 Drake at anchor in New York Harbor in 1909 | |
| History | |
|---|---|
 United Kingdom | |
| Name | HMSDrake |
| Namesake | SirFrancis Drake |
| Builder | Pembroke Dock |
| Cost | approx. £800 000 |
| Laid down | 24 April 1899 |
| Launched | 5 March 1901 |
| Christened | Mrs. Lort Phillips |
| Completed | 9 January 1903 |
| Commissioned | 13 January 1903 |
| Fate | Sunk, 2 October 1917 |
| General characteristics | |
| Class & type | Drake-classarmoured cruiser |
| Displacement | 14,150 long tons (14,380 t) (normal) |
| Length | 533 ft 6 in (162.6 m) (o/a) |
| Beam | 71 ft 4 in (21.7 m) |
| Draught | 26 ft (7.9 m) |
| Installed power |
|
| Propulsion |
|
| Speed | 23knots (43 km/h; 26 mph) |
| Complement | 900 |
| Armament |
|
| Armour | |
HMSDrake was thelead ship ofher class ofarmoured cruisers built for theRoyal Navy around 1900. She was assigned to several differentcruisersquadrons in home waters upon completion, sometimes asflagship, until 1911 when she became the flagship of theAustralia Station. Upon her return home, she was assigned to the6th Cruiser Squadron of the 2nd Fleet and became the squadron's flagship when the fleet was incorporated into theGrand Fleet upon the outbreak of theFirst World War.
She remained with the Grand Fleet until refitted in late 1915, when she was transferred to theNorth America and West Indies Station for convoy escort duties. In 1916 she participated in the unsuccessful search for the Germancommerce raiderSMS Möwe. In late 1917Drake was torpedoed by a Germansubmarine off Northern Ireland and sank in shallow water with the loss of eighteen lives nearRathlin Island. The wreck was partlysalvaged, beginning in 1920; afishing trawler collided with the remainder of the wreck in 1962 and sank the next day. The wrecks of the two ships were demolished during the 1970s, but their remnants remain a popular dive site. Since June 2017,Drake's wreck has been a scheduled historic monument.
TheDrake-class ships were designed as faster and larger versions of the precedingCressy class with a slightly more powerful armament. Theydisplaced 14,100long tons (14,300 t), over 2,100 long tons (2,134 t) more than the earlier ships.[1] TheDrakes had anoverall length of 553 feet 6 inches (168.7 m), abeam of 71 feet 4 inches (21.7 m) and a deepdraught of 26 feet 9 inches (8.2 m). They were powered by two 4-cylindertriple-expansion steam engines, each driving one shaft, which produced a total of 30,000indicated horsepower (22,000 kW) and gave a maximum speed of 23knots (43 km/h; 26 mph) using steam provided by 43Belleville boilers. On hersea trials,Drake reached a speed of 24.11 knots (44.65 km/h; 27.75 mph).[2] She carried a maximum of 2,500 long tons (2,500 t) of coal and her complement consisted of 900 officers andratings.[3]
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The main armament of theDrake class consisted of twobreech-loading (BL)9.2-inch (234 mm) Mk X guns in singleturrets, one each fore and aft of thesuperstructure.[3] Her secondary armament of sixteenBL 6-inch (152 mm) Mk VII guns was arranged incasematesamidships. Eight of these were mounted on the lower deck and were only usable in calm weather.[4] A dozenquick-firing (QF)12-pounder (76 mm) 12-cwt guns were fitted for defence againsttorpedo boats. Two additional12-pounder 8-cwt guns could be dismounted for service ashore.[5] The ships also carried three3-pounder (47 mm)Hotchkiss guns and two submerged18-inch (450 mm)torpedo tubes.[2]
By February 1916, all of the lower casemates for her six-inch guns had been plated over and six of them had been remounted on the upper deck so they could be used in heavy weather. Several twelve-pounders had to be removed to make room for the six-inch guns.[6]
The ship'swaterlinearmour belt had a maximum thickness of 6 inches and was closed off by 5-inch (127 mm) transversebulkheads. The armour of the gun turrets and their barbettes was 6 inches thick while that of the casemates was 5 inches thick. The protectivedeck armour ranged in thickness from 1–2.5 inches (25–64 mm) and the conning tower was protected by 12 inches (305 mm) of armour.[2]
