Indefatigable class battlecruiser
Encyclopedia
The Indefatigable class were the second class
built of British battlecruiser
sThe Indefatigable-class ships were formally known as armoured cruisers until 1911 when they were redesignated as battlecruisers by an Admiralty order of 24 November 1911. Unofficially a number of designations were used until then, including cruiser-battleship, dreadnought cruiser and battle-cruiser. See Roberts, pp. 24–25 which served in the Royal Navy
and the Royal Australian Navy
during World War I
. The design represented a modest reworking of the preceding , featuring increased endurance and an improved cross-deck arc of fire for their midships wing turrets achieved by a lengthening of the hull. Like its predecessor, the design resembled the contemporary dreadnought of the Royal Navy, but sacrificed armour protection and one turret from the main battery for a 4 knots (2.2 m/s) speed advantage.
Originally was the only ship of the class, but and were later built as part of a scheme to improve the defense of the Dominions by having each Dominion purchase a 'fleet unit' of one battlecruiser, three light cruisers and six destroyers. Only Australia fully acceded to the idea, forming the Royal Australian Navy, but New Zealand agreed to fund one battlecruiser. A modified Indefatigable design was chosen rather than the then building for the Royal Navy.
They spent most of the war patrolling the North Sea, and participated in most of the battles there, although only New Zealand was in the U.K.
when the war began. Indefatigable was in the Mediterranean where she pursued the German warships and as they fled towards Turkey
and Australia was flagship
of the Royal Australian Navy
in Australian waters where she helped to secure the German Pacific colonies and searched, unsuccessfully, for the German East Asia Squadron
before sailing for the U.K. in December 1914. New Zealand participated in a number of the early actions in the North Sea
including the Battle of Heligoland Bight and the inconclusive Scarborough Raid
. Australia was still under repair after a collision with New Zealand before the Battle of Jutland
so only Indefatigable and New Zealand were present where the former was destroyed by a magazine explosion. Both Australia and New Zealand spent much uneventful time at sea after Jutland waiting for the next appearance of the High Seas Fleet
, but that had been forbidden by the Kaiser
. New Zealand conducted Admiral Jellicoe
on his tour of India
and the Dominions after the war while Australia returned home where she again became the flagship of the Royal Australian Navy
. New Zealand was sold for scrap in 1922 while Australia only lasted two years more before being scuttled
to comply with the terms of the Washington Naval Treaty
.
At the time the final design of Indefatigable was approved, the Admiralty
was already moving on, Fisher writing in September 1908 "I've got Sir Philip Watts
into a new Indomitable that will make your mouth water when you see it", a design that was to eventually emerge as . In August 1909 the self-governing dominions met at the 1909 Imperial Conference, and in discussion of Imperial defense, the Admiralty proposed the creation of indigenous fleet units, each to consist of one Invincible class battlecruiser, three light cruiser
s of the Bristol class
, and six destroyers. These were to be based in Australia
, New Zealand
, Canada
and South Africa
in attempt to secure the naval defence of the Dominions while the Royal Navy concentrated in home waters to meet the German threat. While the scheme was rejected by Canada and South Africa, Australia and New Zealand subscribed, each ordering a modified version of the Indefatigable, rather than the originally proposed Invincible class. Australia became a ship of the newly formed Royal Australian Navy
, while New Zealand was retained in European waters as a wholly RN unit. Eventually, only one fleet unit was formed, the Australian squadron in 1913.
The was ordered as the lone battlecruiser of the 1908–9 programme. Her outline design was prepared in March 1908, and the final design was approved in November 1908. This design was essentially an enlarged with revised arrangements of protection and main armament.
of 80 ft (24.4 m), and a draught of 29 in 9 in (9.07 m) at deep load. They displaced 18500 long tons (18,796.9 MT) at load and 22130 long tons (22,485.2 MT) at deep load, over 1500 long tons (1,524 MT) more than the earlier ships. They had a metacentric height
of 4.78 feet (1.5 m) at deep load.
direct-drive steam turbine
s was housed in a separate engine-room and drove two shafts. The wing shaft was coupled to the high-pressure ahead and astern turbines and the low-pressure turbines to the inner shafts. Each wing shaft drove a propeller 10 in 10 in (3.3 m) in diameter and the propellers on the inner shafts were 10 in 3 in (3.12 m) in diameter. The turbines were powered by thirty-one Babcock and Wilcox
water-tube boiler
s in five boiler rooms. Indefatigables turbines were designed to produce a total of 43000 shp, but reached over 55000 shp on forced draught during trials in 1911. The turbines of Australia and New Zealand were slightly more powerful at 44000 shp. They were designed for 25.8 knots (14 m/s), but all three bettered 26 knots (14.2 m/s) during trials.
The ships carried approximately 3200 long tons (3,251 MT) of coal, and an additional 850 long tons (864 MT) of fuel oil
that was to be sprayed on the coal to increase its burn rate. At full capacity, the ships could steam for 3330 nautical miles (6,167.2 km) at a speed of 10 knots (5.4 m/s).
in four BVIII* twin turret
s. Two turrets were mounted fore and aft on the centreline, identified as 'A' and 'X' respectively. Two wing turrets were mounted amidships en echelon between the funnels, identified as 'P' and 'Q'. 'P' turret was mounted on the port side and normally faced forward, 'Q' turret was mounted on the starboard side and normally faced aft (rearwards). 'P' and 'Q' turrets were staggered—'P' was forward of 'Q', enabling 'P' to fire in a 70° arc to the starboard side and 'Q' to likewise fire towards the port side. These were the same guns as those mounted in , the and s.
The guns could initially be depressed to −3° and elevated to 13.5°, although the turrets were modified to allow 16° of elevation during World War I
. They fired 850 pounds (385.6 kg) projectiles at a muzzle velocity
of 2725 ft/s (830.6 m/s); at 13.5°, this provided a maximum range of 16450 m (17,989.9 yd) with armour-piercing (AP)
2 crh shells. At 16° elevation, the range was extended to 20435 yd (18,685.8 m) using the more aerodynamic, but slightly heavier 4 crh AP shells. The rate of fire of these guns was 1–2 rounds per minute. The ships carried a total of 880 rounds during wartime for 110 shells per gun.
The secondary armament consisted of sixteen 4 in (10 cm) BL Mk VII guns
positioned in the superstructure. All of the guns were enclosed in casemate
s and given blast shields during refits in 1914 and 1915 to better protect the gun crews from weather and enemy action, although two guns were removed at the same time. The guns on their PII* mounts had a maximum depression of 7° and a maximum elevation of 15°. They fired 31 pounds (14.1 kg) projectiles at a muzzle velocity of 2864 ft/s (872.9 m/s); this gave a maximum range of 11600 yd (10,607 m). Their rate of fire was 6–8 rounds per minute. They were provided with 100 rounds per gun.
