Dec Relieved as flagship of 4th BS by Benbow and reverted to role of private ship in that squadron.
1915 18 Feb At 12.30 Dreadnought was returning from tactical exercises with the fleet, ESE of the Pentland Firth, – 4th BS having just parted company with the main fleet to return to Cromarty – when she sighted U29 which had broken the surface immediately ahead after firing a torpedo unsuccessfully at Neptune. After a brief chase Dreadnought rammed and cut U29 in two, almost colliding with Temeraire which was also trying to ram the submarine. There were no survivors from U29.
Dreadnought at war, 1916/17. By this time, Dreadnought was, in fact, obsolete compared to the super-dreadnoughts then in existence. Note control top is being completely smoked out while the ship is at speed.
Aug With 4th BS based at Cromarty.
1916 April Refit at Portsmouth.
May Temporarily transferred to 3rd BS to strengthen that squadron on its relocation from Rosyth to Sheerness, as a precaution against further raids on the east coast by German High Seas Fleet. Later relieved by Royal Oak.
31 May 3rd BS moved out in readiness to join Grand Fleet in action at Jutland.
June Rejoined the Grand Fleet.
14 June Sighted and attempted to ram a U-boat off Dunnet Head while exercising with the fleet.
Late June Returned to Sheerness as flagship.
1918 March Rejoined 4th BS at Scapa Flow.
12 April Grand Fleet main base transferred from Scapa Flow to Rosyth.
7 Aug Paid off into Reserve at Devonport.
1919 25 Feb Transferred to Reserve at Rosyth and recommissioned as the tender Hercules, and as a parent ship in Reserve.
1920 31 March Ordered to be paid off onto the sale list and crew was reduced to prepare vessel for sale.
1921 9 May Sold at Rosyth to Messrs T.W. Ward Shipbreakers Ltd for approximately £44,750.
1923 2 Jan Reached Inverkeithing in Scotland where she was broken up.
Dreadnought, showing her final wartime changes: turret scales, director control on foretop, SL on platform on top of baby tripod, no main foretopmast, and reduction in number of 12pdrs.
Invincible Class: 1905 ESTIMATES
Design
The Dreadnought Design Committee of 1905 had been asked also to examine designs for an advanced type of armoured cruiser that embodied Fisher’s ideas with regard to heavy armament and high speed. The vessel was intended primarily for independent cruiser operations, but had to be able to act as a fast wing of the battlefleet if required.
Early in 1902, when Fisher and Gard had collaborated on designs for an ‘all big gun’ battleship (HMS ‘Untakeable’), drawings had also been prepared for a cruiser version (HMS ‘Unapproachable’) which embraced all the features of the battleship except armour and speed. At that time, however, there were no plans for an ‘all big gun’ cruiser and the armament was intended to be a mix of 10in and 7.5in, as was planned for Constitucion and Libertad which were being built for Chile by the British firms Vickers and Armstrong Whitworth. Early requirements for the British cruiser were:
1. Main armament 10in, secondary armament 7.5in, all to be so arranged as to secure maximum arcs of fire.
2. Magazine and shell rooms were to be located below the guns so as to eliminate ammunition passages and personnel required to pass ammunition along these.
3. Protection to armament to be proof against 8in shell fire.
4. Possibility of turbine machinery.
5. Speeds far superior to that of any existing foreign armoured cruiser.
6. Oil fuel.
7. Bridgework to be reduced to a minimum.
8. Telescopic funnels.
9. Motor-operated gantries instead of derricks.
10. No wooden fittings.
MINOTAUR CLASS: PARTICULARS, FOR COMPARISON WITH INVINCIBLE CLASS
Construction
Displacement (tons)
14,600 (load), 17,410 (extra deep).
Dimensions
Length: 490ft pp, 519ft oa
Beam: 74ft 6in
Draught: 25–26ft (mean).
Armament
Four 9.2in 50cal Mk XI
Ten 7.5in 50cal Mk II
Sixteen 12pdr (20cwt)
Five 18in torpedo tubes.
Armour
Main belt: 6in–4in–3in
Barbettes: 7in
Decks: lower 2in–1in, slopes 2in, flat amidships 1½in, ends 2in flat
Conning tower: 10in
9.2in turrets: 8in
7.5in turrets: 7in.
Machinery
Two sets 4-cyl triple expansion engines, four propellers
Twenty-three watertube boilers
Designed SHP: 27,000 for 23 knots
Fuel: 950/1,000 tons coal min., 2,060 tons coal plus 750 tons oil max.
Radius of action: 8,150nm at 10 knots; 2,920nm at 20.6 knots.
The design can be considered as a cruiser version of the contemporary Lord Nelson-class battleships and marked the end of the cycle of pre-dreadnought era armoured cruisers specifically intended for operations with the battlefleet.
Later, Fisher and Gard also provided figures for a design having these particulars: length 500 feet, beam 70 feet; displacement 14,000 tons normal; SHP minimum 35,000 for 25 knots; four 9.2in, twelve 7.5in; armoured belt 6in; decks 1½in–2in–3in (middle). The 10in guns were rejected because their ballistic increase over the 9.2in was considered insufficient to justify the increase in weight.
The Committee considered seven basic designs: one by Fisher and Gard, the remainder provided by Philip Watts and J. H. Narbeth. The members were reminded that the role of the cruiser had not yet been clearly defined but that, theoretically, it was considered to include:
1. Reconnaissance in force.
2. Support of smaller scouting cruisers.
3. Independent commerce protection duties.
4.