Swiftsure class battleship
Encyclopedia
The Swiftsure class was a class of two British
pre-dreadnought
battleship
s. Originally ordered by Chile
, they were purchased by the United Kingdom
prior to completion.
and Argentina
were on the brink of war, and Chile was concerned about its navy's ability to counter the armoured cruisers Rivadavia and Moreno, which Argentina had ordered in Italy
earlier that year. Sir Edward Reed
was in Chile for health reasons at the time, and met with Chilean Navy
officials to discuss the idea of purchasing or building two battleships with high speed and a powerful armament on a low displacement. Purchase did not prove a practical option, so the Chileans asked Reed to design the ships for construction in the United Kingdom
. Chile ordered the ships, to be named Constitución and Libertad, on 26 February 1902, Constitución from Armstrong-Whitworth at Elswick
and Libertad from Vickers
at Barrow-in-Furness
.
The crisis with Argentina subsided, Argentina opted to put Rivadavia and Moreno up for sale and never took delivery of them, and Chilean financial problems arose, so Chile put Constitución and Libertad up for sale in early 1903; concerned that Russia
might buy them, the United Kingdom stepped in and purchased the still-incomplete ships from Chile on 3 December 1903 for £2,432,000.
Their purchase by the Admiralty
was organised by the London firm of Antony Gibbs and Sons, a partnership run by the Alban Gibbs
and his younger bother Vicary Gibbs
. Both were Members of Parliament
(MPs), and their role in the transaction meant that they were disqualified from the House of Commons, under an old law which debarred MPs from accepting contracts from the Crown
. This triggered two by-elections, in which Alban was re-elected unopposed
,
but Vicary lost his seat
.
Although they were designed to Chilean rather than British requirements and required some modifications during construction after their purchase, no major changes were needed. Both were completed in June 1904 and entered service with the Royal Navy, Constitución as Swiftsure
and Libertad as HMS Triumph
.
The ships were second-class battleships, lightly constructed, armed, and armoured by British standards; Swiftsure, in fact, suffered from structural weakness while in service and required hull strengthening, although Triumph did not have such problems. Chile had required the ships to fit into its graving dock at Talcahuano
, so they had to be longer and narrower for their displacement than ships built to British standards. They had a noticeably foreign appearance, with taller, narrower funnels than on other British battleships and a pair of heavy cranes amidships. Details in mast and anchor arrangements as well as the arrangement of magazines and shell-handling rooms also were different from British standards.
They were the first British battleships since the Centurion-class
ships Centurion
and Barfleur
to mount a main battery of 10 inch (254 mm) guns and the last to do so. The ships mounted slightly different types of 10 inch guns, with Swiftsure carrying guns made by her builder Armstrongs which received the designation Mark VI, and Triumph carried guns made by her builder Vickers which received the designation Mark VII. The ships followed the standard British practice of the time of mounting the main battery in two double turrets, one forward and one aft. The Royal Navy believed that the 10 inch guns were too light to be effective against modern battleships—they could penetrate the armour of the latest German
and Russian battleships, but not that of the better-armoured French
battleships—but that they could be useful against foreign cruisers, although the ships were not fast enough to catch cruisers.
They had a powerful secondary battery, being the only British battleships to mount 7.5 inch (190.5 mm) guns; these were of a different type than the 7.5 inch guns mounted on later British cruisers. The ships were armed with slightly different models, with Swiftsures guns made by her builders Armstrong designated Mark III, and Triumphs guns made by her builder Vickers designated Mark IV. Ten of the 7.5 inch guns were mounted in a central battery on the main deck, where they were criticized for taking up too much deck space; the other four were in casemates abreast the fore- and mainmasts on the upper deck.
The ships mounted tertiary armament, for defence against torpedo boats, of 3 inch guns firing 14-pound shells ("14-pounders"). This was in theory a heavier battery than the 12-pounders of most British battleships, although in practice the 14-pounders proved no more effective than the 12-pounders. These were the only such guns in the Royal Navy, and they were issued with the same 12.5-pound shell as its standard 3 inch gun, the QF 12 pounder 12 cwt
.
battleships, but would not have stood up well against the main battery rounds of foreign first-class battleships. About the same percentage of their displacement was devoted to armour as in the Duncans, with much of its rearrangement from that of the Duncans having to do with most of the secondary guns being mounted in a central battery, rather than casemate
d as in the Duncans.
They received the latest in British boiler technology when built, and this made them the fastest British pre-dreadnought
s ever built, with Triumph making nearly 20.17 knots (37.4 km/h) and Swiftsure achieving 20.87 knots (38.65 km/h)on trials, although these were short sprints under ideal conditions. Operationally they averaged a top speed of 19 knots (37.2 km/h), slightly faster than the battleships of the Duncan class, and this still was enough to qualify them as the fastest pre-deadnoughts.
The Swiftsures were the last British battleships to enter service with bow crests. They also were the last to enter service equipped with ventilation cowls.
at the end of 1906 and the many dreadnought
battleships commissioned in succeeding years. They nonetheless had useful and eventful careers, playing an active role in British operations on foreign stations during the first half of the First World War
.
. They then served on foreign stations, Triumph participating in the hunt for the Pacific Squadron of Maximilian Graf von Spee and in Allied action against German forces in China
, and both ships seeing action in the Dardanelles Campaign
, where Triumph was lost. Swiftsure then served on the Atlantic Patrol before being decommissioned and scrapped.
HMS Swiftsure
HMS Swiftsure was laid down as the Chilean Constitución in 1902 and purchased from Chile
on 3 December 1903, being renamed Swiftsure on 7 December 1903. She served in the Home Fleet (1904), in the Channel Fleet
(1905–1908), in the Mediterranean Fleet
(1909–1912), in the Home Fleet again (1912–1913), and on the East Indies Station
(1913–1915), where her First World War service began. She served on the Suez Canal Patrol (1914–1915) and saw action in the Dardanelles Campaign
(1915–1916). She served in the Atlantic
(1916–1917), then went into reserve, and was sold for scrapping in 1920.
HMS Triumph
HMS Triumph was laid down as the Chilean Libertad and purchased from Chile
on 3 December 1903, being renamed Triumph on 7 December 1903. She served in the Home Fleet (1904), in the Channel Fleet
(1905–1909), in the Mediterranean Fleet
(1909–1912), in the Home Fleet again (1912–1913), and the China Station
(1913–1914), where her First World War service began. She participated in the hunt for the German Navy
Pacific Squadron of Maximilian Graf von Spee and in the campaign against the German
colony at Tsingtao, China
(1914), then in the Dardanelles Campaign
(1915). She was torpedoed and sunk off Gaba Tepe by the German submarine
U-21
while bombarding the Dardanelles
on 25 May 1915.
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...
pre-dreadnought
Pre-dreadnought
Pre-dreadnought battleship is the general term for all of the types of sea-going battleships built between the mid-1890s and 1905. Pre-dreadnoughts replaced the ironclad warships of the 1870s and 1880s...
battleship
Battleship
A battleship is a large armored warship with a main battery consisting of heavy caliber guns. Battleships were larger, better armed and armored than cruisers and destroyers. As the largest armed ships in a fleet, battleships were used to attain command of the sea and represented the apex of a...
s. Originally ordered by Chile
Chile
Chile ,officially the Republic of Chile , is a country in South America occupying a long, narrow coastal strip between the Andes mountains to the east and the Pacific Ocean to the west. It borders Peru to the north, Bolivia to the northeast, Argentina to the east, and the Drake Passage in the far...
, they were purchased by the United Kingdom
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...
prior to completion.
Background
In late 1901, ChileChile
Chile ,officially the Republic of Chile , is a country in South America occupying a long, narrow coastal strip between the Andes mountains to the east and the Pacific Ocean to the west. It borders Peru to the north, Bolivia to the northeast, Argentina to the east, and the Drake Passage in the far...
and Argentina
Argentina
Argentina , officially the Argentine Republic , is the second largest country in South America by land area, after Brazil. It is constituted as a federation of 23 provinces and an autonomous city, Buenos Aires...
were on the brink of war, and Chile was concerned about its navy's ability to counter the armoured cruisers Rivadavia and Moreno, which Argentina had ordered in Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
earlier that year. Sir Edward Reed
Edward James Reed
Sir Edward James Reed , KCB, FRS, was a British naval architect, author, politician, and railroad magnate. He was the Chief Constructor of the Royal Navy from 1863 until 1870...
was in Chile for health reasons at the time, and met with Chilean Navy
Chilean Navy
-Independence Wars of Chile and Peru :The Chilean Navy dates back to 1817. A year before, following the Battle of Chacabuco, General Bernardo O'Higgins prophetically declared "this victory and another hundred shall be of no significance if we do not gain control of the sea".This led to the...
officials to discuss the idea of purchasing or building two battleships with high speed and a powerful armament on a low displacement. Purchase did not prove a practical option, so the Chileans asked Reed to design the ships for construction in the United Kingdom
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...
. Chile ordered the ships, to be named Constitución and Libertad, on 26 February 1902, Constitución from Armstrong-Whitworth at Elswick
Elswick, Tyne and Wear
Elswick is a ward of the city of Newcastle upon Tyne, England, in the western part of the city, bordering the river Tyne. One of the earliest references to the coal mining industry of the north east occurs in 1330, when it was recorded that the Prior of Tynemouth let a colliery, called Heygrove, at...
and Libertad from Vickers
Vickers
Vickers was a famous name in British engineering that existed through many companies from 1828 until 1999.-Early history:Vickers was formed in Sheffield as a steel foundry by the miller Edward Vickers and his father-in-law George Naylor in 1828. Naylor was a partner in the foundry Naylor &...
at Barrow-in-Furness
Barrow-in-Furness
Barrow-in-Furness is an industrial town and seaport which forms about half the territory of the wider Borough of Barrow-in-Furness in the county of Cumbria, England. It lies north of Liverpool, northwest of Manchester and southwest from the county town of Carlisle...
.
The crisis with Argentina subsided, Argentina opted to put Rivadavia and Moreno up for sale and never took delivery of them, and Chilean financial problems arose, so Chile put Constitución and Libertad up for sale in early 1903; concerned that Russia
Russian Empire
The Russian Empire was a state that existed from 1721 until the Russian Revolution of 1917. It was the successor to the Tsardom of Russia and the predecessor of the Soviet Union...
might buy them, the United Kingdom stepped in and purchased the still-incomplete ships from Chile on 3 December 1903 for £2,432,000.
Their purchase by the Admiralty
Admiralty
The Admiralty was formerly the authority in the Kingdom of England, and later in the United Kingdom, responsible for the command of the Royal Navy...
was organised by the London firm of Antony Gibbs and Sons, a partnership run by the Alban Gibbs
Alban Gibbs, 2nd Baron Aldenham
Alban George Henry Gibbs, MA, FSA, MP, 2nd Baron Aldenham was a British Conservative Party politician and peer, the son of Henry Hucks Gibbs, 1st Baron Aldenham....
and his younger bother Vicary Gibbs
Vicary Gibbs (MP)
The Hon. Vicary Gibbs was a British barrister, merchant and Conservative Party politician. He sat in the House of Commons from 1892 to 1904.- Early life and family :Gibbs came from an old Devon family....
. Both were Members of Parliament
Member of Parliament
A Member of Parliament is a representative of the voters to a :parliament. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, the term applies specifically to members of the lower house, as upper houses often have a different title, such as senate, and thus also have different titles for its members,...
(MPs), and their role in the transaction meant that they were disqualified from the House of Commons, under an old law which debarred MPs from accepting contracts from the Crown
The Crown
The Crown is a corporation sole that in the Commonwealth realms and any provincial or state sub-divisions thereof represents the legal embodiment of governance, whether executive, legislative, or judicial...
. This triggered two by-elections, in which Alban was re-elected unopposed
City of London by-election, 1904
The City of London by-election, 1904 was a parliamentary by-election held in England on 9 February 1904 for the House of Commons constituency of City of London....
,
but Vicary lost his seat
St Albans by-election, 1904
The St Albans by-election of 1904 was a parliamentary by-election held in England in February 1904 for the House of Commons. It elected a new Member of Parliament for the constituency of St Albans, a county division of Hertfordshire....
.
HMS Swiftsure (1903)
HMS Swiftsure was the lead ship of the Swiftsure class of British predreadnought battleships.-Technical Characteristics:HMS Swiftsure was ordered by Chile as Constitución and laid down by Armstrong Whitworth at Elswick...
and Libertad as HMS Triumph
HMS Triumph (1903)
HMS Triumph was a Swiftsure class pre-dreadnought battleship of the Royal Navy.-Technical characteristics:HMS Triumph was ordered by Chile as Libertad, laid down by Vickers at Barrow-in-Furness on 26 February 1902, and launched on 12 January 1903...
.
The ships were second-class battleships, lightly constructed, armed, and armoured by British standards; Swiftsure, in fact, suffered from structural weakness while in service and required hull strengthening, although Triumph did not have such problems. Chile had required the ships to fit into its graving dock at Talcahuano
Talcahuano
Talcahuano is a port city and commune in the Biobío Region of Chile. It is part of the Greater Concepción conurbation. Talcahuano is located in the south of the Central Zone of Chile.-Geography:...
, so they had to be longer and narrower for their displacement than ships built to British standards. They had a noticeably foreign appearance, with taller, narrower funnels than on other British battleships and a pair of heavy cranes amidships. Details in mast and anchor arrangements as well as the arrangement of magazines and shell-handling rooms also were different from British standards.
Armament
Neither ships' armament was of a standard Royal Navy type—they had all been specified to meet the requirements of the Chilean Navy.They were the first British battleships since the Centurion-class
Centurion class battleship
The Centurion class battleships were second-class pre-dreadnought battleships of the Royal Navy designed for service on distant stations.-Description:...
ships Centurion
HMS Centurion (1892)
HMS Centurion was a predreadnought second-class battleship of the Royal Navy. She was part of the three-ship Centurion class, designed for long-range patrolling of the United Kingdom's far-flung empire.-Technical characteristics:...
and Barfleur
HMS Barfleur (1892)
HMS Barfleur was a predreadnought second-class battleship of the Royal Navy. She was part of the three-ship Centurion class, designed for long-range patrolling of the United Kingdom's far-flung empire. She mainly saw service in the Mediterranean and Home Fleet, along with Service at China Station,...
to mount a main battery of 10 inch (254 mm) guns and the last to do so. The ships mounted slightly different types of 10 inch guns, with Swiftsure carrying guns made by her builder Armstrongs which received the designation Mark VI, and Triumph carried guns made by her builder Vickers which received the designation Mark VII. The ships followed the standard British practice of the time of mounting the main battery in two double turrets, one forward and one aft. The Royal Navy believed that the 10 inch guns were too light to be effective against modern battleships—they could penetrate the armour of the latest German
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
and Russian battleships, but not that of the better-armoured French
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
battleships—but that they could be useful against foreign cruisers, although the ships were not fast enough to catch cruisers.
They had a powerful secondary battery, being the only British battleships to mount 7.5 inch (190.5 mm) guns; these were of a different type than the 7.5 inch guns mounted on later British cruisers. The ships were armed with slightly different models, with Swiftsures guns made by her builders Armstrong designated Mark III, and Triumphs guns made by her builder Vickers designated Mark IV. Ten of the 7.5 inch guns were mounted in a central battery on the main deck, where they were criticized for taking up too much deck space; the other four were in casemates abreast the fore- and mainmasts on the upper deck.
The ships mounted tertiary armament, for defence against torpedo boats, of 3 inch guns firing 14-pound shells ("14-pounders"). This was in theory a heavier battery than the 12-pounders of most British battleships, although in practice the 14-pounders proved no more effective than the 12-pounders. These were the only such guns in the Royal Navy, and they were issued with the same 12.5-pound shell as its standard 3 inch gun, the QF 12 pounder 12 cwt
QF 12 pounder 12 cwt naval gun
The QF 12 pounder 12 cwt gun was a common calibre naval gun introduced in 1894 and used until the middle of the 20th century. It was produced by Armstrong Whitworth, Elswick and used on Royal Navy warships, and exported to allied countries...
.
Armour
The armour of the Swiftsures compared favourably with that of the Duncan-classDuncan class battleship
The Duncan class was a class of pre-dreadnought battleships built for the Royal Navy. From 1889, Britain's “rank as a first-class power was bound up with its Mediterranean position” and these lightly armoured fast ships were intended to help meet combined Russian and French threats. Their period of...
battleships, but would not have stood up well against the main battery rounds of foreign first-class battleships. About the same percentage of their displacement was devoted to armour as in the Duncans, with much of its rearrangement from that of the Duncans having to do with most of the secondary guns being mounted in a central battery, rather than 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:...
d as in the Duncans.
Seakeeping
The Swiftsures had balanced rudders and an improved hull form, making them quite manoeuvrable.They received the latest in British boiler technology when built, and this made them the fastest British pre-dreadnought
Pre-dreadnought
Pre-dreadnought battleship is the general term for all of the types of sea-going battleships built between the mid-1890s and 1905. Pre-dreadnoughts replaced the ironclad warships of the 1870s and 1880s...
s ever built, with Triumph making nearly 20.17 knots (37.4 km/h) and Swiftsure achieving 20.87 knots (38.65 km/h)on trials, although these were short sprints under ideal conditions. Operationally they averaged a top speed of 19 knots (37.2 km/h), slightly faster than the battleships of the Duncan class, and this still was enough to qualify them as the fastest pre-deadnoughts.
The Swiftsures were the last British battleships to enter service with bow crests. They also were the last to enter service equipped with ventilation cowls.
Summary
Purchased solely to deny their acquisition by other navies, Swiftsure and Triumph met no outstanding Royal Navy requirement when purchased, did not match British standards in many ways, required the manufacturing of their own, special 10 inch (254 mm) ammunition, and were problematic for the British to employ, being too weakly armed and protected to face modern enemy battleships and too slow to catch enemy cruisers. Like all pre-dreadoughts, they were made obsolete by the completion of the revolutionary new battleship HMS DreadnoughtHMS Dreadnought (1906)
HMS Dreadnought was a battleship of the British Royal Navy that revolutionised naval power. Her entry into service in 1906 represented such a marked advance in naval technology that her name came to be associated with an entire generation of battleships, the "dreadnoughts", as well as the class of...
at the end of 1906 and the many dreadnought
Dreadnought
The dreadnought was the predominant type of 20th-century battleship. The first of the kind, the Royal Navy's had such an impact when launched in 1906 that similar battleships built after her were referred to as "dreadnoughts", and earlier battleships became known as pre-dreadnoughts...
battleships commissioned in succeeding years. They nonetheless had useful and eventful careers, playing an active role in British operations on foreign stations during the first half of the First World War
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
.
Operational history
Both ships spent their early years in home waters before seeing service in the MediterraneanMediterranean Sea
The Mediterranean Sea is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean surrounded by the Mediterranean region and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Anatolia and Europe, on the south by North Africa, and on the east by the Levant...
. They then served on foreign stations, Triumph participating in the hunt for the Pacific Squadron of Maximilian Graf von Spee and in Allied action against German forces in China
China
Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...
, and both ships seeing action in the Dardanelles Campaign
Naval operations in the Dardanelles Campaign
The naval operations in the Dardanelles Campaign of the First World War were mainly carried out by the Royal Navy with substantial support from the French and minor contributions from Russia and Australia. The Dardanelles Campaign began as a purely naval operation...
, where Triumph was lost. Swiftsure then served on the Atlantic Patrol before being decommissioned and scrapped.
HMS SwiftsureHMS Swiftsure (1903)HMS Swiftsure was the lead ship of the Swiftsure class of British predreadnought battleships.-Technical Characteristics:HMS Swiftsure was ordered by Chile as Constitución and laid down by Armstrong Whitworth at Elswick...
HMS Swiftsure was laid down as the Chilean Constitución in 1902 and purchased from ChileChile
Chile ,officially the Republic of Chile , is a country in South America occupying a long, narrow coastal strip between the Andes mountains to the east and the Pacific Ocean to the west. It borders Peru to the north, Bolivia to the northeast, Argentina to the east, and the Drake Passage in the far...
on 3 December 1903, being renamed Swiftsure on 7 December 1903. She served in the Home Fleet (1904), in the Channel Fleet
Channel Fleet
The Channel Fleet was the Royal Navy formation of warships that defended the waters of the English Channel from 1690 to 1909.-History:The Channel Fleet dates back at least to 1690 when its role was to defend England against the French threat under the leadership of Edward Russell, 1st Earl of...
