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HMS Tiger (1913)
Encyclopedia
The 11th HMS Tiger was a battlecruiser
of the Royal Navy
, built by John Brown and Company, Clydebank
, Scotland
, and launched in 1913. Tiger was the most heavily armoured battlecruiser of the Royal Navy at the start of the First World War
although she was still being finished when the war began. The ship was assigned to the 1st Battlecruiser Squadron
(1st BCS) for the duration of the war and participated in the Battle of Dogger Bank
in early 1915 even though she was still shaking down
and did not perform well. She next participated in the Battle of Jutland in 1916 where she was one of the British battlecruisers most often hit by German shells, although she was only lightly damaged. She spent the rest of the war on uneventful patrols in the North Sea, although she did provide distant cover during the Second Battle of Heligoland Bight
in 1917.
Tiger was the oldest battlecruiser retained by the Royal Navy after the tonnage limits of the Washington Naval Treaty
came into effect in 1922. She became a gunnery training ship in 1924 and then joined the Battlecruiser Squadron in 1929 while its flagship
, , underwent a lengthy refit. Upon Hoods return to service in 1931, Tiger was decommissioned
and sold for scrap
in 1932 in accordance with the terms of the London Naval Treaty
of 1930.
Tiger had an overall length of 704 feet (214.6 m), a beam
of 90 in 6 in (27.58 m), and a mean draught of 32 in 5 in (9.88 m) at deep load. She normally displaced 28430 long tons (28,886.3 t) and 33260 long tons (33,793.8 t) at deep load. Although Tiger was only 4 feet (1.2 m) longer and 1 foot wider than the previous battlecruiser, , she displaced almost 2000 long tons (2,032.1 t) more than the older ship. She had a metacentric height
of 6.1 feet (1.9 m) at deep load.
s housed in separate engine-rooms. Each set consisted of high-pressure ahead and astern turbines driving an outboard shaft and low-pressure ahead and astern turbines, housed in the same casing, driving an inner shaft. Her three-bladed propeller
s were 13 in 6 in (4.11 m) in diameter. The turbines were powered by 39 Babcock and Wilcox
water-tube boiler
s in five boiler rooms at a working pressure of 235 pound per square inch. The turbines were designed to produce a total of 85000 shp and a maximum of 108000 shp when forced, but only achieved 104635 shp during her sea trial
s, although she barely exceeded her maximum designed speed of 29 knots (15.8 m/s).
Tiger's fuel stowage capacity was 3800 long tons (3,861 t) of fuel oil
and 3340 long tons (3,393.6 t) of coal, giving a total bunkerage of 7140 long tons (7,254.6 t) tons which compares very favourably to Queen Marys total of 4800 long tons (4,877 t). Using the sole (unofficial) figure of Tiger's daily fuel consumption of 1245 long tons (1,265 t) tons a day at 24 knots (13.1 m/s), it has been calculated that she would have had a maximum endurance of 3300 nautical miles (6,111.6 km). The equivalent figure for Queen Mary was roughly 2400 nautical miles (4,444.8 km). Four direct current
electric dynamo
s with a total capacity of 750 kilowatts supplied the common ring main at 220 volt
s.
BL 13.5-inch Mark V guns
in four twin hydraulically powered turrets, designated 'A', 'B', 'Q' and 'Y' from front to rear. The guns could be depressed to −3° and elevated to 20°, although the directors controlling the turrets were limited to 15° 21' until superelevating prisms were installed before the Battle of Jutland in May 1916 to allow full elevation. They fired 1400 pounds (635 kg) projectiles at a muzzle velocity
of 2582 ft/s (787 m/s); at 14.75°, this provided a maximum range of 20000 yd (18,288 m) with armour-piercing (AP)
shells. At 20° elevation, the range was extended to 23820 yd (21,781 m). The rate of fire of these guns was 1.5–2 rounds per minute. The ships carried a total of 1040 rounds during wartime for 130 shells per gun.
To defend herself against torpedo boat
s, Tiger mounted twelve BL 6-inch Mark VII guns
in casemate
s. The guns could depress to −7° and had a maximum elevation of 14°. They fired 100 pounds (45.4 kg) projectiles at a muzzle velocity of 2775 ft/s (845.8 m/s); this gave a maximum range of 14600 yd (13,350.2 m) at 20° elevation. Their maximum rate of fire was 5–7 rounds per minute. They were provided with 120 rounds per gun. The ship mounted a pair of QF 3 inch 20 cwt
"cwt" is the abbreviation for hundredweight
, 30 cwt referring to the weight of the gun. Mark I anti-aircraft
guns on high-angle Mark II mounts. They had a maximum depression of −10° and a maximum elevation of 90°. They fired a 12.5 pounds (5.7 kg) shell at a muzzle velocity of 2500 ft/s (762 m/s) at a rate of 12–14 rounds per minute. The gun had a maximum effective ceiling of 23500 ft (7,162.8 m). Originally Tiger carried 300 rounds per gun, but this was reduced during the war to 150 rounds per gun.
Four 21 inches (53 cm) submerged torpedo tube
s were fitted on the beam, one pair port and starboard forward of 'A' barbette and aft of 'X' barbette. Twenty Mark II*** torpedoes were carried which had a warhead of 515 pounds (234 kg) of TNT. They had two speed settings which governed their range; at 45 knots (24.5 m/s) they could reach 4500 yards (4,114.8 m) or 10750 yards (9,829.8 m) at 31 knots (16.9 m/s).
on the foremast and the other was mounted on the aft superstructure in the torpedo control tower. Data from a 9 feet (2.7 m) rangefinder
s in the armoured hood above the conning tower
and in 'B' and 'X turrets were transmitted to the Mk IV Dreyer Fire Control Table located in the Transmitting Station (TS) below the waterline
where they were plotted and converted into range and deflection data for use by the director and guns. A Mark VII* Dumaresq
in the armoured tower was trained on the target to supply bearing data to the TS for use in plotting and calculations. A second Transmitting Station was fitted for the ship's secondary armament, although a pair of fire-control directors for those guns, one for each broadside, were not fitted until 1915.
Fire-control technology advanced quickly during the years immediately preceding the First World War and the development of the director firing system was a major advance. This consisted of a fire-control director mounted high in the ship which electrically provided elevation and training angles to the turrets via pointers, which the turret crewmen had only to follow. The director layer fired the guns simultaneously by an electrical trigger which aided in spotting the shell splashes and minimized the effects of the roll on the dispersion of the shells.