An additional 4-inch gun was fitted in the surviving ships during 1917 as an anti-aircraft
(AA) gun. It was mounted on a Mark II high-angle mounting with a maximum elevation of 60°. It had a reduced propellant charge with a muzzle velocity of only 2864 ft/s (872.9 m/s). Earlier anti-aircraft guns included a single QF 3 inches (76.2 mm) 20 cwt
AA gun on a high-angle Mark II mount that was added during refits in 1914–15. This had a maximum depression of 10° and a maximum elevation of 90°. It fired a 12.5 pounds (5.7 kg) shell at a muzzle velocity of 2500 ft/s (762 m/s) at a rate of fire of 12–14 rounds per minute. They had a maximum effective ceiling of 23500 ft (7,162.8 m). It was provided with 500 rounds. New Zealand carried a single QF 6 pounder Hotchkiss
AA gun on a HA MkIc mounting from October 1914 to the end of 1915. This had a maximum depression of 8° and a maximum elevation of 60°. It fired a 6 pounds (2.7 kg) shell at a muzzle velocity of 1765 ft/s (538 m/s) at a rate of fire of 20 rounds per minute. It had a maximum ceiling of 10000 ft (3,048 m), but an effective range of only 1200 yards (1,097.3 m).
They mounted two 17.7-inch (450-mm)
submerged torpedo tube
s, one on each side aft of 'X' barbette, for which twelve torpedoes were carried.
The spotting tops, a modern equivalent of the sailing ship's fighting top
, at the head of the tripod fore and main masts controlled the fire of the Indefatigables main guns. Data from a 9 feet (2.7 m) Barr and Stroud rangefinder
was input into a Dumaresq
mechanical computer and electrically transmitted to Vickers range clock
s located in the Transmitting Station (TS) located beneath each spotting top where it was converted into range and deflection data for use by the guns. The target's data was also graphically recorded on a plotting table to assist the gunnery officer in predicting the movement of the target. Each gun turret had its own transmission equipment and the turrets, Transmitting Stations, and spotting tops could be connected in almost any combination. Firing trials against in 1907 revealed this system's vulnerability to gunfire as the spotting top was hit twice and a large splinter severed the voice pipe
and all wiring running along the mast. To guard against this possibility 'A' turret of Indefatigable was fitted with a 9 feet (2.7 m) rangefinder at the rear of the turret roof and it was equipped to control the entire main armament during a refit between 1911 and 1914.
Australia and New Zealand were built with a different arrangement. The spotting top on the main mast was deleted and an armoured spotting tower was built instead into the conning tower
where it was better protected, had an improved field of vision and direct access to the primary conning position. The rear Transmitting Station was also deleted and the forward TS was consequently enlarged. Their 'A' turrets were built with the improvements listed above.
Fire control technology advanced quickly during the years immediately preceding World War I and the development of the Dreyer Fire Control Table was one such advance. It combined the functions of the Dumaresq and the range clock and a simplified version, the Mk I, was fitted to the Indefatigables during refits in 1915–16. The more important development was the director firing system. This consisted of a fire-control director mounted high in the ship which electrically transmitted training and elevation angles to the gun turrets via pointers, which the turret crewmen had only to follow. The director layer's trigger fired the guns simultaneously which aided in spotting the shell splashes and minimized the effects of the roll on the dispersion of the shells. A gun within the 'Y' turret was also equipped with transmitters so that, as a backup, it could function as a "directing gun", but there was no provision for the gun battery to be split between the main director and this directing gun. The Indefatigables received their director equipment between mid-1915 and May 1916.
and thinned still further to 2.5 inches (64 mm) at the ends of the ship. A 4.5 inches (114 mm) bulkhead
met the barbette of X turret while the forward bulkhead was 3–4 in (76.2–101.6 mm) in thickness. The gun turrets and barbettes were protected by 7 in (178 mm) of armour, except for the turret roofs which used 3 in (76 mm) of Krupp non-cemented armour
(KNC). The supporting beams for the turret roofs were reinforced over those of the Invincibles based on lessons learned in firing trials conducted during 1907. The thickness of the main deck
was generally 1 in (25 mm) of nickel steel, but increased to 2 inches (51 mm) around the base of the barbettes. The lower deck armour of nickel steel was 1.5 in (38 mm) on the flat and 2 inches thick on the slope, but increased to two inches at the ship's ends. The sides of the forward conning tower were 10 in (254 mm) thick while the spotting tower had four inches. The roof and floor of both towers were KNC armour 3 inches thick while the conning tower's communication tube was four inches of KNC. The torpedo director tower 1 inch of nickel steel all around. Nickel steel torpedo bulkhead
s of 2.5-inch thickness were fitted abreast the magazines and shell rooms. The funnel uptakes were protected with 1.5 inches of nickel steel on the sides and 1 inch on the ends. Krupp cemented armour
was used throughout, unless otherwise mentioned.
Australia and New Zealand were built with a different arrangement. The waterline belt did not extend to the ends, but terminated 60 feet (18.3 m) short of the bow and 55 feet (16.8 m) short of the stern. The sections abreast the barbettes were thickened to 5 inches (127 mm) and the sections at each end were increased to four inches. The main deck armour was increased to 2.5 inches around the barbettes and was extended 55 feet past the rear barbette. The lower deck armour was decreased from 1.5–2 inches to one inch, both on the flat and slope, except at the ends where it was thickened to 2.5 inches. After Jutland one inch of armour was added to the magazine crowns and the turret roofs with a total weight of 110 long tons (112 MT)
for Indefatigable includes the armament.
* = estimated cost, including guns
in February 1912. She returned to Portsmouth the following December and was assigned again to the Home Fleet. She made a number of port visits to France and Russia before the war began. Australia set sail for Australia
almost immediately after she was commissioned in June 1913 to assume her duties as the first flagship of the Royal Australian Navy.
Sir Archibald Berkeley Milne
, encountered the German battlecruiser Goeben and the light cruiser Breslau on the morning of 4 August 1914 headed east after a cursory bombardment of the French Algerian port of Philippeville, but Britain and Germany were not yet at war so Milne turned to shadow the Germans as they headed back to Messina to recoal. All three battlecruisers had problems with their boilers, but Goeben and Breslau were able to break contact and reached Messina by the morning of the 5th. By this time war had been declared, after the German invasion of Belgium, but an Admiralty order to respect Italian neutrality and stay outside a six-mile (10 km) limit from the Italian coast precluded entrance into the passage of the Strait of Messina
where they could observe the port directly. Therefore Milne stationed and Indefatigable at the northern exit of the Straits of Messina, still expecting the Germans to break out to the west where they could attack French troop transports, the light cruiser at the southern exit and sent Indomitable to recoal at Bizerte
where she was better positioned to react to a German sortie into the Western Mediterranean.
The Germans sortie
d from Messina on 6 August and headed east, towards Constantinople
, trailed by Gloucester. Milne, still expecting Rear Admiral
Wilhelm Souchon
to turn west, kept the battlecruisers at Malta until shortly after midnight on 8 August when he set sail for Cape Matapan
, where Goeben had been spotted eight hours earlier, at a leisurely 12 knots (24 km/h). At 2:30 p.m. he received an incorrect signal from the Admiralty stating that Britain was at war with Austria — war would not be declared until 12 August and the order was countermanded four hours later, but Milne followed his standing orders to guard the Adriatic against an Austrian breakout attempt, rather than seek Goeben. Finally on 9 August Milne was given clear orders to "chase Goeben which had passed Cape Matapan on the 7th steering north-east." Milne still did not believe that Souchon was heading for the Dardanelles, and so he resolved to guard the exit from the Aegean
, unaware that the Goeben did not intend to come out.