HMSDrake, named after the Elizabethan adventurer SirFrancis Drake,[7] waslaid down atPembroke Dock on 24 April 1899,[8] andlaunched on 5 March 1901, when she was christened by Mrs. Lort Phillips, wife of local landowner F. Lort Phillips, ofLawrenny.[9] Based atPortsmouth for her gun, torpedo and circle trials in late 1902, there was also trials with a new type of propeller.[10] She was completed and temporarily assigned to the Fleet reserve on 9 January 1903,[11] and commissioned to the Cruiser Squadron of the Channel Fleet on 13 January 1903,[12] under the command of the futureFirst Sea Lord, CaptainFrancis Bridgeman.[13] From January to May 1903 she cruised with the Mediterranean squadron together with her sister shipGood Hope,[14] visiting among other placesVilagarcía,Funchal and the Canary Islands.[15]
John Jellicoe, also a future First Sea Lord and commander of the Grand Fleet, was her next captain in 1903–1904.[16] Between 1905 and 1907Drake was theflagship of the2nd Cruiser Squadron; AdmiralPrince Louis of Battenberg in command. During Battenberg's tenure the squadron visited Greece, Portugal, Canada, and the United States, where the American press commented favourably on Prince Louis's courtesy, unassuming manner and democratic nature.[17] In 1907 the ship was commanded by CaptainArthur Hayes-Sadler and serving as the flagship of the 2nd Cruiser Squadron under the command ofRear AdmiralCharles Henry Adair.[18] The following year,Drake became the flagship of1st Cruiser Squadron of theChannel Fleet (attending theHudson–Fulton Celebration during this time) and then was assigned as flagship of the5th Cruiser Squadron of theAtlantic Fleet in 1909.[19] She was re-commissioned as the flagship of the Australia Station from early 1911 until returning to home waters in 1913.[20] She then went into the6th Cruiser Squadron, notionally part of theSecond Fleet, on 13 March 1913, but actually was in care and maintenance under the control of theThird Fleet.[21]
That fleet was merged into the Grand Fleet upon mobilization in mid-1914 andDrake became flagship of Rear AdmiralWilliam Grant, commander of the squadron. The squadron was briefly deployed at the beginning of the war to blockade the northern exit from theNorth Sea.[22] In October 1914, under the command ofAubrey Smith, the ship was used to carry Russian bullion worth eight millionpounds to Britain; on arrival,Drake lay 30 miles (48 km) offArchangel, and the gold was brought to her at night.[23] The ship was refitted in October 1915[24] and then transferred to the North America and West Indies Station for convoy escort duties.[12] She participated in the unsuccessful search in theWest Indies for the German commerce raiderSMS Möwe in December 1916.[25]
Drake wastorpedoed by the German submarineU-79, commanded byKapitänleutnant Otto Rohrbeck,[26] on 2 October 1917 after her Convoy HH 24 had dispersed for its several destinations. The ship was about five miles (8.0 km) offRathlin Island at the tip of Northern Ireland when she was hit. The torpedo struck the No. 2 Boiler Room and caused two of her engine rooms and the boiler room to flood, killing 18 crewmen. These gave her alist and knocked out her steam-powered steering. Her captain decided to steam for Church Bay on Rathlin Island and accidentally collided with themerchant shipSS Mendip Range before she dropped anchor. The collision did not damageDrake much, butMendip Range was forced tobeach herself lest she sink.Drake's crew was taken off before she capsized later that afternoon.[27]
Her wreck at55°17.1084′N06°12.5136′W / 55.2851400°N 6.2085600°W /55.2851400; -6.2085600 in Church Bay is a favourite site for divers because the wreck is only at a depth between 15–19 metres (49–62 ft) and generally has good visibility. Salvage of the wreck began in 1920 and continued for several years. On the night of 3 November 1962, the steamtrawlerElla Hewett struck the wreck and subsequently sank almost atopDrake. Ammunition and ordnance was salvaged during the 1970s and the wrecks were demolished withdepth charges to reduce the chance of any other ships coming to grief on the wrecks. In 1978, the remaining fuel oil was salvaged to reduce pollution from leaking oil.[28]
Shipwrecks and maritime incidents in October 1917 | |
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| Shipwrecks |
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| Other incidents |
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