During the war Tigers rangefinders had increased in number and in size. By the end of the war 'A' and 'Q' turrets mounted 25 feet (7.6 m) rangefinders while 'X' turret, the armoured hood above the conning tower (also known as the gun control tower), and the torpedo control tower had 15 feet (4.6 m) instruments. A 12 feet (3.7 m) rangefinder was fitted in the fore-top and three 9 feet (2.7 m) instruments were fitted on 'B' turret, the gun control tower and above the compass platform. A high-angle 6 inch rangefinder was mounted above the roof of the fore-top for use by the anti-aircraft guns.
belt
of Krupp cemented armour
measured 9 inches (229 mm) thick amidships. It thinned to four inches towards the ship's ends, but did not reach either the bow or the stern. The depth of the main belt below the waterline was reduced from 36 to 27 in (914.4 to 685.8 mm), although a strake
of three-inch armour 3 in 9 in (1.14 m) tall was added below the main belt that stretched from the front of 'A' barbette to the rear of 'B' barbette. It was based on that used on the Japanese battlecruiser , the only design influence on Tiger that can be attributed to the Japanese ship.
Like the ships and Queen Mary, Tiger was given an upper armour belt with a maximum thickness of six inches over the same length as the thickest part of the waterline armour and thinned to 5 inches (127 mm) abreast the end turrets. Unlike those ships, however, Tiger had an additional strake of 6-inch armour above the upper belt protecting her secondary armament. Four-inch transverse bulkhead
s closed off the ends of the armoured citadel. High-tensile steel was used for the protective decks. They generally ranged from 1 to 1.5 in (2.5 to 3.8 ) in thickness.
The gun turrets had 9-inch front and sides while their roofs were 2.5 to 3.25 in (63.5 to 82.6 mm) thick. The barbette
s were protected by 8 to 9 in (203.2 to 228.6 mm) of armour above the citadel, but it thinned to three to four inches inside the citadel. The main conning tower sides were 10 inches (25 cm) thick and it had a three-inch roof. The walls of the communication tube were three to four inches thick. The after conning tower had 6-inch walls and a 3-inch cast steel roof. High-tensile steel torpedo bulkhead
s 1.5 to 2.5 in (38.1 to 63.5 mm) thick were fitted abreast the magazines
and shell rooms. After the Battle of Jutland
revealed the ship's vulnerability to plunging shellfire, additional armour, weighing approximately 295 long tons (299.7 t), was added to the decks over the magazines, turret roofs and for bulkheads to separate the 6-inch guns.
on 6 June 1912. She was launched on 15 December 1913 and commissioned into the Royal Navy on 3 October 1914. The ship was still under construction when the First World War
broke out in August 1914. On 3 August 1914 Captain Henry Bertram Pelly was appointed to command the incomplete ship. Beatty described Pelly at the time as "a very charming person and, what is more important just now, a very efficient officer". After the Battle of Coronel
and the deployment of four battlecruisers to hunt for the German East Asia Squadron
, Tiger was ordered to cut short her firing trials off Berehaven and was commissioned into the First Battlecruiser Squadron (1st BCS) two months later, on 3 October and began trials and working up. Beatty described Tiger to the First Sea Lord, Admiral of the Fleet Lord Fisher of Kilverstone
as "not yet fit to fight. Three out of her four dynamo
es are out of action for an indefinite period, and her training is impeded by bad weather, which might continue for many weeks at this time of year, and at present is quite unprepared and inefficient."
sortied to clear the Dogger Bank of any British fishing boats or small craft that might be there to collect intelligence on German movements. However, the British were reading their coded messages and sailed to intercept them with a larger force of British battlecruisers under the command of Admiral Beatty. Contact was initiated at 7:20 a.m.The times used in this article are in UTC
, which is one hour behind CET
, which is often used in German works. on the 24th when the British light cruiser 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 would suffice if the ships that he saw to his northwest were British battleships and that he could always increase speed to 's maximum speed of 23 knots (12.5 m/s) if they were British battlecruisers.
Beatty ordered his battlecruisers to make all practicable speed to catch the Germans before they could escape. The leading ships, , and Tiger, were doing 27 knots (14.7 m/s) in pursuit and Lion opened fire at 8:52 at a range of 20000 yards (18,288 m). The other ships followed a few minutes later but, hampered by the extreme range and decreasing visibility, they did not score their first hit on Blücher until 9:09. The German battlecruisers opened fire themselves a few minutes later at 9:11, at a range of 18000 yards (16,459.2 m), and concentrated their fire on Lion. At 9:35 Beatty signalled 'Engage the corresponding ships in the enemy's line', but Captain Pelly, believing that was already engaging Blücher, fired at , as did Lion, which left unengaged and able to continue to engage Lion without risk.
In the meantime Blücher had been heavily damaged by fire from all the other battlecruisers; her speed had dropped to 17 knots (9.3 m/s) and her steering gear had been jammed. Beatty ordered Indomitable to attack her at 10:48 AM. Six minutes later Beatty spotted what he thought was a submarine periscope
on the starboard bow and ordered an immediate 90° turn to port to avoid the submarine, although he failed to hoist the 'Submarine Warning' flag because most of Lions signal halyards had been shot away. Almost immediately afterward Lion lost her remaining dynamo to the rising water which knocked out all remaining light and power. He ordered 'Course Northeast' at 11:02 to bring his ships back to their pursuit of Hipper. He also hoisted 'Attack the rear of the enemy' on the other halyard although there was no connection between the two signals. This caused Rear-Admiral Sir Gordon Moore
, temporarily commanding in , to think that the signals meant to attack Blücher, which was about 8000 yards (7,315.2 m) to the northeast. So they turned away from the pursuit of Hipper's main body and engaged Blücher. Beatty tried to correct the mistake, but he was so far behind the leading battlecruisers that his signals could not be read amidst the smoke and haze.
He transferred his flag to the destroyer at 11:50 and set off in pursuit of his battlecruisers. He caught up to them shortly before Blücher sank and boarded Princess Royal at 12:20. He ordered the pursuit resumed of the German battlecruisers, but rescinded the order when it became clear that too much time had been wasted sinking Blücher and Hipper's ships would be able to reach German waters before the British could catch them. Lion was headed home at 10 knots (5.4 m/s) when the rest of the battlecruisers caught up with her around 12:45.
During the action, Tiger was hit by six German shells, the most significant of which was a 28 centimetres (11 in) shell that burst on the roof of 'Q' turret. Although most of the shell was deflected overboard, fragments penetrated the roof, damaged the left gun's breech mechanism
and jammed the training gear, knocking the turret out of action. Ten men were killed during the battle and 11 wounded. Tigers repairs were completed on 8 February. Like the rest of the battlecruisers, Tigers own gunnery was rapid, but inaccurate, and she achieved only two hits out of 355 13.5 inches (34.3 cm) shells fired. Her performance was noted and commented upon by the senior leadership of the Royal Navy:
Lord Fisher was moved to write: "The Tigers gunnery seems to have been villainously bad on January 24, yet she seems to have had a lot of practice." and Captain Pelly was described as a "poltroon". In a memorandum of 11 February 1915 Beatty explained to Pelly where the latter had misconstrued the standing orders, going through Tigers part in the battle blow by blow and comparing it to that of other ships. His final paragraph was conciliatory however: "In making these remarks I have no wish to express censure in any form. I realise that a newly-commissioned ship in her first action has many difficulties to contend with, and I am quite ready to make the fullest allowance for them. My chief aim is to ensure that our next action shall be a complete success." The ship was given a refit in December 1915.
