HMS ''Gloucester'' was a
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. Prior to thi ...
built for the Royal Navy in the first decade of the 20th century. The ship was initially assigned to the
Home Fleet
The Home Fleet was a fleet of the Royal Navy that operated from the United Kingdom's territorial waters from 1902 with intervals until 1967. In 1967, it was merged with the Mediterranean Fleet creating the new Western Fleet.
Before the First ...
upon
commissioning
Commissioning is a process or service provided to validate the completeness and accuracy of a project or venture.
It may refer more specifically to:
* Project commissioning, a process of assuring that all components of a facility are designed, in ...
in 1910 and 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 ...
in 1913. She was involved in the
hunt for the German ships and after World War I began in August 1914. ''Gloucester'' was detailed several times during the war to search for German
commerce raider
Commerce raiding is a form of naval warfare used to destroy or disrupt logistics of the enemy on the open sea by attacking its merchant shipping, rather than engaging its combatants or enforcing a blockade against them. Privateering is a fo ...
s, but her only success was the capture of one supply ship in early 1915. She played a minor role in the
Battle of Jutland
The Battle of Jutland () was a naval battle between Britain's Royal Navy Grand Fleet, under Admiral John Jellicoe, 1st Earl Jellicoe, Sir John Jellicoe, and the Imperial German Navy's High Seas Fleet, under Vice-Admiral Reinhard Scheer, durin ...
in mid-1916 and then spent most of the rest of the war in the
Adriatic Sea
The Adriatic Sea () is a body of water separating the Italian Peninsula from the Balkans, Balkan Peninsula. The Adriatic is the northernmost arm of the Mediterranean Sea, extending from the Strait of Otranto (where it connects to the Ionian Se ...
. The ship was placed in
reserve
Reserve or reserves may refer to:
Places
* Reserve, Kansas, a US city
* Reserve, Louisiana, a census-designated place in St. John the Baptist Parish
* Reserve, Montana, a census-designated place in Sheridan County
* Reserve, New Mexico, a US v ...
in 1919 and 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 can have monetary value, especially recover ...
in 1921.
Design and description
The ''Bristol'' sub-class were rated as second-class cruisers suitable for a variety of roles including both trade protection and duties with the fleet.
[Gardiner & Gray, p. 51] They were
long overall
Length overall (LOA, o/a, o.a. or oa) is the maximum length of a vessel's hull measured parallel to the waterline. This length is important while docking the ship. It is the most commonly used way of expressing the size of a ship, and is also u ...
, with a
beam
Beam may refer to:
Streams of particles or energy
*Light beam, or beam of light, a directional projection of light energy
**Laser beam
*Radio beam
*Particle beam, a stream of charged or neutral particles
**Charged particle beam, a spatially lo ...
of and a
draught of .
Displacement
Displacement may refer to:
Physical sciences
Mathematics and physics
*Displacement (geometry), is the difference between the final and initial position of a point trajectory (for instance, the center of mass of a moving object). The actual path ...
was normal and at full load. Twelve
Yarrow boiler
Yarrow boilers are an important class of high-pressure water-tube boilers. They were developed by
Yarrow Shipbuilders, Yarrow & Co. (London), Shipbuilders and Engineers and were widely used on ships, particularly warships.
The Yarrow boiler desi ...
s fed ''Gloucester''s
Parsons steam turbine
A steam turbine or steam turbine engine is a machine or heat engine that extracts thermal energy from pressurized steam and uses it to do mechanical work utilising a rotating output shaft. Its modern manifestation was invented by Sir Charles Par ...
s, driving four
propeller shaft
A drive shaft, driveshaft, driving shaft, tailshaft (Australian English), propeller shaft (prop shaft), or Cardan shaft (after Girolamo Cardano) is a component for transmitting mechanical power, torque, and rotation, usually used to connect o ...
s, that were rated at for a design speed of .
The ship reached during her
sea trials
A sea trial or trial trip 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 o ...
from .
[Lyon, Part 2, pp. 59–60] The boilers used both
fuel oil
Fuel oil is any of various fractions obtained from the distillation of petroleum (crude oil). Such oils include distillates (the lighter fractions) and residues (the heavier fractions). Fuel oils include heavy fuel oil (bunker fuel), marine f ...
and coal, with of coal and tons of oil carried, which gave a range of at .
[Friedman, p. 383] The ship had a crew of 480 officers and
ratings.
The main armament of the ''Bristol'' class was two
BL 6-inch (152 mm) Mk XI guns that were mounted on the centreline 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 ...
and ten
BL 4-inch Mk VII guns in waist mountings. All these guns were fitted with
gun shield
A U.S. Marine manning an M240 machine gun equipped with a gun shield
A gun shield is a flat (or sometimes curved) piece of armor designed to be mounted on a crew-served weapon such as a machine gun, automatic grenade launcher, or artillery pie ...
s.
Four
Vickers 3-pounder (47 mm) saluting gun
A salute is usually a formal hand gesture or other action used to display respect in military situations. Salutes are primarily associated with the military and law enforcement, but many civilian organizations, such as Girl Guides, Scouting ...
s were fitted, while two submerged
18-inch (450 mm) torpedo tubes
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 aboa ...
were fitted. This armament was considered rather too light for ships of this size by the Royal Navy,
[Lyon, Part 1, p. 53] while the waist guns were subject to immersion in a high sea, making them difficult to work.
The ''Bristol''s were considered
protected cruiser
Protected cruisers, a type of cruiser of the late 19th century, took their name from the armored deck, which protected vital machine-spaces from fragments released by explosive shells. Protected cruisers notably lacked a belt of armour alon ...
s, with an armoured
deck providing protection for the ships' vitals. The armoured deck was thick over the
magazines
A magazine is a periodical literature, periodical publication, print or digital, produced on a regular schedule, that contains any of a variety of subject-oriented textual and visual content (media), content forms. Magazines are generally fin ...
and machinery, over the steering gear and elsewhere. The
conning tower
A conning tower is a raised platform on a ship or submarine, often armoured, from which an officer in charge can conn (nautical), conn (conduct or control) the vessel, controlling movements of the ship by giving orders to those responsible for t ...
was protected by of armour, with the gun shields having armour, as did the ammunition hoists. As the protective deck was at the
waterline
The waterline is the line where the hull of a ship meets the surface of the water.
A waterline can also refer to any line on a ship's hull that is parallel to the water's surface when the ship is afloat in a level trimmed position. Hence, wate ...
, the ships were given a large
metacentric height
The metacentric height (GM) is a measurement of the initial 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 initial ...
so that they would remain stable in the event of flooding above the armoured deck. This, however, resulted in the ships
rolling
Rolling is a Motion (physics)#Types of motion, type of motion that combines rotation (commonly, of an Axial symmetry, axially symmetric object) and Translation (geometry), translation of that object with respect to a surface (either one or the ot ...
badly making them poor gun platforms.
[Brown, p. 63] One problem with the armour of the ''Bristols'', which was shared with the other Town-class ships, was the sizable gap between the bottom of the gun shields and the deck, which allowed shell splinters to pass through the gap and made the guns' crews vulnerable to leg injuries in combat.
[Lyon, Part 2, p. 57]
Construction and career
''Gloucester'' was the eighth ship in the Royal Navy to be named after the
eponymous port.
[Colledge, p. 143] The ship was laid down on 15 April 1909 by
William Beardmore and Company
William Beardmore and Company was a British engineering and shipbuilding Conglomerate (company), conglomerate based in Glasgow and the surrounding Clydeside area. It was active from 1886 to the mid-1930s and at its peak employed about 40,000 peo ...
at their
Dalmuir
Dalmuir (; ) is an area northwest of Glasgow, Scotland, on the western side of Clydebank, and part of West Dunbartonshire Council Area. The name is a lowland Scots language, Scots derivation of the Scottish Gaelic, Gaelic meaning Big Field. ...
shipyard and
launched on 28 October. On being commissioned in October 1910, the ship was assigned to the
1st Battle Squadron
The 1st Battle Squadron was a Squadron (naval), naval squadron of the British Royal Navy consisting of battleships. The 1st Battle Squadron was initially part of the Royal Navy's Grand Fleet. After World War I the Grand Fleet was reverted to i ...
of the Home Fleet. In January 1913, ''Gloucester'' was transferred to the
2nd Light Cruiser Squadron (LCS) 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 east by the Levant in West Asia, on the north by Anatolia in West Asia and Southern ...