On 3 November 1914, Churchill
ordered the first British attack on the Dardanelles following the opening of hostilities between Turkey and Russia. The attack was carried out by Indomitable and Indefatigable, as well as the French pre-dreadnought battleships Suffren
and Vérité
. The intention of the attack was to test the fortifications and measure the Turkish response. The results were deceptively encouraging. In a twenty minute bombardment, a single shell struck the magazine of the fort at Sedd el Bahr
at the tip of the Gallipoli peninsula, displacing (but not destroying) 10 guns and killing 86 Turkish soldiers. The most significant consequence was that the attention of the Turks was drawn to strengthening their defences, and they set about expanding the mine field. This attack actually took place before a formal declaration of war
had been made by Britain against the Ottoman Empire
which did not happen until 6 November. Indefatigable was remained in the Mediterranean until she was relieved by Inflexible on 24 January 1915 and proceeded to Malta to refit. Having completed her refit she sailed to England on 14 February where she joined the 2nd Battlecruiser Squadron
(BCS) upon her arrival.
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Following the declaration of war, Australia was assigned to find the German East Asia Squadron
, the only Central Powers
naval force in the Pacific. During this hunt, she was attached to the Australian Naval and Military Expeditionary Force
and provided support during the Force's invasion of Rabaul
, in case the German squadron was present. The squadron's commander, Vice Admiral Maximilian von Spee
, was wary of Australia, which he described as being superior to his squadron.
Following von Spee's withdrawal from the Pacific, Australia was belatedly ordered on 8 November 1914 to join with several Japanese cruisers off Mexico to resume the hunt for the German cruisers. By this time, the German squadron had made its way to the South Atlantic, and in early December was destroyed by a British squadron in the Battle of the Falkland Islands
. Australia was sent to join the 2nd Battlecruiser Squadron
at Rosyth
, Scotland, and was made flagship of the squadron after a short refit.
during the Battle of Heligoland Bight operation on 28 August 1914. Beatty's ships had originally been intended as distant support of the British cruisers and destroyers closer to the German coast in case large units of the High Seas Fleet
sortied in response to the British attacks. They turned south at full speed at 11:35 AM when the British light forces failed to disengage on schedule and 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 PM. Strassburg was able to duck into the mists and evade fire, but Köln remained visible and was quickly crippled by fire from the squadron. But Beatty was distracted from the task of finishing her off by the sudden appearance of the elderly light cruiser directly to his front. He turned in pursuit, but reduced her to a flaming hulk in only three salvos at a range under 6000 yards (5.5 km). At 1:10 PM Beatty turned north and made a general signal to retire. Shortly after turning north, Beatty's main body encountered the crippled Köln and she was sunk by two salvos from .
and destroy elements of it in detail. An earlier Raid on Yarmouth
on 3 November had been partially successful, but a larger-scale operation was devised by Admiral Franz von Hipper
afterwards. The fast battlecruisers would actually conduct the bombardment while the entire High Seas Fleet was to station itself east of Dogger Bank
to provide cover for their return and to destroy any elements of the Royal Navy that responded to the raid. But what the Germans did not know was that the British were reading the German naval codes and were planning to catch the raiding force on its return journey, although they were not aware that the High Seas Fleet would be at sea as well. Admiral Beatty's 1st Battlecruiser Squadron
, now reduced to four ships, including New Zealand, as well as the 2nd Battle Squadron with six dreadnoughts, was detached from the Grand Fleet in an attempt to intercept the Germans near Dogger Bank.
Admiral Hipper set sail on 15 December 1914 for another such 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 and fought an inconclusive action with them. Vice Admiral Sir George Warrender, commanding the 2nd Battle Squadron, had received a signal at 5:40 that was engaging enemy destroyers although Beatty had not. The destroyer spotted the German armoured cruiser and her escorts at about 7:00, but could not transmit the message until 7:25. Admiral Warrender received the signal, as did New Zealand, but Beatty did not, despite the fact that New Zealand had been specifically tasked to relay messages between the destroyers and Beatty. Warrender attempted to pass on Shark's message to Beatty at 7:36, but did not manage to make contact until 7:55. Beatty reversed course when he got the message 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. Beatty ordered New Zealand to rejoin the squadron and turned west for Scarborough.
The British forces split going around the shallow Southwest Patch of the Dogger Bank; Beatty's ships passed to the north while Warrender passed to the south as they headed west to block the main route through the minefields defending the English coast. This left a 15 nautical miles (28 km) gap between them through which the German light forces began to move. At 12:25, the light cruisers of the II Scouting Group began to pass the British forces searching for Hipper. spotted the light cruiser and signalled a report to Beatty. At 12:30 Beatty turned his battlecruisers towards the German ships. Beatty presumed that the German cruisers were the advance screen for Hipper's ships, however, those were some 50 km (31 mi) behind. The 2nd Light Cruiser Squadron, which had been screening for Beatty's ships, detached to pursue the German cruisers, but a misinterpreted signal from the British battlecruisers sent them back to their screening positions.Beatty had intended on retaining only the two rearmost light cruisers from Goodenough's
squadron; however, s signalman misinterpreted the signal, thinking that it was intended for the whole squadron, and thus transmitted it to Goodenough, who ordered his ships back into their screening positions ahead of Beatty's battlecruisers. This confusion allowed the German light cruisers to escape, and alerted Hipper to the location of the British battlecruisers. The German battlecruisers wheeled to the northeast of the British forces and made good their escape.
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, but New Zealand was able to open fire on Blücher by 9:35. She continued to engage Blücher after the other, faster, 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 her armoured deck and exploded in an ammunition room at 10:35. This started a fire amidships that destroyed her two port 21 cm (8.3 in) turrets and the concussion damaged her engines so that her speed had dropped to 17 kn (20.7 mph; 33.3 km/h) and her steering gear jammed. At 10:48 Beatty ordered Indomitable to attack her. But due to a combination of a mistake by Beatty's flag lieutenant in signalling and heavy damage to Beatty's flagship which had knocked out her radio and caused enough smoke to obscure her signal halyard
s so that Beatty could not communicate with his ships that caused the rest of the battlecruisers, temporarily under the command of Rear-Admiral Sir Gordon Moore
in New Zealand, to think that that signal applied to them. So 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 PM after being torpedoed.
) and Indefatigable as 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
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,The times used in this section are in UTC
, which is one hour behind CET
, which is often used in German works. but Beatty's ships did not spot the Germans to their east until 2:30. Almost immediately afterwards, at 3:32, 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 far too 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 as 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 aimed at 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
to starboard to open up the range at 3:57. Around 4:00 Indefatigable was hit by two or three shells from Von der Tann around the rear turret and almost immediately fell off to starboard and was down by the stern and listing to port. She was hit twice more on the next volley, once on forecastle and on the forward turret, and blew up at about 4:03 when her magazines exploded. The most likely cause of her loss was a low-order explosion in 'X' magazine that blew out her bottom and severed the control shafts between the steering engines and the steering gear, followed by the explosion of her forward magazines from the second volley. Von der Tann only fired 52 28 cm (11 in) shells at Indefatigable before she exploded, taking 1017 men with her. Only two survivors were rescued by the German torpedo boat .
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 of four s had close up and was engaging Von der Tann and Moltke. At 4:23 a 13.5 inches (34.3 cm) shell from hit near Von der Tanns rear turret and started a fire among the practice targets stowed there that completely enveloped the ship and caused New Zealand to shift fire to Moltke. At 4:30 the light cruiser , 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
'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. During the entire 'Run to the South' she was hit only once, in 'Y' turret by a 28 cm shell with little effect.
New Zealand was engaged by the battleship beginning at 5:08 during what came to be called the 'Run to the North', but she was not hit, although she was straddled several times. Beatty's ships maintained full speed to try and put some separation between them and the High Seas Fleet and gradually moved out of range. They turned north and then northeast to try and 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 they could not make out the British ships and 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 maneuvre 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
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 in 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'd 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 only were able to fire a few rounds at them due to 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.
on 21 November 1918. New Zealand was refitted between December 1918 and February 1919 for Admiral Jellicoe
's year-long tour of India and the Dominions and she was paid off upon her return on 15 March 1920 into reserve. She was sold for scrap on 19 December 1922. Australia sailed for Australia on 23 April 1921 and became flagship of the Royal Australian Navy
upon her arrival. Pursuant to the terms of the Washington Naval Treaty
she was scuttled east of Sydney
on 12 April 1924.
Ship class
A ship class is a group of ships of a similar design. This is distinct from a ship-type, which might reflect a similarity of tonnage or intended use. For example, the is a nuclear aircraft carrier of the Nimitz class....
built of British battlecruiser
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...
sThe Indefatigable-class ships were formally known as armoured cruisers until 1911 when they were redesignated as battlecruisers by an Admiralty order of 24 November 1911. Unofficially a number of designations were used until then, including cruiser-battleship, dreadnought cruiser and battle-cruiser. See Roberts, pp. 24–25 which served in 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...
and the Royal Australian Navy
Royal Australian Navy
The Royal Australian Navy is the naval branch of the Australian Defence Force. Following the Federation of Australia in 1901, the ships and resources of the separate colonial navies were integrated into a national force: the Commonwealth Naval Forces...
during 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...
. The design represented a modest reworking of the preceding , featuring increased endurance and an improved cross-deck arc of fire for their midships wing turrets achieved by a lengthening of the hull. Like its predecessor, the design resembled the contemporary dreadnought of the Royal Navy, but sacrificed armour protection and one turret from the main battery for a 4 knots (2.2 m/s) speed advantage.
Originally was the only ship of the class, but and were later built as part of a scheme to improve the defense of the Dominions by having each Dominion purchase a 'fleet unit' of one battlecruiser, three light cruisers and six destroyers. Only Australia fully acceded to the idea, forming the Royal Australian Navy, but New Zealand agreed to fund one battlecruiser. A modified Indefatigable design was chosen rather than the then building for the Royal Navy.
They spent most of the war patrolling the North Sea, and participated in most of the battles there, although only New Zealand was in the U.K.
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
when the war began. Indefatigable was in the Mediterranean where she pursued the German warships and as they fled towards Turkey
Turkey
Turkey , known officially as the Republic of Turkey , is a Eurasian country located in Western Asia and in East Thrace in Southeastern Europe...
and Australia was 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...
of the Royal Australian Navy
Royal Australian Navy
The Royal Australian Navy is the naval branch of the Australian Defence Force. Following the Federation of Australia in 1901, the ships and resources of the separate colonial navies were integrated into a national force: the Commonwealth Naval Forces...
in Australian waters where she helped to secure the German Pacific colonies and searched, unsuccessfully, 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...
before sailing for the U.K. in December 1914. New Zealand participated in a number of the early actions in 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...
including the Battle of Heligoland Bight and the inconclusive Scarborough Raid
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...
. Australia was still under repair after a collision with New Zealand before 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...
so only Indefatigable and New Zealand were present where the former was destroyed by a magazine explosion. Both Australia and New Zealand spent much uneventful time at sea after Jutland waiting for the next appearance 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...
, but that had been forbidden by the Kaiser
Kaiser
Kaiser is the German title meaning "Emperor", with Kaiserin being the female equivalent, "Empress". Like the Russian Czar it is directly derived from the Latin Emperors' title of Caesar, which in turn is derived from the personal name of a branch of the gens Julia, to which Gaius Julius Caesar,...
. New Zealand conducted Admiral 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...
on his tour of India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
and the Dominions after the war while Australia returned home where she again became the flagship of the Royal Australian Navy
Royal Australian Navy
The Royal Australian Navy is the naval branch of the Australian Defence Force. Following the Federation of Australia in 1901, the ships and resources of the separate colonial navies were integrated into a national force: the Commonwealth Naval Forces...
. New Zealand was sold for scrap in 1922 while Australia only lasted two years more before being scuttled
Scuttling
Scuttling is the act of deliberately sinking a ship by allowing water to flow into the hull.This can be achieved in several ways—valves or hatches can be opened to the sea, or holes may be ripped into the hull with brute force or with explosives...
to comply with the terms 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...
.
Background
Indefatigable was the successor to the Invincible-class battlecruisers. A number of options for large cruisers were considered for the 1906 Naval Programme, including the X4 design of 22500 long tons (22,861 MT) with 11 inches (279.4 mm) armour and 25 knots (13.6 m/s) speed, but in the end this programme consisted only of three ships of the type. A number of options were considered for the 1907–08 programme, ranging from 18100 long tons (18,391 MT) to 21400 long tons (21,743 MT), but in the end battleships were again favoured and no battlecruisers were ordered until the subsequent programme year.At the time the final design of Indefatigable was approved, 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...
was already moving on, Fisher writing in September 1908 "I've got Sir Philip Watts
Philip Watts (naval architect)
Sir Philip Watts, KCB FRS was a British naval architect, famous for his design of the revolutionary Elswick cruiser and the HMS Dreadnought.-Early life:...
into a new Indomitable that will make your mouth water when you see it", a design that was to eventually emerge as . In August 1909 the self-governing dominions met at the 1909 Imperial Conference, and in discussion of Imperial defense, the Admiralty proposed the creation of indigenous fleet units, each to consist of one Invincible class battlecruiser, three light cruiser
Light cruiser
A light cruiser is a type of small- or medium-sized warship. The term is a shortening of the phrase "light armored cruiser", describing a small ship that carried armor in the same way as an armored cruiser: a protective belt and deck...
s of the Bristol class
Town class cruiser (1910)
The Town class was a group of twenty-one light cruisers built for the Royal Navy and Royal Australian Navy . These vessels were long-range cruisers, suitable for patrolling the vast expanse covered by the British Empire...
, and six destroyers. These were to be based in Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
, 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...
, Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
and South Africa
South Africa
The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...
in attempt to secure the naval defence of the Dominions while the Royal Navy concentrated in home waters to meet the German threat. While the scheme was rejected by Canada and South Africa, Australia and New Zealand subscribed, each ordering a modified version of the Indefatigable, rather than the originally proposed Invincible class. Australia became a ship of the newly formed Royal Australian Navy
Royal Australian Navy
The Royal Australian Navy is the naval branch of the Australian Defence Force. Following the Federation of Australia in 1901, the ships and resources of the separate colonial navies were integrated into a national force: the Commonwealth Naval Forces...
, while New Zealand was retained in European waters as a wholly RN unit. Eventually, only one fleet unit was formed, the Australian squadron in 1913.
Design
General characteristics
Indefatigables were slightly larger than their predecessors of the . They had an overall length of 590 ft (179.8 m), a beamBeam (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 ft (24.4 m), and a draught of 29 in 9 in (9.07 m) at deep load. They displaced 18500 long tons (18,796.9 MT) at load and 22130 long tons (22,485.2 MT) at deep load, over 1500 long tons (1,524 MT) more than the earlier ships. They 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 4.78 feet (1.5 m) at deep load.
Propulsion
Each paired set of ParsonsParsons 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 was housed in a separate engine-room and drove two shafts. The wing shaft was coupled to the high-pressure ahead and astern turbines and the low-pressure turbines to the inner shafts. Each wing shaft drove a propeller 10 in 10 in (3.3 m) in diameter and the propellers on the inner shafts were 10 in 3 in (3.12 m) in diameter. The turbines were powered by thirty-one 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. Indefatigables turbines were designed to produce a total of 43000 shp, but reached over 55000 shp on forced draught during trials in 1911. The turbines of Australia and New Zealand were slightly more powerful at 44000 shp. They were designed for 25.8 knots (14 m/s), but all three bettered 26 knots (14.2 m/s) during trials.
The ships carried approximately 3200 long tons (3,251 MT) of coal, and an additional 850 long tons (864 MT) 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...
that was to be sprayed on the coal to increase its burn rate. At full capacity, the ships could steam for 3330 nautical miles (6,167.2 km) at a speed of 10 knots (5.4 m/s).
Armament
Each ship carried eight BL 12 inches (304.8 mm) Mk X gunsBL 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 BVIII* twin turret
Turret
In architecture, a turret is a small tower that projects vertically from the wall of a building such as a medieval castle. Turrets were used to provide a projecting defensive position allowing covering fire to the adjacent wall in the days of military fortification...
s. Two turrets were mounted fore and aft on the centreline, identified as 'A' and 'X' respectively. Two wing turrets were mounted amidships en echelon between the funnels, identified as 'P' and 'Q'. 'P' turret was mounted on the port side and normally faced forward, 'Q' turret was mounted on the starboard side and normally faced aft (rearwards). 'P' and 'Q' turrets were staggered—'P' was forward of 'Q', enabling 'P' to fire in a 70° arc to the starboard side and 'Q' to likewise fire towards the port side. These were the same guns as those mounted in , the and s.
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...
. They fired 850 pounds (385.6 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 2725 ft/s (830.6 m/s); at 13.5°, this provided a maximum range of 16450 m (17,989.9 yd) 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...
2 crh shells. At 16° elevation, the range was extended to 20435 yd (18,685.8 m) using the more aerodynamic, but slightly heavier 4 crh AP shells. The rate of fire of these guns was 1–2 rounds per minute. The ships carried a total of 880 rounds during wartime for 110 shells per gun.
The secondary armament consisted of sixteen 4 in (10 cm) 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. All of the 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 refits in 1914 and 1915 to better protect the gun crews from weather and enemy action, although two guns were removed at the same time. The guns on their PII* mounts had a maximum depression of 7° and a maximum elevation of 15°. They fired 31 pounds (14.1 kg) projectiles at a muzzle velocity of 2864 ft/s (872.9 m/s); this gave a maximum range of 11600 yd (10,607 m). Their rate of fire was 6–8 rounds per minute. They were provided with 100 rounds per gun.
An additional 4-inch gun was fitted in the surviving ships during 1917 as an 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. It was mounted on a Mark II high-angle mounting with a maximum elevation of 60°. It had a reduced propellant charge with a muzzle velocity of only 2864 ft/s (872.9 m/s). Earlier anti-aircraft guns included a single QF 3 inches (76.2 mm) 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...
AA gun on a high-angle Mark II mount that was added during refits in 1914–15. This had a maximum depression of 10° and a maximum elevation of 90°. It fired a 12.5 pounds (5.7 kg) shell at a muzzle velocity of 2500 ft/s (762 m/s) at a rate of fire of 12–14 rounds per minute. They had a maximum effective ceiling of 23500 ft (7,162.8 m). It was provided with 500 rounds. New Zealand carried a single QF 6 pounder Hotchkiss
QF 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 :...
AA gun on a HA MkIc mounting from October 1914 to the end of 1915. This had a maximum depression of 8° and a maximum elevation of 60°. It fired a 6 pounds (2.7 kg) shell at a muzzle velocity of 1765 ft/s (538 m/s) at a rate of fire of 20 rounds per minute. It had a maximum ceiling of 10000 ft (3,048 m), but an effective range of only 1200 yards (1,097.3 m).
They mounted two 17.7-inch (450-mm)
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, for which twelve torpedoes were carried.
Fire control
Top (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...
, at the head of the tripod fore and main masts controlled the fire of the Indefatigables main guns. Data from a 9 feet (2.7 m) Barr and Stroud 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...
was input into a 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...
mechanical computer and electrically transmitted to Vickers range clock
Vickers range clock
The Vickers Range Clock was a clockwork device used by the Royal Navy for continuously calculating the range to an enemy ship.In 1903, Percy Scott described a device he'd invented which was similar to the Vickers clock. In April 1904, Vickers worked with Scott and patented their device, samples of...
s located in the Transmitting Station (TS) located beneath each spotting top where it was converted into range and deflection data for use by the guns. The target's data was also graphically recorded on a plotting table to assist the gunnery officer in predicting the movement of the target. Each gun turret had its own transmission equipment and the turrets, Transmitting Stations, and spotting tops could be connected in almost any combination. Firing trials against in 1907 revealed this system's vulnerability to gunfire as the spotting top was hit twice and a large splinter severed the voice pipe
Speaking tube
A speaking tube or voicepipe is a device based on two cones connected by an air pipe through which speech can be transmitted over an extended distance. While its most common use was in intra-ship communications, the principle was also used in fine homes and offices of the 19th century, as well as...
and all wiring running along the mast. To guard against this possibility 'A' turret of Indefatigable was fitted with a 9 feet (2.7 m) rangefinder at the rear of the turret roof and it was equipped to control the entire main armament during a refit between 1911 and 1914.
Australia and New Zealand were built with a different arrangement. The spotting top on the main mast was deleted and an armoured spotting tower was built instead into 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....
where it was better protected, had an improved field of vision and direct access to the primary conning position. The rear Transmitting Station was also deleted and the forward TS was consequently enlarged. Their 'A' turrets were built with the improvements listed above.
