HMS ''Repulse'' was one of seven ''Royal Sovereign''-class

pre-dreadnought battleship Pre-dreadnought battleships were sea-going battleships built between the mid- to late- 1880s and 1905, before the launch of in 1906. The pre-dreadnought ships replaced the ironclad battleships of the 1870s and 1880s. Built from steel, prot ...

s built for the

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by Kingdom of England, English and Kingdom of Scotland, Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were foug ...

in the 1890s. Assigned to the

Channel Fleet The Channel Fleet and originally known as the Channel Squadron was the Royal Navy formation of warships that defended the waters of the English Channel from 1854 to 1909 and 1914 to 1915. History Throughout the course of Royal Navy's history the ...

, where she often served as a

flagship A flagship is a vessel used by the commanding officer of a group of naval ships, characteristically a flag officer entitled by custom to fly a distinguishing flag. Used more loosely, it is the lead ship in a fleet of vessels, typically the f ...

, after commissioning in 1894, the ship participated in a series of annual manoeuvres, and the Queen Victoria's Diamond Jubilee

Fleet Review A fleet review or naval review is an event where a gathering of ships from a particular navy is paraded and reviewed by an incumbent head of state and/or other official civilian and military dignitaries. A number of national navies continue to ...

during the rest of the decade. ''Repulse'' was transferred to the

Mediterranean Fleet The British Mediterranean Fleet, also known as the Mediterranean Station, was a formation of the Royal Navy. The Fleet was one of the most prestigious commands in the navy for the majority of its history, defending the vital sea link between t ...

in 1902 and remained there until December 1903, when she returned home for an extensive refit. After its completion in 1905, ''Repulse'' was assigned to the

Reserve Fleet A reserve fleet is a collection of naval vessels of all types that are fully equipped for service but are not currently needed; they are partially or fully decommissioned. A reserve fleet is informally said to be "in mothballs" or "mothballed"; ...

until she was sold for

scrap Scrap consists of recyclable materials, usually metals, left over from product manufacturing and consumption, such as parts of vehicles, building supplies, and surplus materials. Unlike waste, scrap has monetary value, especially recovered m ...

in 1911.

Design and description

Royal Sovereign class diagrams Brasseys 1906

The design of the ''Royal Sovereign''-class ships was derived from that of the battleships, greatly enlarged to improve

seakeeping Seakeeping ability or seaworthiness is a measure of how well-suited a watercraft is to conditions when underway. A ship or boat which has good seakeeping ability is said to be very seaworthy and is able to operate effectively even in high sea stat ...

and to provide space for a

secondary armament Secondary armament is a term used to refer to smaller, faster-firing weapons that were typically effective at a shorter range than the main (heavy) weapons on military systems, including battleship- and cruiser-type warships, tanks/armored ...

as in the preceding battleships. The ships displaced at normal load and at

deep load The displacement or displacement tonnage of a ship is its weight. As the term indicates, it is measured indirectly, using Archimedes' principle, by first calculating the volume of water displaced by the ship, then converting that value into we ...

. They had a

length between perpendiculars Length between perpendiculars (often abbreviated as p/p, p.p., pp, LPP, LBP or Length BPP) is the length of a ship along the summer load line from the forward surface of the stem, or main bow perpendicular member, to the after surface of the stern ...

of and were long overall, a beam of , and a draught of .Chesneau & Kolesnik, p. 32 As a flagship, ''Repulse''s crew consisted of 670 officers and ratings in 1903.Burt, p. 73 ''Repulse'' was powered by a pair of three-cylinder, vertical

triple-expansion steam engine A compound steam engine unit is a type of steam engine where steam is expanded in two or more stages. A typical arrangement for a compound engine is that the steam is first expanded in a high-pressure ''(HP)'' cylinder, then having given up h ...

s, each driving one shaft. Her Humphrys & Tennant engines were designed to produce a total of and a maximum speed of using steam provided by eight cylindrical boilers with

forced draught The difference between atmospheric pressure and the pressure existing in the furnace or flue gas passage of a boiler A boiler is a closed vessel in which fluid (generally water) is heated. The fluid does not necessarily boil. The heated or va ...