On 31 May 1916, Tiger and the 1st BCS had put to sea with the rest of the Battlecruiser Fleet, under Beatty's overall command, to intercept a sortie by the High Seas Fleet
into the North Sea. The British had decoded 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 did not see the Germans to their east until 3:30. Two minutes later, Beatty ordered a course change to east south-east, positioning the British ships to cut off the German's line of retreat, and signalled action stations
. 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, 60 miles (96.6 km) behind him. Beatty altered course to the east, as he was still too far north to cut Hipper off.
This began what was to be called the "Run to the South" as Beatty changed course to steer east south-east at 3:45, now paralleling Hipper's course less than 18000 yards (16,459.2 m) away. The Germans opened fire first at 3:48, followed by the British. The British ships were still in the process of making their turn as only the two leading ships, Lion and Princess Royal, had steadied on their course when the Germans opened fire. The 1st BCS was echeloned
to the right with Tiger in the rear and the furthest to the west, closest to the Germans. Tiger missed Beatty's fire distribution order, as had Queen Mary, and Tiger engaged Moltke, instead of Seydlitz as Beatty intended. The German fire was accurate from the start, with Tiger hit six times by Moltke within the first seven minutes; although two of these hits temporarily disabled both 'Q' and 'X' turrets, she was not seriously damaged. By 3:54, the range was down to 12900 yards (11,795.8 m); Beatty ordered a course change two points
to starboard to open up the range at 3:57.
The range gradually increased until the distance between the British and German ships was too great for accurate fire, so Beatty altered course four points to port between 4:12 and 4:15 to close the range. By 4:25, the range was down to 14400 yards (13,167.4 m) and Beatty turned two points to starboard to open the range again. Around this time, Queen Mary was hit multiple times in quick succession and her forward magazines exploded. Tiger, following in Queen Marys wake at a distance of only 500 yards (457.2 m), had to put her helm hard-a-starboard to avoid colliding with the wreckage. At 4:30, the light cruiser , scouting in front of Beatty's ships, spotted the lead elements of the High Seas Fleet coming north at top speed. Three minutes later, she sighted the topmasts of Vice-Admiral Reinhard Scheer
's battleships, but did not report this for another five minutes. Beatty continued south for another two minutes to confirm the sighting before ordering his force to turn north. By this time Tiger had been hit a total of 17 times, all but one fired by Moltke, but she remained fit to fight.
The German battlecruisers made their own turn north in pursuit, but Beatty's ships maintained full speed, and gradually moved out of range. The British battlecruisers turned north, then northeast, to try to rendezvous with the main body of the Grand Fleet, and at 5:40 p.m. opened fire again on their German counterparts. The setting sun blinded the German gunners and they could not make out the British ships and turned away to the northeast at 5:47. Beatty gradually turned towards the east so his ships could cover the Grand Fleet as it deployed into battle formation, but he mistimed his manoeuvre and forced the leading British division to manoeuvre away from the Germans. By 6:35, Beatty was following the 3rd BCS as they were leading the Grand Fleet east-southeast, 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. At 6:44, Beatty turned his ships southeast, then south-southeast four minutes later, to find Hipper's force. He then ordered the two surviving ships of the 3rd BCS to take position astern of New Zealand, while slowing to 18 knots (9.8 m/s) and altering course to the south to stay close to the Grand Fleet. At this moment Lions gyrocompass
failed and she, followed by the rest of the battlecruisers, made a complete circle before her steering was brought back under control. At 6:55, Scheer ordered another 180° turn, which put the German ships on a converging course again with the Grand Fleet. However, the British had altered course to the south, allowing the Grand Fleet to cross Scheer's "T"
and inflict damage on the leading German ships. Scheer ordered yet another 180° turn at 7:13, and successfully extricated the High Seas Fleet from the trap his manoeuvring caused.
The British lost sight of the Germans until spotted smoke to the west-northwest at 8:05 p.m. then identified and engaged several German torpedo boats. On hearing the sound of gunfire, Beatty ordered his ships west, 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 the battlecruisers. Shortly after 8:30, the pre-dreadnought battleships of Rear Admiral Mauve's II Battle Squadron were spotted. The British battlecruisers and German pre-dreadnoughts exchanged fire; the Germans only fired a few times before turning away to the west because of poor visibility and the more accurate British gunnery, and disappeared into the mist around 8:40. Beatty's battlecruisers sailed south-southeast, ahead of both the Grand Fleet and the High Seas Fleet, until the order to reverse course for home was given at 2:55 a.m.
Tiger and the rest of the battlecruisers reached Rosyth Dockyard
in Scotland on the morning of 2 June. The ship was docked the next day for repairs which took until 1 July, the first of the "Splendid Cats" to be repaired. Tiger was hit a total of 18 times during the battle, mostly by shells fired by Moltke. She suffered 24 men killed and 46 wounded during the battle. The battlecruiser fired 303 shells from her main guns during the battle and is credited with one hit on Moltke and two on . The ship also fired 136 rounds from her 6-inch guns at the light cruiser and German destroyer
s.
which indicated that the High Seas Fleet, less the II Squadron, would be leaving harbour that night. The German objective was to bombard Sunderland on the 19th, with extensive reconnaissance provided by airships and submarines. The Grand Fleet sailed with 29 dreadnought battleships and six battlecruisers.While no sources explicitly state that Tiger was part of the fleet at this time, of the seven Royal Navy battlecruisers then in commission, Indomitable was under refit through August and the only one unavailable for action. See Roberts, p. 122 Throughout the 19th, 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 pursuing a lone British battle squadron reported by an airship, which was in fact the Harwich Force
under Commodore Tyrwhitt
. Having realised their mistake the Germans then shaped 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 having lost two cruisers to submarine attacks and the Germans having a dreadnought damaged by torpedo.
The ship received a lengthy refit from 10 November 1916 to 29 January 1917 at Rosyth where her deck and turret roof armour was reinforced and additional rangefinders were added over her conning tower and the rear of 'X' turret. Tiger had an uneventful time for the rest of the war, conducting patrols of the North Sea
as the High Seas Fleet
was forbidden to risk any more losses. She provided support for British light forces involved in the Second Battle of Heligoland Bight
on 17 November 1917, but never came within range of any German forces. The same year saw her undergo a minor refit during which a flying-off platform for a Sopwith Camel
was mounted on 'Q' turret and a searchlight platform was added to her third funnel. She underwent a more extensive refit in 1918 which saw her mainmast shifted to the top of the derrick-stump and a more substantial observation platform added to the foremast. Some of her short rangefinders were replaced by longer ones as well. The resulting change in appearance was decried by the editors of the 1919 edition of Jane's Fighting Ships, who wrote that Tiger had been "a remarkably handsome ship until the present hideous rig was adopted in 1918."