Fire control technology advanced quickly during the years immediately preceding World War I and the development of the Dreyer Fire Control Table was one such advance. It combined the functions of the Dumaresq and the range clock and a simplified version, the Mk I, was fitted to the Indefatigables during refits in 1915–16. The more important development was the director firing system. This consisted of a fire-control director mounted high in the ship which electrically transmitted training and elevation angles to the gun turrets via pointers, which the turret crewmen had only to follow. The director layer's trigger fired the guns simultaneously which aided in spotting the shell splashes and minimized the effects of the roll on the dispersion of the shells. A gun within the 'Y' turret was also equipped with transmitters so that, as a backup, it could function as a "directing gun", but there was no provision for the gun battery to be split between the main director and this directing gun. The Indefatigables received their director equipment between mid-1915 and May 1916.
Armour
In some ways the armour protection given to the Indefatigables was weaker than that of their predecessors as the armour was reduced in thickness in a number of places, but it was spread out to a greater extent. The main belt ran from stem to stern; it was 6 inches (152 mm) thick for the middle 298 feet (91 m) of the ship, but was reduced to 4 inches (102 mm) abreast the end 12-inch gun barbettes and magazinesMagazine (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 thinned still further to 2.5 inches (64 mm) at the ends of the ship. A 4.5 inches (114 mm) 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:...
met the barbette of X turret while the forward bulkhead was 3–4 in (76.2–101.6 mm) in thickness. The gun turrets and barbettes were protected by 7 in (178 mm) of armour, except for the turret roofs which used 3 in (76 mm) of Krupp non-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...
(KNC). The supporting beams for the turret roofs were reinforced over those of the Invincibles based on lessons learned in firing trials conducted during 1907. The thickness of the main deck
Deck (ship)
A deck is a permanent covering over a compartment or a hull of a ship. On a boat or ship, the primary deck is the horizontal structure which forms the 'roof' for the hull, which both strengthens the hull and serves as the primary working surface...
was generally 1 in (25 mm) of nickel steel, but increased to 2 inches (51 mm) around the base of the barbettes. The lower deck armour of nickel steel was 1.5 in (38 mm) on the flat and 2 inches thick on the slope, but increased to two inches at the ship's ends. The sides of the forward conning tower were 10 in (254 mm) thick while the spotting tower had four inches. The roof and floor of both towers were KNC armour 3 inches thick while the conning tower's communication tube was four inches of KNC. The torpedo director tower 1 inch of nickel steel all around. Nickel 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 of 2.5-inch thickness were fitted abreast the magazines and shell rooms. The funnel uptakes were protected with 1.5 inches of nickel steel on the sides and 1 inch on the ends. Krupp cemented armour
Krupp cemented armour
Krupp Cemented Armour is a further evolved variant of Krupp Armour, developed during the early years of the 20th Century. The process is largely the same with slight changes in the alloy composition: in % of total – carbon 0.35, nickel 3.90, chromium 2.00, manganese .35, silicon .07, phosphorus...
was used throughout, unless otherwise mentioned.
Australia and New Zealand were built with a different arrangement. The waterline belt did not extend to the ends, but terminated 60 feet (18.3 m) short of the bow and 55 feet (16.8 m) short of the stern. The sections abreast the barbettes were thickened to 5 inches (127 mm) and the sections at each end were increased to four inches. The main deck armour was increased to 2.5 inches around the barbettes and was extended 55 feet past the rear barbette. The lower deck armour was decreased from 1.5–2 inches to one inch, both on the flat and slope, except at the ends where it was thickened to 2.5 inches. After Jutland one inch of armour was added to the magazine crowns and the turret roofs with a total weight of 110 long tons (112 MT)
Construction
The following table gives the build details and purchase cost of the members of the Indefatigable class. Whilst standard British practice at that time was for these costs to exclude armament and stores, for some reason the cost quoted in The Naval AnnualBrassey's Naval Annual
The Naval Annual was a book that sought to bring together a large amount of information on naval subjects, which had hitherto been obtainable only by consulting numerous publications and chiefly from foreign sources...
for Indefatigable includes the armament.
| Ship | Builder | Engine builder |
Laid down | Launched | Completed | Cost according to | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| BNA Brassey's Naval Annual The Naval Annual was a book that sought to bring together a large amount of information on naval subjects, which had hitherto been obtainable only by consulting numerous publications and chiefly from foreign sources... (1914) |
Parkes | Gillett | ||||||
| Devonport Dockyard 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... |
John Brown, Parsons turbines | 23 February 1909 | 28 October 1909 | 24 February 1911 | £1,536,769* | £1,547,500 guns £94,200 |
not stated | |
| Fairfield Fairfield Shipbuilding and Engineering Company The Fairfield Shipbuilding and Engineering Company, Limited was a British shipbuilding company in the Govan area on the Clyde in Glasgow. Fairfields, as it is often known, was a major warship builder, turning out many vessels for the Royal Navy and other navies through the First World War and the... , Govan Govan Govan is a district and former burgh now part of southwest City of Glasgow, Scotland. It is situated west of Glasgow city centre, on the south bank of the River Clyde, opposite the mouth of the River Kelvin and the district of Partick.... |
Fairfield, Parsons turbines | 20 June 1910 | 1 July 1911 | November 1912 | not stated | £1,684,990 guns £94,200 |
not stated | |
| John Brown, 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... |
John Brown, Parsons turbines | 23 June 1910 | 25 October 1911 | 21 June 1913 | not stated | not stated | £2,000,000 | |
In service
Indefatigable was initially assigned to the 1st Cruiser Squadron of the Home Fleet upon her commissioning in 1911. She was transferred to the 2nd Battlecruiser Squadron in the Mediterranean Fleet in December 1913. New Zealand was only briefly assigned to the Home Fleet before she sailed for New ZealandNew 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...
in February 1912. She returned to Portsmouth the following December and was assigned again to the Home Fleet. She made a number of port visits to France and Russia before the war began. Australia set sail for Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
almost immediately after she was commissioned in June 1913 to assume her duties as the first flagship of the Royal Australian Navy.
Pursuit of Goeben and Breslau
Indefatigable, accompanied by , under the command of AdmiralAdmiral
Admiral is the rank, or part of the name of the ranks, of the highest naval officers. It is usually considered a full admiral and above vice admiral and below admiral of the fleet . It is usually abbreviated to "Adm" or "ADM"...
Sir Archibald Berkeley Milne
Archibald Berkeley Milne
Admiral Sir Berkeley Milne, 2nd Baronet GCVO KCB was a senior Royal Navy officer who commanded the Mediterranean Fleet at the outbreak of the First World War.- Naval career :...
, encountered the German battlecruiser Goeben and the light cruiser Breslau on the morning of 4 August 1914 headed east after a cursory bombardment of the French Algerian port of Philippeville, but Britain and Germany were not yet at war so Milne turned to shadow the Germans as they headed back to Messina to recoal. All three battlecruisers had problems with their boilers, but Goeben and Breslau were able to break contact and reached Messina by the morning of the 5th. By this time war had been declared, after the German invasion of Belgium, but an Admiralty order to respect Italian neutrality and stay outside a six-mile (10 km) limit from the Italian coast precluded entrance into the passage of the Strait of Messina
Strait of Messina
The Strait of Messina is the narrow passage between the eastern tip of Sicily and the southern tip of Calabria in the south of Italy. It connects the Tyrrhenian Sea with the Ionian Sea, within the central Mediterranean...
where they could observe the port directly. Therefore Milne stationed and Indefatigable at the northern exit of the Straits of Messina, still expecting the Germans to break out to the west where they could attack French troop transports, the light cruiser at the southern exit and sent Indomitable to recoal at Bizerte
Bizerte
Bizerte or Benzert , is the capital city of Bizerte Governorate in Tunisia and the northernmost city in Africa. It has a population of 230,879 .-History:...
where she was better positioned to react to a German sortie into the Western Mediterranean.
The Germans sortie
Sortie
Sortie is a term for deployment or dispatch of one military unit, be it an aircraft, ship, or troops from a strongpoint. The sortie, whether by one or more aircraft or vessels, usually has a specific mission....
d from Messina on 6 August and headed east, towards Constantinople
Constantinople
Constantinople was the capital of the Roman, Eastern Roman, Byzantine, Latin, and Ottoman Empires. Throughout most of the Middle Ages, Constantinople was Europe's largest and wealthiest city.-Names:...
, trailed by Gloucester. Milne, still expecting Rear Admiral
Rear Admiral
Rear admiral is a naval commissioned officer rank above that of a commodore and captain, and below that of a vice admiral. It is generally regarded as the lowest of the "admiral" ranks, which are also sometimes referred to as "flag officers" or "flag ranks"...
Wilhelm Souchon
Wilhelm Souchon
Wilhelm Anton Souchon was a German and Ottoman admiral in World War I who commanded the Kaiserliche Marine's Mediterranean squadron in the early days of the war...
to turn west, kept the battlecruisers at Malta until shortly after midnight on 8 August when he set sail for Cape Matapan
Cape Matapan
Cape Tainaron , also known as Cape Matapan , is situated at the end of the Mani, Laconia, Greece. Cape Matapan is the southernmost point of mainland Greece. It separates the Messenian Gulf in the west from the Laconian Gulf in the east.-History:...
, where Goeben had been spotted eight hours earlier, at a leisurely 12 knots (24 km/h). At 2:30 p.m. he received an incorrect signal from the Admiralty stating that Britain was at war with Austria — war would not be declared until 12 August and the order was countermanded four hours later, but Milne followed his standing orders to guard the Adriatic against an Austrian breakout attempt, rather than seek Goeben. Finally on 9 August Milne was given clear orders to "chase Goeben which had passed Cape Matapan on the 7th steering north-east." Milne still did not believe that Souchon was heading for the Dardanelles, and so he resolved to guard the exit from the Aegean
Aegean Sea
The Aegean Sea[p] is an elongated embayment of the Mediterranean Sea located between the southern Balkan and Anatolian peninsulas, i.e., between the mainlands of Greece and Turkey. In the north, it is connected to the Marmara Sea and Black Sea by the Dardanelles and Bosporus...
, unaware that the Goeben did not intend to come out.
On 3 November 1914, Churchill
Winston Churchill
Sir Winston Leonard Spencer-Churchill, was a predominantly Conservative British politician and statesman known for his leadership of the United Kingdom during the Second World War. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest wartime leaders of the century and served as Prime Minister twice...
ordered the first British attack on the Dardanelles following the opening of hostilities between Turkey and Russia. The attack was carried out by Indomitable and Indefatigable, as well as the French pre-dreadnought battleships Suffren
French battleship Suffren
Suffren was a pre-dreadnought battleship of the French Navy, launched in July 1899. She was named after French Vice Admiral Pierre André de Suffren de Saint Tropez. The ship was originally intended to be a modified version of the design with more firepower and better armour...
and Vérité
French battleship Vérité (1907)
The Vérité was a pre-dreadnought battleship of the French Navy.After her trails in June 1908, Vérité departed in 18 August, ferrying President Armand Fallières bound for officials visits to Denmark, Sweden, Russia and Norway....
. The intention of the attack was to test the fortifications and measure the Turkish response. The results were deceptively encouraging. In a twenty minute bombardment, a single shell struck the magazine of the fort at Sedd el Bahr
Sedd el Bahr
Sedd el Bahr is a village at Cape Helles on the Gallipoli peninsula in Turkey. The village lies east of the cape, on the shore of the Dardanelles...
at the tip of the Gallipoli peninsula, displacing (but not destroying) 10 guns and killing 86 Turkish soldiers. The most significant consequence was that the attention of the Turks was drawn to strengthening their defences, and they set about expanding the mine field. This attack actually took place before a formal declaration of war
Declaration of war
A declaration of war is a formal act by which one nation goes to war against another. The declaration is a performative speech act by an authorized party of a national government in order to create a state of war between two or more states.The legality of who is competent to declare war varies...
had been made by Britain against the Ottoman Empire
Ottoman Empire
The Ottoman EmpireIt was usually referred to as the "Ottoman Empire", the "Turkish Empire", the "Ottoman Caliphate" or more commonly "Turkey" by its contemporaries...
which did not happen until 6 November. Indefatigable was remained in the Mediterranean until she was relieved by Inflexible on 24 January 1915 and proceeded to Malta to refit. Having completed her refit she sailed to England on 14 February where she joined 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:...
(BCS) upon her arrival.
HMAS Australia in the Pacific
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...
, the only Central Powers
Central Powers
The Central Powers were one of the two warring factions in World War I , composed of the German Empire, the Austro-Hungarian Empire, the Ottoman Empire, and the Kingdom of Bulgaria...
naval force in the Pacific. During this hunt, she was attached to the Australian Naval and Military Expeditionary Force
Australian Naval and Military Expeditionary Force
The Australian Naval and Military Expeditionary Force was a small volunteer force of approximately 2,000 men, raised in Australia shortly after the outbreak of the First World War to seize and destroy German wireless stations in German New Guinea in the south-west Pacific...
and provided support during the Force's invasion of Rabaul
Rabaul
Rabaul is a township in East New Britain province, Papua New Guinea. The town was the provincial capital and most important settlement in the province until it was destroyed in 1994 by falling ash of a volcanic eruption. During the eruption, ash was sent thousands of metres into the air and the...
, in case the German squadron was present. The squadron's commander, Vice Admiral Maximilian von Spee
Maximilian von Spee
Vice Admiral Maximilian Reichsgraf von Spee was a German admiral. Although he was born in Copenhagen, Denmark, the counts von Spee belonged to the prominent families of the Rhenish nobility. He joined the Kaiserliche Marine in 1878. In 1887–88 he commanded the Kamerun ports, in German West...
, was wary of Australia, which he described as being superior to his squadron.
Following von Spee's withdrawal from the Pacific, Australia was belatedly ordered on 8 November 1914 to join with several Japanese cruisers off Mexico to resume the hunt for the German cruisers. By this time, the German squadron had made its way to the South Atlantic, and in early December was destroyed by a British squadron in the Battle of the Falkland Islands
Battle of the Falkland Islands
The Battle of the Falkland Islands was a British naval victory over the Imperial German Navy on 8 December 1914 during the First World War in the South Atlantic...
. Australia was sent to join 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:...
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....