.
Pursuit of ''Goeben'' and ''Breslau''
As tensions rose with Germany in the first few days of August 1914, before Britain declared war, ''Gloucester'' was deployed at the mouth of the Adriatic Sea, together with the bulk of the Mediterranean Fleet, by its commander,
Admiral
Admiral is one of the highest ranks in many navies. In the Commonwealth nations and the United States, a "full" admiral is equivalent to a "full" general in the army or the air force. Admiral is ranked above vice admiral and below admiral of ...
Sir Archibald Berkeley Milne. Their task was to prevent the German battlecruiser and the light cruiser from linking up with the
Austro-Hungarian Fleet. The battlecruisers and were withdrawn from this force on 2 August and found the German ships on the morning of 4 August headed east after a cursory bombardment of the French Algerian port of
Philippeville
Philippeville (; ) is a city and municipality of Wallonia located in the province of Namur, Belgium. The Philippeville municipality includes the former municipalities of Fagnolle, Franchimont, Jamagne, Jamiolle, Merlemont, Neuville, Om ...
. But Britain and Germany were not yet at war so Milne turned to shadow the Germans as they headed back to
Messina
Messina ( , ; ; ; ) is a harbour city and the capital city, capital of the Italian Metropolitan City of Messina. It is the third largest city on the island of Sicily, and the 13th largest city in Italy, with a population of 216,918 inhabitants ...
,
Sicily
Sicily (Italian language, Italian and ), officially the Sicilian Region (), is an island in the central Mediterranean Sea, south of the Italian Peninsula in continental Europe and is one of the 20 regions of Italy, regions of Italy. With 4. ...
, 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
The Strait of Messina (; ) is a narrow strait between the eastern tip of Sicily (Punta del Faro) and the western tip of Calabria (Punta Pezzo) in Southern Italy. It connects the Tyrrhenian Sea to the north with the Ionian Sea to the south, with ...
where they could observe the port directly. Therefore, Milne stationed the battlecruisers and ''Indefatigable'' at the northwestern exit of the Strait of Messina as he still expected the Germans to break out to the west where they could attack French troop transports. He positioned ''Gloucester'' at the southeastern exit and sent ''Indomitable'' to recoal at
Bizerte
Bizerte (, ) is the capital and largest city of Bizerte Governorate in northern Tunisia. It is the List of northernmost items, northernmost city in Africa, located north of the capital Tunis. It is also known as the last town to remain under Fr ...
where she was better positioned to react to a German sortie into the Western Mediterranean.
The Germans sortied from Messina on 6 August and headed east, towards
Constantinople
Constantinople (#Names of Constantinople, see other names) was a historical city located on the Bosporus that served as the capital of the Roman Empire, Roman, Byzantine Empire, Byzantine, Latin Empire, Latin, and Ottoman Empire, Ottoman empire ...
, trailed by ''Gloucester'' which was radioing the German movements to Milne.
Rear Admiral
Rear admiral is a flag officer rank used by English-speaking navies. In most European navies, the equivalent rank is called counter admiral.
Rear admiral is usually immediately senior to commodore and immediately below vice admiral. It is ...
Wilhelm Souchon
Wilhelm Anton Souchon (; 2 June 1864 – 13 January 1946) was a German admiral in World War I. Souchon commanded the '' Kaiserliche Marine''s Mediterranean squadron in the early days of the war. His initiatives played a major part in the entry ...
ordered Breslau to turn about and pretend to lay mines in an effort to scare off ''Gloucester''.
Captain
Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader or highest rank officer of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police depa ...
Howard Kelly decided to attack the German ship in an effort to force ''Goeben'' to turn around to support her consort as the British ship was more heavily armed than ''Breslau''. Kelly opened fire at a range of with his forward six-inch gun at 13:35 on the 7th and then increased speed when the German ship replied with her guns. When he had closed the range to , he turned to unmask ''Gloucester''s
broadside. This caused Souchon to turn and open fire on the British cruiser and Kelly disengaged, having accomplished his goal. ''Gloucester'' fired 18 six- and 14 four-inch shells during the brief engagement, but only hit ''Breslau'' once to little effect. She was not hit in return. Kelly was forced to break off his pursuit at 16:40 as Milne had strictly forbidden him to pass
Cape Matapan
Cape Matapan (, Maniot dialect: Ματαπά), also called Cape Tainaron or Taenarum (), or Cape Tenaro, is situated at the end of the Mani Peninsula, Greece. Cape Matapan is the southernmost point of mainland Greece, and the second southe ...
, Greece, and his coal was running low.
After the German ships safely reached
Turkey
Turkey, officially the Republic of Türkiye, is a country mainly located in Anatolia in West Asia, with a relatively small part called East Thrace in Southeast Europe. It borders the Black Sea to the north; Georgia (country), Georgia, Armen ...
, ''Gloucester'' was assigned to the
squadron blockading the
Dardanelles
The Dardanelles ( ; ; ), also known as the Strait of Gallipoli (after the Gallipoli peninsula) and in classical antiquity as the Hellespont ( ; ), is a narrow, natural strait and internationally significant waterway in northwestern Turkey th ...
, the strait between the
Aegean Sea
The Aegean Sea is an elongated embayment of the Mediterranean Sea between Europe and Asia. It is located between the Balkans and Anatolia, and covers an area of some . In the north, the Aegean is connected to the Marmara Sea, which in turn con ...
and the
Black Sea
The Black Sea is a marginal sea, marginal Mediterranean sea (oceanography), mediterranean sea lying between Europe and Asia, east of the Balkans, south of the East European Plain, west of the Caucasus, and north of Anatolia. It is bound ...
for the next several months. In November the ship was ordered into the
Indian Ocean
The Indian Ocean is the third-largest of the world's five oceanic divisions, covering or approximately 20% of the water area of Earth#Surface, Earth's surface. It is bounded by Asia to the north, Africa to the west and Australia (continent), ...
to search for German commerce raiders, although she was recalled shortly afterwards to rejoin the 2nd LCS of the Grand Fleet in home waters. ''Gloucester'' was detached in late February 1915 to search for the German
armed merchant cruiser
An armed merchantman is a merchant ship equipped with guns, usually for defensive purposes, either by design or after the fact. In the days of sail, piracy and privateers, many merchantmen would be routinely armed, especially those engaging in lo ...
off the west coast of Africa, departing
Scapa Flow
Scapa Flow (; ) is a body of water in the Orkney Islands, Scotland, sheltered by the islands of Mainland, Graemsay, Burray,S. C. George, ''Jutland to Junkyard'', 1973. South Ronaldsay and Hoy. Its sheltered waters have played an impor ...
on 27 February.
[ By 18 March, she had been reassigned to the 3rd Light Cruiser Squadron of the ]Battle Cruiser Fleet
The Battle Cruiser Fleet, (BCF), later known as Battle Cruiser Force, a naval formation of fast battlecruisers of the Royal Navy
The Royal Navy (RN) is the naval warfare force of the United Kingdom. It is a component of His Majesty's Naval ...
. On 28 March, ''Gloucester'' captured the German raider's supply ship, , in the Central Atlantic[Transcript of ship's log] and ''Kronprinz Wilhelm'' was forced to intern herself a few weeks later for lack of supplies. ''Gloucester'' remained on patrol through the end of April, although it is likely that she rejoined her squadron in May.[ It has been long rumoured that she shelled ]Galway
Galway ( ; , ) is a City status in Ireland, city in (and the county town of) County Galway. It lies on the River Corrib between Lough Corrib and Galway Bay. It is the most populous settlement in the province of Connacht, the List of settleme ...
, Ireland
Ireland (, ; ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe. Geopolitically, the island is divided between the Republic of Ireland (officially Names of the Irish state, named Irelan ...
during the Easter Rising
The Easter Rising (), also known as the Easter Rebellion, was an armed insurrection in Ireland during Easter Week in April 1916. The Rising was launched by Irish republicans against British rule in Ireland with the aim of establishing an ind ...
in April 1916, but she was probably confused with the sloop , which did shell the outskirts of Galway
Galway ( ; , ) is a City status in Ireland, city in (and the county town of) County Galway. It lies on the River Corrib between Lough Corrib and Galway Bay. It is the most populous settlement in the province of Connacht, the List of settleme ...
a day before ''Gloucester'' arrived in Galway Bay
Galway Bay ( Irish: ''Loch Lurgain'' or ''Cuan na Gaillimhe'') is a bay on the west coast of Ireland, between County Galway in the province of Connacht to the north and the Burren in County Clare in the province of Munster to the south; Galway ...
landing 100 Royal Marines
The Royal Marines provide the United Kingdom's amphibious warfare, amphibious special operations capable commando force, one of the :Fighting Arms of the Royal Navy, five fighting arms of the Royal Navy, a Company (military unit), company str ...
