadron...
covered by the reinforced 1st Battlecruiser Squadron and, more distantly, the 1st Battle Squadron of battleship
Battleship
A battleship is a large armored warship with a main battery consisting of heavy caliber guns. Battleships were larger, better armed and armored than cruisers and destroyers. As the largest armed ships in a fleet, battleships were used to attain command of the sea and represented the apex of a...
s to the operation. New Zealand was attached to the 1st BCS for this operation, which became known as the Second Battle of Heligoland Bight
Second Battle of Heligoland Bight
The Second Battle of Heligoland Bight was a naval engagement during the First World War. On 17 November 1917, German minesweepers clearing a path through the British minefield in the Heligoland Bight near the coast of Germany were intercepted by two British light cruisers, and , performing...
. New Zealand did not fire her guns during the battle. As in previous engagements, Captain Green wore the piupiu and tiki for luck.
During 1918, New Zealand and the Grand Fleet's other capital ships were used on occasion to escort convoys between Britain and Norway. The 2nd BCS spent the period from 8 to 21 February covering these convoys in company with battleships and destroyers, and put to sea on 6 March in company with the 1st BCS to support minelayer
Minelayer
Minelaying is the act of deploying explosive mines. Historically this has been carried out by ships, submarines and aircraft. Additionally, since World War I the term minelayer refers specifically to a naval ship used for deploying naval mines...
s. The 2nd BCS again supported minelayers in the North Sea between 25–26 June and 29–30 July. During September and October, New Zealand and the 2nd BCS supervised and protected minelaying operations north of Orkney. The battlecruiser was present at the surrender of the High Seas Fleet
High Seas Fleet
The High Seas Fleet was the battle fleet of the German Empire and saw action during World War I. The formation was created in February 1907, when the Home Fleet was renamed as the High Seas Fleet. Admiral Alfred von Tirpitz was the architect of the fleet; he envisioned a force powerful enough to...
as part of the 2nd BCS.
Dominion tour
Following the war's end, Admiral JellicoeJohn Jellicoe, 1st Earl Jellicoe
Admiral of the Fleet John Rushworth Jellicoe, 1st Earl Jellicoe, GCB, OM, GCVO was a British Royal Navy admiral who commanded the Grand Fleet at the Battle of Jutland in World War I...
was tasked with helping to plan and coordinate the naval policies and defenses of the British Dominions. New Zealand was made available for his transportation, and was refitted between December 1918 and February 1919 for the tour; the main changes were the removal of her flying-off platforms and the lower forward four-inch guns. The first stop was India, with New Zealand arriving in Bombay
Mumbai
Mumbai , formerly known as Bombay in English, is the capital of the Indian state of Maharashtra. It is the most populous city in India, and the fourth most populous city in the world, with a total metropolitan area population of approximately 20.5 million...
on 14 March 1919 and departing six weeks later. The battlecruiser headed for Australia, and arrived at Albany, Western Australia
Albany, Western Australia
Albany is a port city in the Great Southern region of Western Australia, some 418 km SE of Perth, the state capital. As of 2009, Albany's population was estimated at 33,600, making it the 6th-largest city in the state....
on 15 May, where Jellicoe and his staff disembarked to take an overland route across the country. New Zealand followed, stopping enroute at Melbourne
Melbourne
Melbourne is the capital and most populous city in the state of Victoria, and the second most populous city in Australia. The Melbourne City Centre is the hub of the greater metropolitan area and the Census statistical division—of which "Melbourne" is the common name. As of June 2009, the greater...
, Hobart
Hobart
Hobart is the state capital and most populous city of the Australian island state of Tasmania. Founded in 1804 as a penal colony,Hobart is Australia's second oldest capital city after Sydney. In 2009, the city had a greater area population of approximately 212,019. A resident of Hobart is known as...
, and Sydney
Sydney
Sydney is the most populous city in Australia and the state capital of New South Wales. Sydney is located on Australia's south-east coast of the Tasman Sea. As of June 2010, the greater metropolitan area had an approximate population of 4.6 million people...
before departing for New Zealand on 16 August.
Governor-General of New Zealand
The Governor-General of New Zealand is the representative of the monarch of New Zealand . The Governor-General acts as the Queen's vice-regal representative in New Zealand and is often viewed as the de facto head of state....
from 1920 to 1924. The final country to be assessed by Jellicoe was Canada, with New Zealand arriving there on 8 November, having stopped off at Fiji
Fiji
Fiji , officially the Republic of Fiji , is an island nation in Melanesia in the South Pacific Ocean about northeast of New Zealand's North Island...
and Hawaii
Hawaii
Hawaii is the newest of the 50 U.S. states , and is the only U.S. state made up entirely of islands. It is the northernmost island group in Polynesia, occupying most of an archipelago in the central Pacific Ocean, southwest of the continental United States, southeast of Japan, and northeast of...
on the way. After returning to the United Kingdom, the battlecruiser was paid off into reserve on 15 March 1920. New Zealand was regarded as obsolete by the Royal Navy because her 12-inch guns were so inferior to the 15 inches (38 cm) guns deployed on the latest generation of battlecruisers. She was sold for scrap on 19 December 1922 to meet the tonnage restrictions set on the British Empire by the Washington Naval Treaty
Washington Naval Treaty
The Washington Naval Treaty, also known as the Five-Power Treaty, was an attempt to cap and limit, and "prevent 'further' costly escalation" of the naval arms race that had begun after World War I between various International powers, each of which had significant naval fleets. The treaty was...
.
External links
- HMS New Zealand - Navy Museum webpage giving the ship's characteristics and history
- Record of HMS New Zealand from RNZN History
- Objects related to HMS New Zealand from the collection of the Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa