AUDACIOUS SEPTEMBER 1914.
Dark slate grey with white guns and turrets (‘B’ and ‘X’). White converging lines on funnels, masts and remaining turrets.
AUDACIOUS PLAN AND PROFILE 1914.
At the outbreak of war in August 1914 all British battleships were wearing a dark slate grey paintwork scheme. So dark was the shade of grey that photographic film sometimes had trouble in recording the ships without losing detail in the shadows. White (some red) recognition bands on funnels stood out boldly but these were quickly painted out on the outbreak of hostilities.
During the six years this book has been in preparation, the author has been indebted to the following persons and establishments. In particular, I should like to extend sincere thanks to David Lyon, Michael Dandridge and Mrs Pilkington of the Draught Room at the National Maritime Museum, Greenwich; to David Brown and his staff at the Naval Historical Library; to D.W. Robinson, Press Officer, and to P. H. Judd, Chief Naval Architect, both of Vickers Shipbuilding Group. I must also acknowledge the help received from A. M. Ingham of the Naval Ordnance Museum, Priddy’s Hard, and appreciation is also due to my editor, Michael Boxall, J. A. Roberts, A. S. Norris, the late P. A. Vicary and, especially, the late W. P. Trotter M.C., who gave me much sound advice and great encouragement throughout the years I knew him. Much gratitude is expressed to my publishers; in particular to David Gibbons and Anthony A. Evans, both of whom pointed out items I might otherwise have missed. Finally, to my wife Janice and our two children must go special mention for their patience and encouragement; indeed, if it were not for their making sacrifices to their lifestyle and enjoyment, I doubt if the work could have been completed. The photographs are all from the author’s collection; the drawings are based on the official shipbuilding draughts now held at the National Maritime Museum, Greenwich.
R.A.B.
Copyright © R A Burt 1986
This edition first published in Great Britain in 2012 by
Seaforth Publishing, an imprint of Pen & Sword Books Ltd,
47 Church Street, Barnsley S70 2AS
Published and distributed in the United States of America and Canada by
Naval Institute Press
291 Wood Road
Annapolis, Maryland 21402-5034
This edition is authorized for sale only in the United States of America, its territories and possessions and Canada.
First Naval Institute Press eBook edition published in 2015.
ISBN 978-1-61251-955-5 (eBook)
British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data
A CIP data record for this book is available from the British Library
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or any information storage and retrieval system, without prior permission in writing of both the copyright owner and the above publisher.
The right of R A Burt to be identified as the author of this work has been asserted by him in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.
Typeset and designed by Stephen Dent
Contents
Acknowledgments
Preface
Introduction
Dreadnought 1905 ESTIMATES
Invincible Class 1905 ESTIMATES
Bellerophon Class 1906 ESTIMATES
St Vincent Class 1907 ESTIMATES
Indefatigable Class 1908 ESTIMATES
Neptune 1908 ESTIMATES
Colossus Class 1909 ESTIMATES
Orion Class 1909 ESTIMATES
Lion Class 1909 ESTIMATES
Queen Mary 1910 ESTIMATES
King George V Class 1910 ESTIMATES
Iron Duke Class 1911 ESTIMATES
Tiger 1911 ESTIMATES
Erin WAR PURCHASE
Canada WAR PURCHASE
Agincourt WAR PURCHASE
Queen Elizabeth Class 1912/13 ESTIMATES
Royal Sovereign Class 1913 ESTIMATES
Renown and Repulse 1914/15 ESTIMATES
Courageous, Glorious and Furious 1915 ESTIMATES
Conclusion
Bibliography
Index
In general, collectors of historical warship photographs and naval enthusiasts and historians are a pretty mixed group of people. They come from all walks of life and range from motor mechanics to Members of Parliament; for some strange reason there is usually a heavy sprinkling of doctors and solicitors. But what starts a person’s enthusiasm off? Be it serious research or gathering collectables on yesterday’s navies, it is an enthusiasm that usually turns into an obsession (in the nicest possible way). The reasons are many, but in most cases cannot be explained very easily. At the turn of the century, it was not at all common for anyone other than naval personnel to gather ships’ statistics or indeed collect photographs of warships. In fact, other than a few resident photographers such as West, Hopkins, Cribb, Long and Symonds, who sold their photographs commercially, pictures of many warships of the day were extremely difficult to procure.
Dr Oscar Parkes in his Mediterranean outfit during his service in the Navy at the Dardanelles campaign, 1915.
One of the more notable characters of the time was F.T.Jane, a journalist and correspondent during the Boer War, who turned his attention toward warship design and construction. He became deeply involved in naval affairs, and one could read his biting remarks in most of the naval periodicals as well as in the daily newspapers. His brainchild was, of course, that now famous album All the World’s Fighting Ships, which appeared for the first time in 1897, the year of Queen Victoria’s Diamond Jubilee. Throughout the initial preparation for the book, Jane was involved in making a series of small sketches of all major warships then in existence,