.
Battle of Jutland
Almost a year later, ''Gloucester'' participated in the Battle of Jutland on 31 May–1 June 1916. As the battle began, the 3rd LCS was screening Vice-Admiral
Vice admiral is a senior naval flag officer rank, usually equivalent to lieutenant general and air marshal. A vice admiral is typically senior to a rear admiral and junior to an admiral.
Australia
In the Royal Australian Navy, the rank of vic ...
David Beatty's battlecruisers as they searched for the German fleet and moved to support the 1st Light Cruiser Squadron after they had spotted the German ships. This put them out of position when Beatty turned south to pursue the German battlecruisers. After he turned north on encountering the main body of the German High Seas Fleet
The High Seas Fleet () was the battle fleet of the German Empire, German Imperial German Navy, Imperial Navy and saw action during the First World War. In February 1907, the Home Fleet () was renamed the High Seas Fleet. Admiral Alfred von Tirpi ...
, the 3rd LCS were the first to encounter the screen of the Grand Fleet at 17:33. As Beatty turned east to rendezvous with them, ''Gloucester'' was unable to reach the head of the Grand Fleet's line and was forced to steer for the unengaged side to avoid fouling the range with her funnel
A funnel is a tube or pipe that is wide at the top and narrow at the bottom, used for guiding liquid or powder into a small opening.
Funnels are usually made of stainless steel, aluminium, glass, or plastic. The material used in its constructi ...
smoke. The cruiser briefly engaged the disabled light cruiser about 18:15. By 18:40, the squadron was in position to escort the 3rd Battlecruiser Squadron of the Grand Fleet.
By 20:10, Beatty's ships were in front of the Grand Fleet and the 3rd LCS was screening them when the flagship, , spotted five cruisers of the 4th Scouting Group and the squadron closed to engage at full speed. The British ships were not spotted in return until 20:17 and ''Falmouth'' opened fire a minute later at a range of . By 20:38, the British lost sight of the Germans and turned away to assume their position at the head of Beatty's battlecruisers. The cruiser fired a total of 37 shells and was not damaged during the battle.
Subsequent operations
After the battle, the ship was reassigned to the 2nd Battle Squadron
The 2nd Battle Squadron was a Squadron (naval), naval squadron of the British Royal Navy consisting of battleships. The 2nd Battle Squadron was initially part of the Royal Navy's Grand Fleet. After World War I the Grand Fleet was reverted to i ...
, and had been transferred to the 8th Light Cruiser Squadron in the Adriatic by December. ''Gloucester'' was detached to the Indian Ocean in March 1917 to search for the German commerce raider , but was recalled on 23 May. She remained in the Adriatic until the end of the war in November 1918. The ship was placed in reserve the following April, listed for disposal in March 1920 and was sold for scrap on 9 May 1921 to Thos. W. Ward
Thos. W. Ward Ltd was a Sheffield, Yorkshire, business primarily working steel, engineering and cement. It began as coal and coke merchants. It expanded into recycling metal for Sheffield's steel industry, and then the supply and manufacture ...
, of Portishead and Briton Ferry
Briton Ferry () is a town and Community (Wales), community in the county borough of Neath Port Talbot, Wales. The Welsh name may indicate that the church, ''llan'', is protected from the wind, ''awel''. Alternatively, ''Sawel'' may be a deri ...
.[Lyon, Part 3, p. 51]
Notes
Footnotes
Bibliography
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External links
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Ships of the Bristol group
Battle of Jutland Crew Lists Project - HMS Gloucester Crew List
{{DEFAULTSORT:Gloucester
Town-class cruisers (1910) of the Royal Navy
Ships built on the River Clyde
1909 ships
World War I cruisers of the United Kingdom