. The ship reached a speed of during her

sea trials A sea trial is the testing phase of a watercraft (including boats, ships, and submarines). It is also referred to as a "shakedown cruise" by many naval personnel. It is usually the last phase of construction and takes place on open water, and ...

. The ''Royal Sovereign''-class ships carried a maximum of of coal which gave them a range of at a speed of . Their main armament consisted of four breech-loading (BL) guns mounted in two twin-barbette mountings, one each fore and aft of the

superstructure A superstructure is an upward extension of an existing structure above a baseline. This term is applied to various kinds of physical structures such as buildings, bridges, or ships. Aboard ships and large boats On water craft, the superstruct ...

.Parkes, p. 355 Each gun was provided with 80

rounds Round or rounds may refer to: Mathematics and science * The contour of a closed curve or surface with no sharp corners, such as an ellipse, circle, rounded rectangle, cant, or sphere * Rounding, the shortening of a number to reduce the numbe ...

. Their secondary armament consisted of ten quick-firing (QF) guns. 200 rounds per gun were carried by the ships. Sixteen QF 6-pounder () guns of an unknown type and a dozen QF 3-pounder ()

Hotchkiss gun The Hotchkiss gun can refer to different products of the Hotchkiss arms company starting in the late 19th century. It usually refers to the 1.65-inch (42 mm) light mountain gun; there were also a navy (47 mm) and a 3-inch (76&nbs ...

s were fitted for defence against

torpedo boat A torpedo boat is a relatively small and fast naval ship designed to carry torpedoes into battle. The first designs were steam-powered craft dedicated to ramming enemy ships with explosive spar torpedoes. Later evolutions launched variants of s ...

s. The two 3-pounders in the upper

fighting top The top on a traditional square rigged ship, is the platform at the upper end of each (lower) mast. This is not the masthead "crow's nest" of the popular imagination – above the mainmast (for example) is the main-topmast, main-topgallant-mast a ...

were removed by 1902 and all of the remaining light guns from the lower fighting tops and main deck followed in 1905–09. ''Repulse'' carried seven 14-inch (356 mm)

torpedo tube A torpedo tube is a cylindrical 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 (also referred to as torpedo launchers) installed abo ...

s, although four were removed in 1902. The ''Royal Sovereign''s' armour scheme was similar to that of the ''Trafalgar''s, as the

waterline The waterline is the line where the hull of a ship meets the surface of the water. Specifically, it is also the name of a special marking, also known as an international load line, Plimsoll line and water line (positioned amidships), that ind ...

belt of

compound armour Compound armour was a type of armour used on warships in the 1880s, developed in response to the emergence of armor-piercing shells and the continual need for reliable protection with the increasing size in naval ordnance. Compound armour was a n ...

only protected the area between the barbettes. The belt and transverse bulkheads thick closed off the ends of the belt. Above the belt was a

strake On a vessel's hull, a strake is a longitudinal course of planking or plating which runs from the boat's stempost (at the bows) to the sternpost or transom (at the rear). The garboard strakes are the two immediately adjacent to the keel on e ...

of nickel-steel armour closed off by transverse bulkheads. The barbettes were protected by compound armour, ranging in thickness from and the casemates for the 6-inch guns had a thickness equal to their diameter. The thicknesses of the armour deck ranged from . The walls of the forward conning tower were thick and the aft conning tower was protected by 3-inch plates.

Construction and career

''Repulse'' was the tenth ship of her name to serve in the Royal Navy. She was ordered under the Naval Defence Act Programme of 1889 and

laid down Laying the keel or laying down is the formal recognition of the start of a ship's construction. It is often marked with a ceremony attended by dignitaries from the shipbuilding company and the ultimate owners of the ship. Keel laying is one ...

on 1 January 1890 on

Pembroke Dockyard Pembroke Dockyard, originally called Pater Yard, is a former Royal Navy Dockyard in Pembroke Dock, Pembrokeshire, Wales. History It was founded in 1814, although not formally authorized until the Prince Regent signed the necessary Order in C ...