, although she was placed in reserve on 22 August 1921. In 1919 a flying-off platform was add on 'B' turret's roof. The ship was refitted in March 1922 with a 25 feet (7.6 m) rangefinder fitted on 'X' turret, her original pair of 3-inch AA guns replaced by four 4 inches (10.2 cm) guns, and the flying-off platform on 'Q' turret was removed. On 14 February 1924, she was recommissioned and became a sea-going training ship, a role she served in throughout the 1920s. Her last major period of activity came in 1929, when the Royal Navy's newest battlecruiser, the ill-fated , went into dockyard hands for a refit. While Hood was out of commission, Tiger returned to active service to keep the Royal Navy's three-ship Battlecruiser Squadron (normally made up of Hood plus the smaller and ) up to strength. Although by the 1930s Tiger was still in fair condition and was not a terribly old ship, her death knell was sounded by the London Naval Conference
of 1930, during which Tiger was sacrificed by the Admiralty
as part of an overall reduction in world battleship fleets. Under the command of Captain Kenneth Dewar
from 1928 to 1929, her final commander was Arthur Bedford, and she remained in service with the fleet until Hood came out of refit in early 1931, at which time she was taken out of commission in accordance with the terms of the London Naval Treaty
.
Tiger took the cheers of the Atlantic Fleet on 30 March 1931 at Devonport
. She paid off
for the last time on 15 May 1931 at Rosyth, before being sold to T. W. Ward of Inverkeithing
for breaking up in February 1932. She was the last of the Royal Navy's coal-burning capital ships.
Battlecruiser
Battlecruisers were large capital ships built in the first half of the 20th century. They were developed in the first decade of the century as the successor to the armoured cruiser, but their evolution was more closely linked to that of the dreadnought battleship...
of 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...
, built by John Brown and Company, Clydebank
Clydebank
Clydebank is a town in West Dunbartonshire, in the Central Lowlands of Scotland. Situated on the north bank of the River Clyde, Clydebank borders Dumbarton, the town with which it was combined to form West Dunbartonshire, as well as the town of Milngavie in East Dunbartonshire, and the Yoker and...
, Scotland
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
, and launched in 1913. Tiger was the most heavily armoured battlecruiser of the Royal Navy at the start of 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...
although she was still being finished when the war began. The ship was assigned to 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) for the duration of the war and participated in the Battle of 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....
in early 1915 even though she was still shaking down
Shakedown (testing)
A shakedown is a period of testing or a trial journey undergone by a ship, aircraft or other craft and its crew before being declared operational. Statistically, a proportion of the components will fail after a relatively short period of use, and those that survive this period can be expected to...
and did not perform well. She next participated in the Battle of Jutland in 1916 where she was one of the British battlecruisers most often hit by German shells, although she was only lightly damaged. She spent the rest of the war on uneventful patrols in the North Sea, although she did provide distant cover during 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...
in 1917.
Tiger was the oldest battlecruiser retained by the Royal Navy after the tonnage limits 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...
came into effect in 1922. She became a gunnery training ship in 1924 and then joined the Battlecruiser Squadron in 1929 while its 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...
, , underwent a lengthy refit. Upon Hoods return to service in 1931, Tiger was decommissioned
Ship decommissioning
To decommission a ship is to terminate her career in service in the armed forces of her nation. A somber occasion, it has little of the elaborate ceremony of ship commissioning, but carries significant tradition....
and sold for scrap
Ship breaking
Ship breaking or ship demolition is a type of ship disposal involving the breaking up of ships for scrap recycling. Most ships have a lifespan of a few decades before there is so much wear that refitting and repair becomes uneconomical. Ship breaking allows materials from the ship, especially...
in 1932 in accordance with the terms of the London Naval Treaty
London Naval Treaty
The London Naval Treaty was an agreement between the United Kingdom, the Empire of Japan, France, Italy and the United States, signed on April 22, 1930, which regulated submarine warfare and limited naval shipbuilding. Ratifications were exchanged in London on October 27, 1930, and the treaty went...
of 1930.
Design and description
Tiger was the sole battlecruiser authorised in the 1911–12 Naval Programme, although it has been suggested that a sister-ship named Leopard was to have been begun in the 1912–13 Programme, then was deferred until 1914 as a sixth member of the . There is no record however of any additional battlecruiser being provided for in any naval estimates before 1914.General characteristics
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 90 in 6 in (27.58 m), and a mean draught of 32 in 5 in (9.88 m) at deep load. She normally displaced 28430 long tons (28,886.3 t) and 33260 long tons (33,793.8 t) at deep load. Although Tiger was only 4 feet (1.2 m) longer and 1 foot wider than the previous battlecruiser, , she displaced almost 2000 long tons (2,032.1 t) more than the older ship. She had a metacentric height
Metacentric height
The metacentric height is a measurement of the static stability of a floating body. It is calculated as the distance between the centre of gravity of a ship and its metacentre . A larger metacentric height implies greater stability against overturning...
of 6.1 feet (1.9 m) at deep load.
Propulsion
Tiger had two paired sets of Brown-Curtis direct-drive steam turbineSteam 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 housed in separate engine-rooms. Each set consisted of high-pressure ahead and astern turbines driving an outboard shaft and low-pressure ahead and astern turbines, housed in the same casing, driving an inner shaft. Her three-bladed propeller
Propeller
A propeller is a type of fan that transmits power by converting rotational motion into thrust. A pressure difference is produced between the forward and rear surfaces of the airfoil-shaped blade, and a fluid is accelerated behind the blade. Propeller dynamics can be modeled by both Bernoulli's...
s were 13 in 6 in (4.11 m) in diameter. The turbines were powered by 39 Babcock and Wilcox
Babcock and Wilcox
The Babcock & Wilcox Company is a U.S.-based company that provides design, engineering, manufacturing, construction and facilities management services to nuclear, renewable, fossil power, industrial and government customers worldwide. B&W's boilers supply more than 300,000 megawatts of installed...
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 in five boiler rooms at a working pressure of 235 pound per square inch. The turbines were designed to produce a total of 85000 shp and a maximum of 108000 shp when forced, but only achieved 104635 shp during her sea trial
Sea trial
A sea trial is the testing phase of a watercraft . It is also referred to as a "shakedown cruise" by many naval personnel. It is usually the last phase of construction and takes place on open water, and can last from a few hours to many days.Sea trials are conducted to measure a vessel’s...
s, although she barely exceeded her maximum designed speed of 29 knots (15.8 m/s).
Tiger's fuel stowage capacity was 3800 long tons (3,861 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...
and 3340 long tons (3,393.6 t) of coal, giving a total bunkerage of 7140 long tons (7,254.6 t) tons which compares very favourably to Queen Marys total of 4800 long tons (4,877 t). Using the sole (unofficial) figure of Tiger's daily fuel consumption of 1245 long tons (1,265 t) tons a day at 24 knots (13.1 m/s), it has been calculated that she would have had a maximum endurance of 3300 nautical miles (6,111.6 km). The equivalent figure for Queen Mary was roughly 2400 nautical miles (4,444.8 km). Four direct current
Direct current
Direct current is the unidirectional flow of electric charge. Direct current is produced by such sources as batteries, thermocouples, solar cells, and commutator-type electric machines of the dynamo type. Direct current may flow in a conductor such as a wire, but can also flow through...
electric dynamo
Dynamo
- Engineering :* Dynamo, a magnetic device originally used as an electric generator* Dynamo theory, a theory relating to magnetic fields of celestial bodies* Solar dynamo, the physical process that generates the Sun's magnetic field- Software :...
s with a total capacity of 750 kilowatts supplied the common ring main at 220 volt
Volt
The volt is the SI derived unit for electric potential, electric potential difference, and electromotive force. The volt is named in honor of the Italian physicist Alessandro Volta , who invented the voltaic pile, possibly the first chemical battery.- Definition :A single volt is defined as the...
s.
Armament
Tiger mounted eight 45-calibreCaliber (artillery)
In artillery, caliber or calibredifference in British English and American English spelling is the internal diameter of a gun barrel, or by extension a relative measure of the length....
BL 13.5-inch Mark V guns
BL 13.5 inch /45 naval gun
The BL 13.5 inch Mk V gun was a British heavy naval gun, introduced in 1912 as the main armament for the new super-dreadnought battleships of the Orion class. The calibre was 13.5 inches and the barrels were 45 calibres long i.e. 607.5 inches...
in four twin hydraulically powered turrets, designated 'A', 'B', 'Q' and 'Y' from front to rear. The guns could be depressed to −3° and elevated to 20°, although the directors controlling the turrets were limited to 15° 21' until superelevating prisms were installed before the Battle of Jutland in May 1916 to allow full elevation. They fired 1400 pounds (635 kg) projectiles at a muzzle velocity
Muzzle velocity
Muzzle velocity is the speed a projectile has at the moment it leaves the muzzle of the gun. Muzzle velocities range from approximately to in black powder muskets , to more than in modern rifles with high-performance cartridges such as the .220 Swift and .204 Ruger, all the way to for tank guns...
of 2582 ft/s (787 m/s); at 14.75°, this provided a maximum range of 20000 yd (18,288 m) with armour-piercing (AP)
Armor-piercing shot and shell
An armor-piercing shell is a type of ammunition designed to penetrate armor. From the 1860s to 1950s, a major application of armor-piercing projectiles was to defeat the thick armor carried on many warships. From the 1920s onwards, armor-piercing weapons were required for anti-tank missions...
shells. At 20° elevation, the range was extended to 23820 yd (21,781 m). The rate of fire of these guns was 1.5–2 rounds per minute. The ships carried a total of 1040 rounds during wartime for 130 shells per gun.
To defend herself against torpedo boat
Torpedo boat
A torpedo boat is a relatively small and fast naval vessel designed to carry torpedoes into battle. The first designs rammed enemy ships with explosive spar torpedoes, and later designs launched self-propelled Whitehead torpedoes. They were created to counter battleships and other large, slow and...
s, Tiger mounted twelve BL 6-inch Mark VII guns
BL 6 inch Mk VII naval gun
The BL 6 inch Gun Mark VII was a British naval gun dating from 1899, which was mounted on a heavy traveling carriage in 1915 for British Army service to become one of the main heavy field guns in the First World War, and also served as one of the main coast defence guns throughout the British...
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. The guns could depress to −7° and had a maximum elevation of 14°. They fired 100 pounds (45.4 kg) projectiles at a muzzle velocity of 2775 ft/s (845.8 m/s); this gave a maximum range of 14600 yd (13,350.2 m) at 20° elevation. Their maximum rate of fire was 5–7 rounds per minute. They were provided with 120 rounds per gun. The ship mounted a pair of 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...
, 30 cwt referring to the weight of the gun. Mark I 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...
guns on high-angle Mark II mounts. They had a maximum depression of −10° and a maximum elevation of 90°. They fired a 12.5 pounds (5.7 kg) shell at a muzzle velocity of 2500 ft/s (762 m/s) at a rate of 12–14 rounds per minute. The gun had a maximum effective ceiling of 23500 ft (7,162.8 m). Originally Tiger carried 300 rounds per gun, but this was reduced during the war to 150 rounds per gun.
Four 21 inches (53 cm) 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 were fitted on the beam, one pair port and starboard forward of 'A' barbette and aft of 'X' barbette. Twenty Mark II*** torpedoes were carried which had a warhead of 515 pounds (234 kg) of TNT. They had two speed settings which governed their range; at 45 knots (24.5 m/s) they could reach 4500 yards (4,114.8 m) or 10750 yards (9,829.8 m) at 31 knots (16.9 m/s).
Fire-control
The main guns of Tiger were controlled from either of the two fire-control directors. The primary director was in the fore-topTop (sailing ship)
On a traditional square rigged ship, the top is the platform at the upper end of each mast. This is not the masthead "crow's nest" of the popular imagination – above the mainmast is the main-topmast, main-topgallant-mast and main-royal-mast, so that the top is actually about 1/4 to 1/3 of the way...
on the foremast and the other was mounted on the aft superstructure in the torpedo control tower. Data from 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...
s in the armoured hood above the conning tower
Conning tower
A conning tower is a raised platform on a ship or submarine, often armored, from which an officer can con the vessel; i.e., give directions to the helmsman. It is usually located as high on the ship as practical, to give the conning team good visibility....
and in 'B' and 'X turrets were transmitted to the Mk IV Dreyer Fire Control Table located in the Transmitting Station (TS) below the waterline
Waterline
The term "waterline" generally refers to the line where the hull of a ship meets the water surface. It is also the name of a special marking, also known as the national Load Line or Plimsoll Line, to be positioned amidships, that indicates the draft of the ship and the legal limit to which a ship...
where they were plotted and converted into range and deflection data for use by the director and guns. A Mark VII* Dumaresq
Dumaresq
The Dumaresq is a mechanical calculating device invented around 1902 by Lieutenant John Dumaresq of the Royal Navy.The dumaresq is an analog computer which relates vital variables of the fire control problem to the movement of one's own ship and that of a target ship...
in the armoured tower was trained on the target to supply bearing data to the TS for use in plotting and calculations. A second Transmitting Station was fitted for the ship's secondary armament, although a pair of fire-control directors for those guns, one for each broadside, were not fitted until 1915.
Fire-control technology advanced quickly during the years immediately preceding the First World War and the development of the director firing system was a major advance. This consisted of a fire-control director mounted high in the ship which electrically provided elevation and training angles to the turrets via pointers, which the turret crewmen had only to follow. The director layer fired the guns simultaneously by an electrical trigger which aided in spotting the shell splashes and minimized the effects of the roll on the dispersion of the shells.
During the war Tigers rangefinders had increased in number and in size. By the end of the war 'A' and 'Q' turrets mounted 25 feet (7.6 m) rangefinders while 'X' turret, the armoured hood above the conning tower (also known as the gun control tower), and the torpedo control tower had 15 feet (4.6 m) instruments. A 12 feet (3.7 m) rangefinder was fitted in the fore-top and three 9 feet (2.7 m) instruments were fitted on 'B' turret, the gun control tower and above the compass platform. A high-angle 6 inch rangefinder was mounted above the roof of the fore-top for use by the anti-aircraft guns.
Armour
Tigers armour protection was similar to that of Queen Mary; her waterlineWaterline
The term "waterline" generally refers to the line where the hull of a ship meets the water surface. It is also the name of a special marking, also known as the national Load Line or Plimsoll Line, to be positioned amidships, that indicates the draft of the ship and the legal limit to which a ship...
belt
Belt armor
Belt armor is a layer of heavy metal armor plated on to or within outer hulls of warships, typically on battleships, battlecruisers and cruisers, and on aircraft carriers converted from those types of ships....
of Krupp cemented armour
Krupp armour
Krupp armour was a type of steel armour used in the construction of capital ships starting shortly before the end of the 19th century. It was developed by Germany's Krupp Arms Works in 1893 and quickly replaced Harvey armour as the primary method of protecting naval ships.The initial manufacturing...
measured 9 inches (229 mm) thick amidships. It thinned to four inches towards the ship's ends, but did not reach either the bow or the stern. The depth of the main belt below the waterline was reduced from 36 to 27 in (914.4 to 685.8 mm), although a strake
Strake
A strake is part of the shell of the hull of a boat or ship which, in conjunction with the other strakes, keeps the sea out and the vessel afloat...
of three-inch armour 3 in 9 in (1.14 m) tall was added below the main belt that stretched from the front of 'A' barbette to the rear of 'B' barbette. It was based on that used on the Japanese battlecruiser , the only design influence on Tiger that can be attributed to the Japanese ship.
Like the ships and Queen Mary, Tiger was given an upper armour belt with a maximum thickness of six inches over the same length as the thickest part of the waterline armour and thinned to 5 inches (127 mm) abreast the end turrets. Unlike those ships, however, Tiger had an additional strake of 6-inch armour above the upper belt protecting her secondary armament. Four-inch transverse bulkhead
Bulkhead (partition)
A bulkhead is an upright wall within the hull of a ship or within the fuselage of an airplane. Other kinds of partition elements within a ship are decks and deckheads.-Etymology:...
s closed off the ends of the armoured citadel. High-tensile steel was used for the protective decks. They generally ranged from 1 to 1.5 in (2.5 to 3.8 ) in thickness.
The gun turrets had 9-inch front and sides while their roofs were 2.5 to 3.25 in (63.5 to 82.6 mm) thick. The 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 were protected by 8 to 9 in (203.2 to 228.6 mm) of armour above the citadel, but it thinned to three to four inches inside the citadel. The main conning tower sides were 10 inches (25 cm) thick and it had a three-inch roof. The walls of the communication tube were three to four inches thick. The after conning tower had 6-inch walls and a 3-inch cast steel roof. High-tensile steel torpedo bulkhead
Torpedo bulkhead
A torpedo bulkhead is a type of armor common on the more heavily armored warships, especially battleships and battlecruisers of the early 20th century. It is designed to keep the ship afloat even if the hull was struck underneath the belt armor by a shell or by a torpedo...
s 1.5 to 2.5 in (38.1 to 63.5 mm) thick were fitted abreast the magazines
Magazine (artillery)
Magazine is the name for an item or place within which ammunition is stored. It is taken from the Arabic word "makahazin" meaning "warehouse".-Ammunition storage areas:...
and shell rooms. After the Battle of 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...
revealed the ship's vulnerability to plunging shellfire, additional armour, weighing approximately 295 long tons (299.7 t), was added to the decks over the magazines, turret roofs and for bulkheads to separate the 6-inch guns.
First World War
Tiger was laid down at the John Brown and Company shipyard in ClydebankClydebank
Clydebank is a town in West Dunbartonshire, in the Central Lowlands of Scotland. Situated on the north bank of the River Clyde, Clydebank borders Dumbarton, the town with which it was combined to form West Dunbartonshire, as well as the town of Milngavie in East Dunbartonshire, and the Yoker and...
on 6 June 1912. She was launched on 15 December 1913 and commissioned into the Royal Navy on 3 October 1914. The ship was still under construction when 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...
broke out in August 1914. On 3 August 1914 Captain Henry Bertram Pelly was appointed to command the incomplete ship. Beatty described Pelly at the time as "a very charming person and, what is more important just now, a very efficient officer". After the Battle of Coronel
Battle of Coronel
The First World War naval Battle of Coronel took place on 1 November 1914 off the coast of central Chile near the city of Coronel. German Kaiserliche Marine forces led by Vice-Admiral Graf Maximilian von Spee met and defeated a Royal Navy squadron commanded by Rear-Admiral Sir Christopher...
and the deployment of four battlecruisers to hunt for the German East Asia Squadron
German East Asia Squadron
The German East Asia Squadron was a German Navy cruiser squadron which operated mainly in the Pacific Ocean between the 1870s and 1914...
, Tiger was ordered to cut short her firing trials off Berehaven and was commissioned into the First Battlecruiser Squadron (1st BCS) two months later, on 3 October and began trials and working up. Beatty described Tiger to the First Sea Lord, Admiral of the Fleet Lord Fisher of Kilverstone
Jackie Fisher, 1st Baron Fisher
Admiral of the Fleet John Arbuthnot "Jacky" Fisher, 1st Baron Fisher of Kilverstone, GCB, OM, GCVO was a British admiral known for his efforts at naval reform...
as "not yet fit to fight. Three out of her four dynamo
Dynamo
- Engineering :* Dynamo, a magnetic device originally used as an electric generator* Dynamo theory, a theory relating to magnetic fields of celestial bodies* Solar dynamo, the physical process that generates the Sun's magnetic field- Software :...
es are out of action for an indefinite period, and her training is impeded by bad weather, which might continue for many weeks at this time of year, and at present is quite unprepared and inefficient."
Battle of Dogger Bank
On 23 January 1915, a force of German battlecruisers under the command of Admiral Franz von HipperFranz 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...
sortied to clear the Dogger Bank of any British fishing boats or small craft that might be there to collect intelligence on German movements. However, the British were reading their coded messages and sailed to intercept them with a larger force of British battlecruisers under the command of Admiral Beatty. Contact was initiated at 7:20 a.m.The times used in this article 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. on the 24th when the British light cruiser 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 would suffice if the ships that he saw to his northwest were British battleships and that he could always increase speed to 's maximum speed of 23 knots (12.5 m/s) if they were British battlecruisers.
Beatty ordered his battlecruisers to make all practicable speed to catch the Germans before they could escape. The leading ships, , and Tiger, were doing 27 knots (14.7 m/s) in pursuit and Lion opened fire at 8:52 at a range of 20000 yards (18,288 m). The other ships followed a few minutes later but, hampered by the extreme range and decreasing visibility, they did not score their first hit on Blücher until 9:09. The German battlecruisers opened fire themselves a few minutes later at 9:11, at a range of 18000 yards (16,459.2 m), and concentrated their fire on Lion. At 9:35 Beatty signalled 'Engage the corresponding ships in the enemy's line', but Captain Pelly, believing that was already engaging Blücher, fired at , as did Lion, which left unengaged and able to continue to engage Lion without risk.
Periscope
A periscope is an instrument for observation from a concealed position. In its simplest form it consists of a tube with mirrors at each end set parallel to each other at a 45-degree angle....
on the starboard bow and ordered an immediate 90° turn to port to avoid the submarine, although he failed to hoist the 'Submarine Warning' flag because most of Lions signal halyards had been shot away. Almost immediately afterward Lion lost her remaining dynamo to the rising water which knocked out all remaining light and power. He ordered 'Course Northeast' at 11:02 to bring his ships back to their pursuit of Hipper. He also hoisted 'Attack the rear of the enemy' on the other halyard although there was no connection between the two signals. This caused 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:...
, temporarily commanding in , to think that the signals meant to attack Blücher, which was about 8000 yards (7,315.2 m) to the northeast. So they turned away from the pursuit of Hipper's main body and engaged Blücher. Beatty tried to correct the mistake, but he was so far behind the leading battlecruisers that his signals could not be read amidst the smoke and haze.
He transferred his flag to the destroyer at 11:50 and set off in pursuit of his battlecruisers. He caught up to them shortly before Blücher sank and boarded Princess Royal at 12:20. He ordered the pursuit resumed of the German battlecruisers, but rescinded the order when it became clear that too much time had been wasted sinking Blücher and Hipper's ships would be able to reach German waters before the British could catch them. Lion was headed home at 10 knots (5.4 m/s) when the rest of the battlecruisers caught up with her around 12:45.
During the action, Tiger was hit by six German shells, the most significant of which was a 28 centimetres (11 in) shell that burst on the roof of 'Q' turret. Although most of the shell was deflected overboard, fragments penetrated the roof, damaged the left gun's breech mechanism
Breech-loading weapon
A breech-loading weapon is a firearm in which the cartridge or shell is inserted or loaded into a chamber integral to the rear portion of a barrel....
and jammed the training gear, knocking the turret out of action. Ten men were killed during the battle and 11 wounded. Tigers repairs were completed on 8 February. Like the rest of the battlecruisers, Tigers own gunnery was rapid, but inaccurate, and she achieved only two hits out of 355 13.5 inches (34.3 cm) shells fired. Her performance was noted and commented upon by the senior leadership of the Royal Navy:
Lord Fisher was moved to write: "The Tigers gunnery seems to have been villainously bad on January 24, yet she seems to have had a lot of practice." and Captain Pelly was described as a "poltroon". In a memorandum of 11 February 1915 Beatty explained to Pelly where the latter had misconstrued the standing orders, going through Tigers part in the battle blow by blow and comparing it to that of other ships. His final paragraph was conciliatory however: "In making these remarks I have no wish to express censure in any form. I realise that a newly-commissioned ship in her first action has many difficulties to contend with, and I am quite ready to make the fullest allowance for them. My chief aim is to ensure that our next action shall be a complete success." The ship was given a refit in December 1915.
Battle of Jutland
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 had decoded 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 did not see the Germans to their east until 3:30. Two minutes later, Beatty ordered a course change to east south-east, positioning the British ships to cut off the German's line of retreat, and signalled action stations
Action Stations
Action Stations is the general signal to the personnel of a warship that combat with a hostile attacker is imminent or deemed probable...
. 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, 60 miles (96.6 km) behind him. Beatty altered course to the east, as he was still too far north to cut Hipper off.
This began what was to be called the "Run to the South" as Beatty changed course to steer east south-east at 3:45, now paralleling Hipper's course less than 18000 yards (16,459.2 m) away. The Germans opened fire first at 3:48, followed by the British. The British ships were still in the process of making their turn as only the two leading ships, Lion and Princess Royal, had steadied on their course when the Germans opened fire. The 1st BCS was echeloned
Echelon formation
An echelon formation is a military formation in which members are arranged diagonally. Each member is stationed behind and to the right , or behind and to the left , of the member ahead...
to the right with Tiger in the rear and the furthest to the west, closest to the Germans. Tiger missed Beatty's fire distribution order, as had Queen Mary, and Tiger engaged Moltke, instead of Seydlitz as Beatty intended. The German fire was accurate from the start, with Tiger hit six times by Moltke within the first seven minutes; although two of these hits temporarily disabled both 'Q' and 'X' turrets, she was not seriously damaged. By 3:54, the range was down to 12900 yards (11,795.8 m); 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.
The range gradually increased until the distance between the British and German ships was too great for accurate fire, so Beatty altered course four points to port between 4:12 and 4:15 to close the range. By 4:25, the range was down to 14400 yards (13,167.4 m) and Beatty turned two points to starboard to open the range again. Around this time, Queen Mary was hit multiple times in quick succession and her forward magazines exploded. Tiger, following in Queen Marys wake at a distance of only 500 yards (457.2 m), had to put her helm hard-a-starboard to avoid colliding with the wreckage. At 4:30, the light cruiser , scouting in front of Beatty's ships, spotted the lead elements of the High Seas Fleet coming 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 report this for another five minutes. Beatty continued south for another two minutes to confirm the sighting before ordering his force to turn north. By this time Tiger had been hit a total of 17 times, all but one fired by Moltke, but she remained fit to fight.
The German battlecruisers made their own turn north in pursuit, but Beatty's ships maintained full speed, and gradually moved out of range. The British battlecruisers turned north, then northeast, to try to rendezvous with the main body of the Grand Fleet, and at 5:40 p.m. opened fire again on their German counterparts. The setting sun blinded the German gunners and they could not make out the British ships and turned away to the northeast at 5:47. Beatty gradually turned towards the east so his ships could cover the Grand Fleet as it deployed into battle formation, but he mistimed his manoeuvre and forced the leading British division to manoeuvre away from the Germans. By 6:35, Beatty was following the 3rd BCS as they were leading the Grand Fleet east-southeast, 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. At 6:44, Beatty turned his ships southeast, then south-southeast four minutes later, to find Hipper's force. He then ordered the two surviving ships of the 3rd BCS to take position astern of New Zealand, while slowing to 18 knots (9.8 m/s) and altering course to the south to stay close to the Grand Fleet. At this moment Lions gyrocompass
Gyrocompass
A gyrocompass is a type of non-magnetic compass which bases on a fast-spinning disc and rotation of our planet to automatically find geographical direction...
failed and she, followed by the rest of the battlecruisers, made a complete circle before her steering was brought back under control. At 6:55, Scheer ordered another 180° turn, which put the German ships on a converging course again with the Grand Fleet. However, the British had altered course to the south, allowing 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 inflict damage on the leading German ships. Scheer ordered yet another 180° turn at 7:13, and successfully extricated the High Seas Fleet from the trap his manoeuvring caused.