, Scotland, and was made flagship of the squadron after a short refit.
Battle of Heligoland Bight
New Zealands first action was 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...
during the Battle of Heligoland Bight operation on 28 August 1914. Beatty's ships had originally been intended as distant support of 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. They turned south at full speed at 11:35 AM when the British light forces failed to disengage on schedule and 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 PM. Strassburg was able to duck into the mists and evade fire, but Köln remained visible and was quickly crippled by fire from the squadron. But Beatty was distracted from the task of finishing her off by the sudden appearance of the elderly light cruiser directly to his front. He turned in pursuit, but reduced her to a flaming hulk in only three salvos at a range under 6000 yards (5.5 km). At 1:10 PM Beatty turned north and made a general signal to retire. Shortly after turning north, Beatty's main body encountered the crippled Köln and she was sunk by two salvos from .
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 NavyRoyal 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...
and destroy elements of it in detail. An earlier Raid on Yarmouth
Raid 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 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 actually conduct the bombardment while the entire High Seas Fleet was to station 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...
to provide cover for their return and to destroy any elements of the Royal Navy that responded to the raid. But what the Germans did not know was that the British were reading the German naval codes and were planning to catch the raiding force on its return journey, although they were not aware that the High Seas Fleet would be at sea as well. Admiral Beatty's 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...
, now reduced to four ships, including New Zealand, as well as the 2nd Battle Squadron with six dreadnoughts, was detached from the Grand Fleet in an attempt to intercept the Germans near Dogger Bank.
Admiral Hipper set sail on 15 December 1914 for another such 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 and fought an inconclusive action with them. Vice Admiral Sir George Warrender, commanding the 2nd Battle Squadron, had received a signal at 5:40 that was engaging enemy destroyers although Beatty had not. The destroyer spotted the German armoured cruiser and her escorts at about 7:00, but could not transmit the message until 7:25. Admiral Warrender received the signal, as did New Zealand, but Beatty did not, despite the fact that New Zealand had been specifically tasked to relay messages between the destroyers and Beatty. Warrender attempted to pass on Shark's message to Beatty at 7:36, but did not manage to make contact until 7:55. Beatty reversed course when he got the message 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. Beatty ordered New Zealand to rejoin the squadron and turned west for Scarborough.
William Goodenough
Admiral Sir William Edmund Goodenough GCB, MVO was a senior Royal Navy officer of World War I.-Naval career:Goodenough joined the Royal Navy in 1882. He was appointed Commander of the Royal Naval College, Dartmouth in 1905...
squadron; however, s signalman misinterpreted the signal, thinking that it was intended for the whole squadron, and thus transmitted it to Goodenough, who ordered his ships back into their screening positions ahead of Beatty's battlecruisers. This confusion allowed the German light cruisers to escape, and alerted Hipper to the location of the British battlecruisers. The German battlecruisers wheeled to the northeast of the British forces and made good their escape.
Battle of Dogger Bank
On 23 January 1915, a force of German battlecruisers under the command of Admiral Franz von 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. But 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, which included New Zealand. Contact was initiated at 7:20 AM 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 kn (24.4 mph; 39.2 km/h), believing that this would suffice if the ships that he saw to his northwest were British battleships and that he could always increased speed to 's maximum speed of 23 kn (28 mph; 45.1 km/h) if they were British battlecruisers.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, but New Zealand was able to open fire on Blücher by 9:35. She continued to engage Blücher after the other, faster, 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 her armoured deck and exploded in an ammunition room at 10:35. This started a fire amidships that destroyed her two port 21 cm (8.3 in) turrets and the concussion damaged her engines so that her speed had dropped to 17 kn (20.7 mph; 33.3 km/h) and her steering gear jammed. At 10:48 Beatty ordered Indomitable to attack her. But due to a combination of a mistake by Beatty's flag lieutenant in signalling 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 so that Beatty could not communicate with his ships that caused the rest of the 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. So 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 PM after being torpedoed.
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 as 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,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. but Beatty's ships did not spot the Germans to their east until 2:30. Almost immediately afterwards, at 3:32, 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 far too 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 as 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 aimed at 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. Around 4:00 Indefatigable was hit by two or three shells from Von der Tann around the rear turret and almost immediately fell off to starboard and was down by the stern and listing to port. She was hit twice more on the next volley, once on forecastle and on the forward turret, and blew up at about 4:03 when her magazines exploded. The most likely cause of her loss was a low-order explosion in 'X' magazine that blew out her bottom and severed the control shafts between the steering engines and the steering gear, followed by the explosion of her forward magazines from the second volley. Von der Tann only fired 52 28 cm (11 in) shells at Indefatigable before she exploded, taking 1017 men with her. Only two survivors were rescued by the German torpedo boat .
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. During the entire 'Run to the South' she was hit only once, in 'Y' turret by a 28 cm shell with little effect.
New Zealand was engaged by the battleship beginning at 5:08 during what came to be called the 'Run to the North', but she was not hit, although she was straddled several times. Beatty's ships maintained full speed to try and put some separation between them and the High Seas Fleet and gradually moved out of range. They turned north and then northeast to try and 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 they could not make out the British ships and 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 maneuvre 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 in 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'd 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 only were able to fire a few rounds at them due to 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.
Post-Jutland careers
Australia rejoined the 2nd BCS on 9 June 1916 as the squadron flagship, but there was little significant naval activity for the Indefatigables, other than routine patrolling, thanks to the Kaiser's order that his ships should not be allowed to go to sea unless assured of victory. Australia collided with on 12 December 1917 and was under repair through the following month. She was present at the internment of the High Seas fleet at Scapa FlowScapa Flow
right|thumb|Scapa Flow viewed from its eastern endScapa Flow is a body of water in the Orkney Islands, Scotland, United Kingdom, sheltered by the islands of Mainland, Graemsay, Burray, South Ronaldsay and Hoy. It is about...
on 21 November 1918. New Zealand was refitted between December 1918 and February 1919 for Admiral 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...
's year-long tour of India and the Dominions and she was paid off upon her return on 15 March 1920 into reserve. She was sold for scrap on 19 December 1922. Australia sailed for Australia on 23 April 1921 and became flagship of the Royal Australian Navy
Royal Australian Navy
The Royal Australian Navy is the naval branch of the Australian Defence Force. Following the Federation of Australia in 1901, the ships and resources of the separate colonial navies were integrated into a national force: the Commonwealth Naval Forces...
upon her arrival. Pursuant to the terms 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...
she was scuttled east of 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...
on 12 April 1924.
See also
- Invincible-class battlecruiserInvincible class battlecruiserThe three Invincible class battlecruisers were built for the Royal Navy and entered service in 1908 as the world's first battlecruisers. They were the brainchild of Admiral Sir John Fisher, the man who had sponsored the construction of the world's first "all big gun" warship,...
- Lion-class battlecruiserLion class battlecruiserThe Lion class were a class of battlecruisers built by the British Royal Navy before World War I. Nicknamed the "Splendid Cats", the ships were a significant improvement over their predecessors of the in terms of speed, armament and armour...
- List of battlecruisers of the Royal Navy
External links
- Dreadnought Project Technical material on the weaponry and fire control for the ships