's No. 1

Slipway A slipway, also known as boat ramp or launch or boat deployer, is a ramp on the shore by which ships or boats can be moved to and from the water. They are used for building and repairing ships and boats, and for launching and retrieving small ...

. The ship was launched on 27 February 1892 by Lady Philipps, wife of Sir Charles Philipps, Bt,

Lord Lieutenant of Haverfordwest This is a list of people who served as Lord Lieutenant of Haverfordwest. The county corporate of Haverfordwest was usually under the jurisdiction of the Lord Lieutenant of Pembrokeshire, but it had its own Lord Lieutenant and Custos Rotulorum ...

. The ship was transferred to

Portsmouth Dockyard His Majesty's Naval Base, Portsmouth (HMNB Portsmouth) is one of three operating bases in the United Kingdom for the Royal Navy (the others being HMNB Clyde and HMNB Devonport). Portsmouth Naval Base is part of the city of Portsmouth; it is lo ...

on 5 December, where she was completed on 21 April 1894, at a cost of £915,302. ''Repulse'' commissioned there, commanded by

Captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...

Burges Watson, four days later to relieve the ironclad battleship ''Rodney'' in the Channel Fleet. She participated in annual manoeuvres in the

Irish Sea The Irish Sea or , gv, Y Keayn Yernagh, sco, Erse Sie, gd, Muir Èireann , Ulster-Scots: ''Airish Sea'', cy, Môr Iwerddon . is an extensive body of water that separates the islands of Ireland and Great Britain. It is linked to the Ce ...

and

Atlantic Ocean The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's five oceans, with an area of about . It covers approximately 20% of Earth#Surface, Earth's surface and about 29% of its water surface area. It is known to separate the "Old World" of Afr ...

in August as a unit of the "Blue Fleet." From 19 to 24 June 1895, the ship was part of the squadron that visited Germany for the opening of the

Kaiser Wilhelm Canal The Kiel Canal (german: Nord-Ostsee-Kanal, literally "North- oEast alticSea canal", formerly known as the ) is a long freshwater canal in the German state of Schleswig-Holstein. The canal was finished in 1895, but later widened, and links t ...

. In July–August 1895, ''Repulse'' again took part in the annual manoeuvres and Watson was relieved by Captain Ernest Rolfe on 10 October. The ship participated in the manoeuvres again in July 1896, when they were held in the Southwest Approaches and the ship was a unit of "Fleet A." ''Repulse'' accidentally collided with her

sister ship A sister ship is a ship of the same class or of virtually identical design to another ship. Such vessels share a nearly identical hull and superstructure layout, similar size, and roughly comparable features and equipment. They often share a ...

on 18 July, but sustained no significant damage.Burt, p. 93 On 23 December, there was an explosion in one of her coal bunkers that injured nine men. On 26 June 1897, the ship was present at the Fleet Review at

Spithead Spithead is an area of the Solent and a roadstead off Gilkicker Point in Hampshire, England. It is protected from all winds except those from the southeast. It receives its name from the Spit, a sandbank stretching south from the Hampshir ...

for the Diamond Jubilee of Queen Victoria. The following month, ''Repulse'' took part in the annual manoeuvres, this time held off the coast of

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

. On 21 December, Captain Robert Groome assumed command of the ship; he was relieved by Captain Randolph Foote on 28 June 1899. In July and August, when the annual manoeuvres were held in the Atlantic, she participated as a unit of "Fleet A". ''Repulse'' suffered a mishap on 4 February 1900 when a strong tide forced her to collide with an anchored

barge Barge nowadays generally refers to a flat-bottomed inland waterway vessel which does not have its own means of mechanical propulsion. The first modern barges were pulled by tugs, but nowadays most are pushed by pusher boats, or other vessels. ...

as she departed

Sheerness Sheerness () is a town and civil parish beside the mouth of the River Medway on the north-west corner of the Isle of Sheppey in north Kent, England. With a population of 11,938, it is the second largest town on the island after the nearby tow ...

