HMS Caroline (1914)

HMS ''Caroline'' is a decommissioned light cruiser of the Royal Navy that saw combat service in the First World War and served as an administrative centre in the Second World War. ''Caroline'' was launched and commissioned in 1914. At the time of her decommissioning in 2011 she was the second-oldest ship in Royal Navy service, after . She served as a static headquarters and training ship for the Royal Naval Reserve, based in Alexandra Dock, Belfast, Northern Ireland, for the later stages of her career. She was converted into a museum ship. From October 2016 she underwent inspection and repairs to her hull at Harland and Wolff and opened to the public on 1 July 2017 at Alexandra Dock in the Titanic Quarter in Belfast.

''Caroline'' was the last remaining British First World War light cruiser in service, and she is the last survivor of the Battle of Jutland still afloat. She is also one of only three surviving Royal Navy warships of the First World War, along with the 1915 monitor (in Portsmouth dockyard), and the , (formerly HMS ''Saxifrage'') usually moored on the Thames at Blackfriars but as from February 2016, in Number 3 Basin, Chatham.

Construction

HMS ''Caroline'' was built by Cammell Laird of Birkenhead. She was laid down on 28 January 1914, launched on 29 September 1914 and completed in December 1914.Preston, p. 56 ''Caroline'' was part of the early sub-set of C-class light cruisers built without geared turbines and subsequent comparisons with later vessels of the same class demonstrated the superiority of geared propulsion. ''Caroline''s machinery is still in place today, although not in working order.

Operational history

First World War

''Caroline'' was commissioned on 4 December 1914 and served in the North Sea throughout the First World War. Upon commissioning, she joined the Grand Fleet based at Scapa Flow in the Orkney Islands, serving as leader of the 4th Destroyer Flotilla. She was part of the Grand Fleets 1st Light Cruiser Squadron from February to November 1915. In early 1916 she joined the Grand Fleet's 4th Light Cruiser Squadron and remained with it, fighting as part of it at the Battle of Jutland on 31 May – 1 June 1916 under the command of Captain Henry R. Crooke, through to the end of the war in November 1918.Preston, p. 57 From 1917 until late 1918, she carried a flying-off platform for the launching of Royal Naval Air Service and later Royal Air Force fighters to intercept German airships operating over the North Sea.

Interwar years

''Caroline'' remained in the 4th Light Cruiser Squadron after World War I and in June 1919 went with the rest of the squadron to serve on the East Indies Station. In February 1922 she paid off into dockyard control and was placed in reserve. She came out of reserve in February 1924 to become a headquarters and training ship for the Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve's Ulster Division at Belfast, Northern Ireland, officially beginning those duties on 1 April 1924. Harland and Wolff of Belfast removed her weaponry and some of her boilers around 1924, after her arrival in Belfast. Her guns were pooled with those of other decommissioned cruisers and used to reinforce the coastal defences of the Treaty Ports.

Second World War

From 1939 until 1945, during the Second World War, ''Caroline'' served as the Royal Navy's headquarters in Belfast Harbour, which was used as a home base by many of the warships escorting Atlantic and Arctic convoys, including s of the 3rd Escort Group.

As Belfast developed into a major naval base during the Second World War, its headquarters outgrew the confines of HMS ''Caroline'' herself and occupied different establishments in various parts of the city. Eventually several thousand ratings were wearing ''Caroline'' cap tallies. The first such establishment was set up in the Belfast Custom House. Later, Belfast Castle was taken over and included a radio station. There were depth charge pistol and Hedgehog repair workshops associated with HMS ''Caroline'', some of which would have been on the quays beside her berth in Milewater Basin.

During the early part of the Second World War when RAF Belfast occupied Sydenham (Belfast harbour) airfield, Fleet Air Arm personnel based there were lodged under HMS ''Caroline''. In 1943, the airfield was transferred to the Admiralty and commissioned as .

Postwar

After the Second World War, the Royal Navy returned ''Caroline'' to the Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve, and she served as its last afloat training establishment. She underwent a refit at Harland and Wolff in Belfast in 1951.

The Royal Naval Reserve Unit decommissioned from the ship in December 2009, moved ashore, and recommissioned as the "stone frigate" (i.e., shore establishment) . ''Caroline'' herself was decommissioned on 31 March 2011 in a traditional ceremony. Her ensign was laid up in St Anne's Cathedral in Belfast.

