HMS Ajax (1912)

HMS ''Ajax'' was the third of four dreadnought battleships built for the Royal Navy in the early 1910s. After commissioning in 1913, she spent the bulk of her career assigned to the Home and Grand Fleets. Aside from participating in the failed attempt to intercept the German ships that had bombarded Scarborough, Hartlepool and Whitby in late 1914, the Battle of Jutland in May 1916 and the inconclusive action of 19 August, her service during World War I generally consisted of routine patrols and training in the North Sea.

After the war, ''Ajax'' was assigned to the Mediterranean Fleet, where she took part in the Allied intervention in the Russian Civil War in the Black Sea in 1919–1920. The ship was deployed to Turkish waters during the Chanak Crisis of September–October 1922. ''Ajax'' was placed in reserve in 1924 before being sold for scrap two years later in accordance with the terms of the Washington Naval Treaty.

Design and description

The ''King George V''-class ships were designed as enlarged and improved versions of the preceding . They had an overall length of , a beam of and a draught of . They displaced at normal load and at deep load. ''Ajax''s crew numbered 869 officers and ratings upon completion.Burt, p. 176

Ships of the ''King George V'' class were powered by two sets of Parsons direct-drive steam turbines, each driving two shafts, using steam provided by 18 Babcock & Wilcox boilers. The turbines were rated at and were intended to give the battleships a speed of .Parkes, p. 538 During her sea trials on 12–13 May 1913, ''Ajax'' reached a maximum speed of from . She carried enough coal and fuel oil to give her a range of at a cruising speed of .

Armament and armour

Like the ''Orion'' class, the ''King George V''s were equipped with 10 breech-loading (BL) Mark V guns in five hydraulically powered twin-gun turrets, all on the centreline. The turrets were designated 'A', 'B', 'Q', 'X' and 'Y', from front to rear. Their secondary armament consisted of 16 BL Mark VII guns. Eight of these were mounted in the forward superstructure, four in the aft superstructure, and four in casemates in the side of the hull abreast of the forward main gun turrets, all in single mounts. Four 3-pounder () saluting guns were also carried. The ships were equipped with three 21-inch (533 mm) submerged torpedo tubes, one on each broadside and another in the stern, for which 14 torpedoes were provided.

The ''King George V''-class ships were protected by a waterline armoured belt that extended between the end barbettes. Their decks ranged in thickness between and 4 inches with the thickest portions protecting the steering gear in the stern. The main battery turret faces were thick, and the turrets were supported by barbettes.

Modifications

A fire-control director was installed on the roof of the spotting top shortly after completion in 1913; her original pole foremast was reinforced by short tripod legs to stiffen it and allow it to bear the weight of the director. By October 1914, a pair of anti-aircraft (AA) guns had been added. Approximately of additional deck armour was added after the Battle of Jutland. By April 1917, the 4-inch guns had been removed from the hull casemates as they were frequently unusable in heavy seas. The casemates were plated over and some of the compartments were used for accommodations. Her stern torpedo tube was removed in 1917–1918 and a flying-off platform was fitted on the roof of 'B' turret during 1918.Burt, pp. 179–80

Construction and career

''Ajax'', named after the mythological hero, Ajax, was the fifth ship of her name to serve in the Royal Navy. Ordered under the 1910–1911 Naval Estimates, the ship was laid down by Scotts Shipbuilding & Engineering at their shipyard in Greenock on 27 February 1911 and launched on 21 March 1912.Preston, p. 30 She was completed a year later at a cost of £1,889,387, but was not commissioned until 31 October 1913, joining her sister ships in the 2nd Battle Squadron (BS). All four sisters represented the Royal Navy during the celebrations of the re-opening of the Kaiser Wilhelm Canal, held in conjunction with Kiel Week, in Kiel, Germany, in June 1914.Burt, p. 188

World War I

Between 17 and 20 July 1914, ''Ajax'' took part in a test mobilisation and fleet review as part of the British response to the July Crisis. Arriving in Portland on 25 July, she was ordered to proceed with the rest of the Home Fleet to Scapa Flow four days later to safeguard the fleet from a possible surprise attack by the Imperial German Navy. In August 1914, following the outbreak of World War I, the Home Fleet was reorganised as the Grand Fleet, and placed under the command of Admiral Sir John Jellicoe. While conducting training exercises a few weeks later, the ship had problems with one of her turrets and had to return to Scapa for repairs. At the beginning of October, the ship began a brief refit at HM Dockyard, Devonport. Repeated reports of submarines in Scapa Flow led Jellicoe to conclude that the defences there were inadequate and he ordered that the Grand Fleet be dispersed to other bases until the defences be reinforced. On 16 October the 2nd BS was sent to Loch na Keal on the western coast of Scotland. The squadron departed for gunnery practice off the northern coast of Ireland on the morning of 27 October and the dreadnought struck a mine, laid a few days earlier by the German auxiliary minelayer . Thinking that the ship had been torpedoed by a submarine, the other dreadnoughts, including ''Ajax'', were ordered away from the area, while smaller ships rendered assistance. On the evening of 22 November 1914, the Grand Fleet conducted a fruitless sweep in the southern half of the North Sea; ''Ajax'' stood with the main body in support of Vice-Admiral David Beatty's 1st Battlecruiser Squadron. The fleet was back in port in Scapa Flow by 27 November.