. In August 1900, she again was involved in annual manoeuvre in the Atlantic, this time as a unit of "Fleet A1." The following month, Foote was replaced by Captain

Spencer Login Rear-Admiral (Royal Navy), Rear-Admiral Spencer Henry Metcalfe Login, Royal Victorian Order, C.V.O., Royal Navy (24 September 1851 – 22 January 1909) was an officer of the Royal Navy and was also a rugby union international who represented E ...

on the 18th. On 27 October 1901, she ran aground in mud while under tow to her moorings, but was refloated undamaged two hours later. ''Repulse'' departed England on 5 April 1902 for service with the

, and arrived at

Malta Malta ( , , ), officially the Republic of Malta ( mt, Repubblika ta' Malta ), is an island country in the Mediterranean Sea. It consists of an archipelago, between Italy and Libya, and is often considered a part of Southern Europe. It lies ...

two weeks later. In the

Mediterranean The Mediterranean Sea is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean Basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Western and Southern Europe and Anatolia, on the south by North Africa, and on th ...

, she took part in combined exercises of the Mediterranean Fleet, Channel Fleet, and the Cruiser Squadron off

Cephalonia Kefalonia or Cephalonia ( el, Κεφαλονιά), formerly also known as Kefallinia or Kephallenia (), is the largest of the Ionian Islands in western Greece and the 6th largest island in Greece after Crete, Euboea, Lesbos, Rhodes and Chios. It ...

and

Morea The Morea ( el, Μορέας or ) was the name of the Peloponnese peninsula in southern Greece during the Middle Ages and the early modern period. The name was used for the Byzantine province known as the Despotate of the Morea, by the Ottom ...

between 29 September and 6 October 1902. Completing her Mediterranean service, she departed Malta on 29 November 1903, arriving at

Plymouth Plymouth () is a port city and unitary authority in South West England. It is located on the south coast of Devon, approximately south-west of Exeter and south-west of London. It is bordered by Cornwall to the west and south-west. Plymout ...

on 10 December 1903. She then paid off at

Chatham Dockyard Chatham Dockyard was a Royal Navy Dockyard located on the River Medway in Kent. Established in Chatham in the mid-16th century, the dockyard subsequently expanded into neighbouring Gillingham (at its most extensive, in the early 20th centur ...

on 5 February 1904 for an extensive refit. With the refit complete, ''Repulse'' recommissioned at Chatham, under the command of Captain

Henry Totteham Henry may refer to: People *Henry (given name) *Henry (surname) * Henry Lau, Canadian singer and musician who performs under the mononym Henry Royalty * Portuguese royalty ** King-Cardinal Henry, King of Portugal ** Henry, Count of Portugal ...

, on 3 January 1905 for service in reserve with a nucleus crew. Captain Herbert Heath relieved Tottenham shortly afterwards on 27 February and the ship took part in Reserve Fleet manoeuvres in July. She transferred that crew to the predreadnought battleship ''Irresistible'' on 27 November 1906 and received new crew. On 25 February 1907, ''Repulse'' departed Chatham for Devonport, to serve there as a special service vessel. The predreadnought battleship relieved the ship of this duty on 2 August 1910. In December, ''Repulse'' moved to Portsmouth, where she was taken out of service in February 1911. She was sold for scrap on 11 July 1911 to Thos. W. Ward for £33,500, and arrived at

Morecambe Morecambe ( ) is a seaside town and civil parish in the City of Lancaster district in Lancashire, England. It is in Morecambe Bay on the Irish Sea. Name The first use of the name was by John Whitaker in his ''History of Manchester'' (1771), ...

to be broken up on 27 July.Burt, pp. 93–94

Notes

References

* * * * * * *

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Repulse (1892) Royal Sovereign-class battleships Victorian-era battleships of the United Kingdom Ships built in Pembroke Dock 1892 ships Maritime incidents in 1896 Maritime incidents in 1900 Maritime incidents in 1901