The British lost sight of the Germans until spotted smoke to the west-northwest at 8:05 p.m. then identified and engaged several German torpedo boats. On hearing the sound of gunfire, Beatty ordered his ships west, 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 the battlecruisers. Shortly after 8:30, the pre-dreadnought battleships of Rear Admiral Mauve's II Battle Squadron were spotted. The British battlecruisers and German pre-dreadnoughts exchanged fire; the Germans only fired a few times before turning away to the west because of poor visibility and the more accurate British gunnery, and disappeared into the mist around 8:40. Beatty's battlecruisers sailed south-southeast, ahead of both the Grand Fleet and the High Seas Fleet, until the order to reverse course for home was given at 2:55 a.m.
Tiger and the rest of the battlecruisers reached Rosyth Dockyard
Rosyth Dockyard
Rosyth Dockyard is a large naval dockyard on the Firth of Forth at Rosyth, Fife, Scotland, owned by Babcock Marine, which primarily undertakes refitting of Royal Navy surface vessels.-History:...
in Scotland on the morning of 2 June. The ship was docked the next day for repairs which took until 1 July, the first of the "Splendid Cats" to be repaired. Tiger was hit a total of 18 times during the battle, mostly by shells fired by Moltke. She suffered 24 men killed and 46 wounded during the battle. The battlecruiser fired 303 shells from her main guns during the battle and is credited with one hit on Moltke and two on . The ship also fired 136 rounds from her 6-inch guns at the light cruiser and German 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.
Post-Jutland service
After her repairs were completed, Tiger served as the temporary flagship of the 1st Battlecruiser Squadron while Lion was under repair. In the meantime, 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, less the II Squadron, would be leaving harbour that night. The German objective was to bombard Sunderland on the 19th, with extensive reconnaissance provided by airships and submarines. The Grand Fleet sailed with 29 dreadnought battleships and six battlecruisers.While no sources explicitly state that Tiger was part of the fleet at this time, of the seven Royal Navy battlecruisers then in commission, Indomitable was under refit through August and the only one unavailable for action. See Roberts, p. 122 Throughout the 19th, 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 pursuing a lone British battle squadron reported 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:...
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 then shaped 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 having lost two cruisers to submarine attacks and the Germans having a dreadnought damaged by torpedo.
The ship received a lengthy refit from 10 November 1916 to 29 January 1917 at Rosyth where her deck and turret roof armour was reinforced and additional rangefinders were added over her conning tower and the rear of 'X' turret. Tiger had an uneventful time for the rest of the war, conducting patrols of the North Sea
North Sea
In the southwest, beyond the Straits of Dover, the North Sea becomes the English Channel connecting to the Atlantic Ocean. In the east, it connects to the Baltic Sea via the Skagerrak and Kattegat, narrow straits that separate Denmark from Norway and Sweden respectively...
as 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...
was forbidden to risk any more losses. She provided support for British light forces involved in 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...
on 17 November 1917, but never came within range of any German forces. The same year saw her undergo a minor refit during which a flying-off platform for a Sopwith Camel
Sopwith Camel
The Sopwith Camel was a British First World War single-seat biplane fighter introduced on the Western Front in 1917. Manufactured by Sopwith Aviation Company, it had a short-coupled fuselage, heavy, powerful rotary engine, and concentrated fire from twin synchronized machine guns. Though difficult...
was mounted on 'Q' turret and a searchlight platform was added to her third funnel. She underwent a more extensive refit in 1918 which saw her mainmast shifted to the top of the derrick-stump and a more substantial observation platform added to the foremast. Some of her short rangefinders were replaced by longer ones as well. The resulting change in appearance was decried by the editors of the 1919 edition of Jane's Fighting Ships, who wrote that Tiger had been "a remarkably handsome ship until the present hideous rig was adopted in 1918."
Post-war service
Tiger remained in service with the Royal Navy after the Armistice with Germany and collided with the battleship in late 1920 while assigned to the Atlantic Fleet. She survived the culling of older capital ships following the Washington Naval TreatyWashington 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...
, although she was placed in reserve on 22 August 1921. In 1919 a flying-off platform was add on 'B' turret's roof. The ship was refitted in March 1922 with a 25 feet (7.6 m) rangefinder fitted on 'X' turret, her original pair of 3-inch AA guns replaced by four 4 inches (10.2 cm) guns, and the flying-off platform on 'Q' turret was removed. On 14 February 1924, she was recommissioned and became a sea-going training ship, a role she served in throughout the 1920s. Her last major period of activity came in 1929, when the Royal Navy's newest battlecruiser, the ill-fated , went into dockyard hands for a refit. While Hood was out of commission, Tiger returned to active service to keep the Royal Navy's three-ship Battlecruiser Squadron (normally made up of Hood plus the smaller and ) up to strength. Although by the 1930s Tiger was still in fair condition and was not a terribly old ship, her death knell was sounded by the London Naval Conference
London Naval Conference
There were three major international naval conferences in London, the first in 1908-09, the second in 1930 and the third in 1935. The latter two, together with the Washington Naval Conference in 1921-22 and the Geneva Conferences , resulted in agreements between the major powers on navy vessel...
of 1930, during which Tiger was sacrificed by 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...
as part of an overall reduction in world battleship fleets. Under the command of Captain Kenneth Dewar
Kenneth Dewar
Vice-Admiral Kenneth Gilbert Balmain Dewar, CBE, RN was an officer of the Royal Navy. After specialising as a gunnery officer, Dewar became a staff officer and a controversial student of naval tactics before seeing extensive service during the First World War...
from 1928 to 1929, her final commander was Arthur Bedford, and she remained in service with the fleet until Hood came out of refit in early 1931, at which time she was taken out of commission in accordance with the terms of the London Naval Treaty
London Naval Treaty
The London Naval Treaty was an agreement between the United Kingdom, the Empire of Japan, France, Italy and the United States, signed on April 22, 1930, which regulated submarine warfare and limited naval shipbuilding. Ratifications were exchanged in London on October 27, 1930, and the treaty went...
.
Tiger took the cheers of the Atlantic Fleet on 30 March 1931 at 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 paid off
Ship decommissioning
To decommission a ship is to terminate her career in service in the armed forces of her nation. A somber occasion, it has little of the elaborate ceremony of ship commissioning, but carries significant tradition....
for the last time on 15 May 1931 at Rosyth, before being sold to T. W. Ward of Inverkeithing
Inverkeithing
Inverkeithing is a town and a royal burgh in Fife, Scotland, located on the Firth of Forth. According to population estimates , the town has a population of 5,265. The port town was given burgh status by King David I of Scotland in the 12th century and is situated about 9 miles north from...
for breaking up in February 1932. She was the last of the Royal Navy's coal-burning capital ships.
External links
- Dreadnought Project Technical material on the weaponry and fire control for the ships
- Maritimequest HMS Tiger Photo Gallery