The entirely new design was designated F’’. It was conceived from the outset as an enlarged Dreadnought with the same gun arrangement.14 Work proceeded very rapidly, the drawings being submitted for Board approval in August 1907. Compared to Bellerophon, the new ship had a 12in/50 main battery and twenty rather than sixteen 4in anti-torpedo guns (total armament weight grew by 400 tons).15 Power was increased to 24,150 IHP equivalent. Disposition and thickness of armour was the same as in Design F submitted on 4 July. Estimated unit cost was £1,900,000, £5000 more than the estimated cost of Design F. Three ships of this St Vincent class were built under the 1907–8 programme. In appearance they closely resembled the Bellerophon class, although they were considerably larger.
HMS Vanguard had the 4in guns atop ‘A’ turret moved to the top of her forward superstructure, replaced by a rangefinder built into the turret roof (it is the ridge visible towards the rear of the turret roof).
St Vincent as in 1910. Note the glare screens atop the end and wing turrets, to protect gunners from searchlight glare at night. They appear to have consisted of pipe frames covered by cloth. The as-fitted plan shows guns only atop ‘A’ turret, but conical pedestals atop the others. Note that the wing turrets show their 4in guns staggered atop the turret, so to use them the turrets had to be trained outboard about 45° abaft amidships. The arcs of fire of the light guns are limited to about 30° to either side for each pair, the guns being grouped to give all-round coverage. The plan view shows the coaling winches, also used to handle the torpedo nets (some of them could be interchanged with cargo davits as needed). Soon after completion, the two guns atop ‘A’ turret were replaced by a large exposed rangefinder near the back of the turret. The ship apparently came out heavy, since she floated much deeper than the designer’s waterline shown on the plans. Note, too, the absence of a stern walk, because, like Dreadnought, this ship had her officers forward (her admiral’s quarters were on the main deck forward of ‘A’ turret and took up almost the entire volume of the structure under the forecastle except for anchor-handling machinery and hawse pipes). Ratings were aft. (A D Baker III)
The 12 June 1907 Board meeting sketched the 1908–9 Estimates. On the basis that the fourth improved battleship would complete the two battleship squadrons, the Board decided that the other two armoured ships of the programme should be large cruisers (the ‘New Cruiser’). After considering several alternatives, it fastened on something smaller and less expensive than an Invincible, armed with eight 9.2in guns and capable of 25 knots, with 6in armour (as in Invincible).16 This a mini-Invincible was fast enough to press home reconnaissance because it was faster than any foreign ship, yet capable of fighting the older German battleships. The only foreign cruiser it could not fight was the single German battlecruiser (Von der Tann) – and three Invincibles could surely deal with her. Other recent foreign cruisers with more powerful weapons (Japanese ships and Rurik) were much slower than the projected cruiser.
Watts’ design proposal was discussed and generally approved at a 12 November Sea Lords meeting. He submitted a formal Legend, comparing his design to an Invincible, on 26 November.17 Given Controller’s approval, he expected to have full drawings available in mid-March 1908. The twin 9.2in/50s were arranged much as in Invincible, except that the two en échelon gun houses were further apart, giving the guns 60° rather than 35° arcs on the opposite sides (this foreshadowed the change made in the Indefatigable the next year). Mountings were analogous to those in Invincible, with 100 rather than 80 rounds per gun. As in contemporary battleships, the low-velocity 4in guns of the Invincibles were replaced by high-velocity weapons. Despite the cut in armament (weight reduced from 2540 tons to 1690 tons), this was still a large ship: 525ft × 74ft × 25ft (15,750 tons) and it needed almost as much power (40,000 rather than 41,000 equivalent IHP). Side armour was roughly that of Invincible – i.e., the usual armoured cruiser suit. Estimated cost was £1,454,000. Moving the waist guns together (Design A) and reducing protection to that of Minotaur would reduce length to 525ft (14,000 tons). An alternative B design (produced to answer a 30 October 1907 query) had three rather than four twin 9.2in guns; length was reduced to 510ft and displacement to 13,000 tons. Cost would have been cut to £1,000,000. Watts also produced two more designs, C and D. At least one of the designs showed five rather than four twin turrets. It fed into the project for an ‘Improved St Vincent’ class battleship described below. This design probably had her two after turrets superfiring (as adopted for the new battleship), but that is not certain.
When the 1908–9 programme was submitted, the two smaller cruisers were replaced by one modified Invincible, HMS Indefatigable.18 The shift was probably made because the Germans had ordered a second battlecruiser, indicating that the 9.2in ship was not sufficient. Nothing in the Cover explains what happened, but the urgency of the change suggests why Indefatigable was a modified Invincible rather than some version of Design E (the ship is sometimes incorrectly credited with features of Design E, such as 12in/50 guns).19 Apparently there was some question as to whether the new battlecruiser would be armed with 50-calibre guns; only on 24 October 1908 did DNO (Jellicoe) write that ‘it has been definitely decided that the armoured cruiser for the current year’s programme shall carry eight 12in 45 calibre guns’.20
DNC submitted the Legend on 31 March 1908, with the comment that the waist guns had been placed more en échelon to enable them to fire through wider cross-deck arcs (70° rather than the 35° of the earlier ships). Unlike Battlecruiser E, this ship retained the 45-calibre guns of the earlier Invincible. Other changes were high-powered 4in anti-torpedo guns instead of the lower-powered weapons of the Invincibles, rearranged torpedo tubes (two aft instead of two forward, two aft and one astern) and some rearrangement of armour (though thicknesses were the same as in Invincible). Outside the citadel, the protective deck was 2in thick fore and aft, instead of 1½in forward and 2½in aft. In a departure from the previous design, this one had uptake protection (1in athwartships, 1½in in the fore and aft direction). These apparently minor changes (and a longer citadel) increased total armour weight from 3260 tons to 3800 tons. The ship would be 25ft longer (555ft) and 2ft broader, with 6in more draught and 1135 tons more displacement, but she was expected to make the same 25 knots as the earlier ships (on 43,000 rather than 41,000 equivalent IHP). The design received the Board Stamp on 19 November 1908.
HMS Collingwood is shown at Scapa Flow some time after August 1917, identifiable by her two clinker screens (the other ships had screens only for their forefunnels). She is listing, probably for a post-refit inclining experiment (hence the absence of anti-aircraft guns). As yet there is no additional rangefinder atop her foretop. She shows the redistributed searchlight positions ordered after Jutland and clinker screens atop both funnels. All three ships of this class had the enlarged compass platforms and foremast searchlight platforms tested on board Bellerophon. They could be distinguished by their double searchlights. This photograph was identified as Vanguard, but apparently she had only the one clinker screen. (Dr David Stevens, RAN Seapower Centre)
New Zealand as built. She and other early British battlecruisers (up to the Lions) had circular stairways (ladders) for the use of the captain and any flag officer aboard to get up to the bridge from their quarters under the forecastle. This feature was omitted in Queen Mary, because the officers’ quarters were