(1905–1908), in the Mediterranean Fleet
Mediterranean Fleet
Several countries have or have had a Mediterranean Fleet in their navy. See:* Mediterranean Fleet * French Mediterranean Fleet* Mediterranean Squadron * United States Sixth Fleet...
(1909–1912), in the Home Fleet again (1912–1913), and on the East Indies Station
East Indies Station
The East Indies Station was a formation of the British Royal Navy from 1865 to 1941.From 1831 to 1865 the East Indies and the China Station were a single command known as the East Indies and China Station...
(1913–1915), where her First World War service began. She served on the Suez Canal Patrol (1914–1915) and saw action in the Dardanelles Campaign
Naval operations in the Dardanelles Campaign
The naval operations in the Dardanelles Campaign of the First World War were mainly carried out by the Royal Navy with substantial support from the French and minor contributions from Russia and Australia. The Dardanelles Campaign began as a purely naval operation...
(1915–1916). She served in the Atlantic
Atlantic Ocean
The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's oceanic divisions. With a total area of about , it covers approximately 20% of the Earth's surface and about 26% of its water surface area...
(1916–1917), then went into reserve, and was sold for scrapping in 1920.
HMS TriumphHMS Triumph (1903)HMS Triumph was a Swiftsure class pre-dreadnought battleship of the Royal Navy.-Technical characteristics:HMS Triumph was ordered by Chile as Libertad, laid down by Vickers at Barrow-in-Furness on 26 February 1902, and launched on 12 January 1903...
HMS Triumph was laid down as the Chilean Libertad and purchased from ChileChile
Chile ,officially the Republic of Chile , is a country in South America occupying a long, narrow coastal strip between the Andes mountains to the east and the Pacific Ocean to the west. It borders Peru to the north, Bolivia to the northeast, Argentina to the east, and the Drake Passage in the far...
on 3 December 1903, being renamed Triumph on 7 December 1903. She served in the Home Fleet (1904), in the Channel Fleet
Channel Fleet
The Channel Fleet was the Royal Navy formation of warships that defended the waters of the English Channel from 1690 to 1909.-History:The Channel Fleet dates back at least to 1690 when its role was to defend England against the French threat under the leadership of Edward Russell, 1st Earl of...
(1905–1909), in the Mediterranean Fleet
Mediterranean Fleet
Several countries have or have had a Mediterranean Fleet in their navy. See:* Mediterranean Fleet * French Mediterranean Fleet* Mediterranean Squadron * United States Sixth Fleet...
(1909–1912), in the Home Fleet again (1912–1913), and the China Station
China Station
The China Station was a historical formation of the British Royal Navy. It was formally the units and establishments responsible to the Commander-in-Chief, China....
(1913–1914), where her First World War service began. She participated in the hunt for the German Navy
German Navy
The German Navy is the navy of Germany and is part of the unified Bundeswehr .The German Navy traces its roots back to the Imperial Fleet of the revolutionary era of 1848 – 52 and more directly to the Prussian Navy, which later evolved into the Northern German Federal Navy...
Pacific Squadron of Maximilian Graf von Spee and in the campaign against the German
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
colony at Tsingtao, China
China
Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...
(1914), then in the Dardanelles Campaign
Naval operations in the Dardanelles Campaign
The naval operations in the Dardanelles Campaign of the First World War were mainly carried out by the Royal Navy with substantial support from the French and minor contributions from Russia and Australia. The Dardanelles Campaign began as a purely naval operation...
(1915). She was torpedoed and sunk off Gaba Tepe by the German submarine
Submarine
A submarine is a watercraft capable of independent operation below the surface of the water. It differs from a submersible, which has more limited underwater capability...
U-21
SM U-21 (Germany)
SM U-21 was one of the most famous U-boats to serve in the Imperial German Navy in World War I. She was the first submarine to sink a ship with a self-propelled torpedo. She also sank the British battleships HMS Triumph and HMS Majestic...
while bombarding the Dardanelles
Dardanelles
The Dardanelles , formerly known as the Hellespont, is a narrow strait in northwestern Turkey connecting the Aegean Sea to the Sea of Marmara. It is one of the Turkish Straits, along with its counterpart the Bosphorus. It is located at approximately...
on 25 May 1915.