Preservation

''Caroline'' is listed as part of the National Historic Fleet. On her decommissioning, she was placed into the care of the National Museum of the Royal Navy at Portsmouth, though remaining moored in her position in Alexandra Dock in Belfast. Although no longer capable of making way under her own power, ''Caroline'' remains afloat and in excellent condition. Buffeting from waves and high winds have caused the ship to almost come away from her moorings several times. In 2005, during a storm, she ripped several huge bollards out of the jetty concrete, but failed to break free entirely. She was not normally open to tourists, although entrance was gained during the annual celebrations.

Upon ''Caroline''s decommissioning in 2011, her future was uncertain. Proposals were made to return the ship to her First World War appearance, which among other things would have involved sourcing and installing 6-inch (152.4 mm) and 4-inch (102 mm) guns of that era and removing the large deckhouse from her midships deck. One proposal considered was to remain in Belfast as a museum ship within the Titanic Quarter development alongside . Another proposal was a move to Portsmouth, with many of her original fittings restored to return her as much as possible to her First World War appearance.

In June 2012 plans to move ''Caroline'' to Portsmouth were announced, subject to the availability of funding. However, in October 2012 the Northern Ireland government announced that the ship would remain in Belfast and that the National Heritage Memorial Fund had pledged £1,000,000 to help to restore her. In May 2013 the Heritage Lottery Fund announced an £845,600 grant to support conversion work as a museum.

In October 2014, the Heritage Lottery Fund announced a £12 million lottery funding boost to enable the National Museum of the Royal Navy to turn ''Caroline'' into a visitor attraction in time for centenary commemorations of the 1916 Battle of Jutland. ''Caroline'' remains moored in the Alexandra Dock in the Titanic Quarter in Belfast. During the restoration the steam turbines which were left in place after her active service life ended were conserved. The Parson turbines were stripped of asbestos and preserved for those visiting to see.

In June 2016, HMS ''Caroline'' was opened to the public as a museum ship and forms part of the National Museum of the Royal Navy.

HMS ''Caroline'' was dry docked in late 2016 she was towed a short distance into Dry Dock to have hull inspection, clean and repaint. She returned to the Alexandra Dock on completion of the works and was placed into the dock stern first.

Records

At her decommissioning in 2011, ''Caroline'' held the title of the second-oldest ship in Royal Navy service (behind HMS ''Victory''), as well as being the last First World War British light cruiser in service. She is the last survivor of the Battle of Jutland.Among warships afloat, the oldest iron warship appears to be the Netherlands ironclad turret-ram , launched in 1868 and now a museum ship in Rotterdam, although ''Buffel'' is not in commission. , launched in 1860, is not in commission, and required extensive refurbishment, but is now afloat in Portsmouth. One of the oldest steel warships afloat known to have fought in battle is launched in November 1892, but it was decommissioned in 1922. Even older and still afloat in the Chilean port of Talcahuano is the ironclad , launched in 1865, and which saw extensive service in battle during the War of the Pacific (1879–1883), being now a museum ship. The is also afloat and, having been launched in December 1900, is older than ''Caroline'', and is today in commission, but it was a non-commissioned museum ship from 1957 to about 1990. Of ships not afloat, the launched in November 1900 is older than ''Caroline'' and the Russian cruiser ''Aurora'', but it is neither in commission nor afloat; it became a museum ship in 1921 and is in drydock. A Swedish ironclad monitor launched in the 1870s, , is (January 2009) under restoration at the Goteborg Maritime Centre, but it is unknown whether it will be displayed afloat or dry. The Greek armoured cruiser , launched in 1910, is afloat and commissioned. On 5 October 2017, she was towed from Athens to Thessalonika for a 50-day exhibition. ''Georgios Averof'' returned to her museum dock, south of Athens, on 13 December. A study is underway to determine the feasibility of rebuilding her furnaces, boilers, and engines, for sailing under steam power.

Notes

References

Sources

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Further reading

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External links

National Museum of the Royal Navy - HMS Caroline



Battle of Jutland Crew Lists Project - HMS Caroline Crew List

{{DEFAULTSORT:Caroline (1914)
C-class cruisers
Ships built on the River Mersey
1914 ships
World War I cruisers of the United Kingdom
Ships and vessels of the National Historic Fleet
Northern Ireland in World War II
Museum ships in the United Kingdom