The interned German ocean liner SS ''Kronprinzessin Cecilie'', HMS ''Princess'', served as a dummy for ''Ajax'' from 1 November 1914 until 9 January 1916 when she began her conversion into an armed merchant cruiser. She was based in Loch Ewe, on the western coast of Scotland, and patrolled in the Atlantic.

Bombardment of Scarborough, Hartlepool, and Whitby

The Royal Navy's Room 40 had intercepted and decrypted German radio traffic containing plans for a German attack on Scarborough, Hartlepool and Whitby in mid-December using the four battlecruisers of ''Konteradmiral'' (Rear-Admiral) Franz von Hipper's I Scouting Group. The radio messages did not mention that the High Seas Fleet with fourteen dreadnoughts and eight pre-dreadnoughts would reinforce Hipper. The ships of both sides departed their bases on 15 December, with the British intending to ambush the German ships on their return voyage. They mustered the six dreadnoughts of Vice-Admiral Sir George Warrender's 2nd BS, including ''Ajax'' and her sisters and , and stood with the main body in support of Beatty's four battlecruisers. As the 2nd BS was departing Scapa Flow in the darkness, ''Ajax'' collided with a trawler, but suffered no significant damage.

The screening forces of each side blundered into each other during the early morning darkness of 16 December in heavy weather. The Germans got the better of the initial exchange of fire, severely damaging several British destroyers, but Admiral Friedrich von Ingenohl, commander of the High Seas Fleet, ordered his ships to turn away, concerned about the possibility of a massed attack by British destroyers in the dawn's light. A series of miscommunications and mistakes by the British allowed Hipper's ships to avoid an engagement with Beatty's forces.

1915–1916

Jellicoe's ships, including ''Ajax'', conducted gunnery drills on 10–13 January 1915 west of the Orkneys and the Shetland Islands. On the evening of 23 January, the bulk of the Grand Fleet sailed in support of Beatty's battlecruisers, but ''Ajax'' and the rest of the fleet did not participate in the ensuing Battle of Dogger Bank the following day. On 7–10 March, the Grand Fleet conducted a sweep in the northern North Sea, during which it conducted training manoeuvres. Another such cruise took place on 16–19 March. On 11 April, the Grand Fleet conducted a patrol in the central North Sea and returned to port on 14 April; another patrol in the area took place on 17–19 April, followed by gunnery drills off Shetland on 20–21 April.

The Grand Fleet conducted sweeps into the central North Sea on 17–19 May and 29–31 May without encountering any German vessels. During 11–14 June, the fleet conducted gunnery practice and battle exercises west of Shetland and more training off Shetland beginning on 11 July. The 2nd BS conducted gunnery practice in the Moray Firth on 2 August and then returned to Scapa Flow. On 2–5 September, the fleet went on another cruise in the northern end of the North Sea and conducted gunnery drills. Throughout the rest of the month, the Grand Fleet conducted numerous training exercises. The ship, together with the majority of the Grand Fleet, conducted another sweep into the North Sea from 13 to 15 October. Almost three weeks later, ''Ajax'' participated in another fleet training operation west of Orkney during 2–5 November and repeated the exercise at the beginning of December.

The Grand Fleet sortied in response to an attack by German ships on British light forces near Dogger Bank on 10 February 1916, but it was recalled two days later when it became clear that no German ships larger than a destroyer were involved. The fleet departed for a cruise in the North Sea on 26 February; Jellicoe had intended to use the Harwich Force to sweep the Heligoland Bight, but bad weather prevented operations in the southern North Sea. As a result, the operation was confined to the northern end of the sea. Another sweep began on 6 March, but had to be abandoned the following day as the weather grew too severe for the escorting destroyers. On the night of 25 March, ''Ajax'' and the rest of the fleet sailed from Scapa Flow to support Beatty's battlecruisers and other light forces raiding the German Zeppelin base at Tondern. By the time the Grand Fleet approached the area on 26 March, the British and German forces had already disengaged and a strong gale

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