 HMSNew Zealand between 1904 and 1911. | |
| History | |
|---|---|
 United Kingdom | |
| Name | HMSNew Zealand (later HMSZealandia) |
| Namesake |
|
| Builder | Portsmouth Dockyard |
| Laid down | 9 February 1903 |
| Launched | 4 February 1904 |
| Completed | June 1905 |
| Commissioned | 11 July 1905 |
| Decommissioned | 20 September 1917 |
| Renamed | Renamed HMSZealandia on 1 December 1911 |
| Fate | Sold forscrapping, 8 November 1921 |
| General characteristics | |
| Class & type | King Edward VII-classpre-dreadnought battleship |
| Displacement | |
| Length | 453 ft 9 in (138.3 m) (loa) |
| Beam | 75 ft (22.9 m) |
| Draught | 25 ft 8 in (7.82 m) |
| Installed power |
|
| Propulsion |
|
| Speed | 18.5knots (34.3 km/h; 21.3 mph) |
| Complement | 777 |
| Armament | |
| Armour | |
HMSNew Zealand was aKing Edward VII-classbattleship of theRoyal Navy. Like all ships of the class (apart fromHMSKing Edward VII) she was named after an important part of theBritish Empire. The ship was built byPortsmouth Dockyard between 1903 and 1905. Armed with a battery of four 12-inch (305 mm) and four 9.2 in (234 mm) guns, she and hersister ships marked a significant advance in offensive power compared to earlier British battleship designs that did not carry the 9.2 in guns.
Aftercommissioning in July 1905, she served briefly with theAtlantic Fleet from October to March 1907 before transferring to theChannel Fleet. She then joined theHome Fleet in 1909. She was renamedHMSZealandia in 1911. In 1912, she, along with her sister ships, was assigned to the3rd Battle Squadron, part of the Home Fleet. That year, the squadron went to theMediterranean Sea during theFirst Balkan War as part of an internationalblockade of Montenegro. In 1913, the ship returned to British waters.
When theFirst World War broke out,Zealandia was transferred back to the 3rd Battle Squadron, which was assigned to theGrand Fleet, the main British fleet during the war. Through 1914 and 1915, the ships frequently went to sea to search for German vessels, butZealandia saw no action during this period. By the end of the year, the Grand Fleet stopped operating with the older 3rd Battle Squadron ships, and in November 1915,Zealandia was detached to serve in theGallipoli Campaign. The campaign ended shortly thereafter, however, and soZealandia returned to Britain in January 1916 and rejoined the 3rd Battle Squadron in March.Paid off in late 1917, the ship was converted into a gunnerytraining ship in early 1918, but she never served in that capacity. In 1919, she was used as abarracks ship before being sold in 1921 andbroken up in 1923.
Following the development ofpre-dreadnought typebattleships carrying heavy secondary guns of 8-inch (203 mm) diameter in the ItalianRegia Marina and theUnited States Navy, theRoyal Navy decided to build similar ships. Initial proposals called for a battleship equipped with eight 7.5 in (190 mm) guns to support the main battery, though under the direction ofWilliam Henry White, theDirector of Naval Construction, these were replaced with four 9.2 in (234 mm) guns. The new ships, though based on the generalMajestic type that had formed the basis of the preceding four battleship designs, marked the first significant change in the series.[1] Like all late pre-dreadnoughts that entered service in the mid-1900s,New Zealand was made almost instantaneously obsolescent by the commissioning of the all-big-gunHMS Dreadnought in December 1906, armed with a battery of ten heavy guns compared to the typical four of most pre-dreadnoughts.[2]
New Zealand was 453 feet 9 inches (138.30 m)long overall, with abeam of 75 ft (23 m) and adraft of 25 ft 8 in (7.82 m). TheKing Edward VII-class battleshipsdisplaced 15,585 to 15,885long tons (15,835 to 16,140 t)normally and up to 17,009 to 17,290 long tons (17,282 to 17,567 t)fully loaded. Her crew numbered 777 officers andratings. TheKing Edward VII-class ships were powered by a pair of 4-cylindertriple-expansion engines that drove twoscrews, with steam provided by sixteenwater-tube boilers. The boilers were trunked into twofunnels locatedamidships. TheKing Edward VII-class ships had a top speed of 18.5knots (34.3 km/h; 21.3 mph) from 18,000indicated horsepower (13,000 kW).[3]
New Zealand had amain battery of four12-inch (305 mm) 40-calibre guns mounted in twin-gun turrets fore and aft. These were supported by a heavysecondary battery of four9.2 in (234 mm) guns in four single turrets, two on eachbroadside. The ships also mounted ten6-inch (152 mm) 45-calibre guns mounted incasemates, in addition to fourteen12-pounder 3 in (76 mm) guns and fourteen3-pounder 47 mm (1.9 in) guns for defence againsttorpedo boats.[3] As was customary for battleships of the period, she was also equipped with five18-inch (457 mm) torpedo tubes submerged in thehull; two were on each broadside, with the fifth in the stern.[4]
New Zealand had anarmoured belt that was 9 inches (229 mm) thick; the transversebulkheads on the aft end of the belt was 8 to 12 in (203 to 305 mm) thick. The sides of her main battery turrets were also 8 to 12 in thick, atop 12 inbarbettes, and the 9.2 turrets had 5 to 9 in (127 to 229 mm) sides. The casemate battery was protected with 7 in (178 mm) of armour plate. Herconning tower had 12-inch-thick sides. She was fitted with two armoureddecks, 1 and 2.5 in (25 and 64 mm) thick, respectively.[3]
HMSNew Zealand, named for theColony of New Zealand, was ordered under the 1902/1903 Naval Estimates and built atPortsmouth Dockyard. She waslaid down on 9 February 1903, launched on 4 February 1904, and completed in June 1905.New Zealand commissioned on 11 July atDevonport Dockyard for service in theAtlantic Fleet. She underwent a refit atGibraltar from October to December 1906, and transferred to theChannel Fleet on 4 March 1907. That year, the ship underwent a refit that included the installation of newfire control equipment andsearchlights. Under a fleet reorganisation on 24 March 1909, the Channel Fleet became the 2nd Division,Home Fleet, andNew Zealand became a Home Fleet unit in that division.[3][5][6]
To release her name for use by the newbattlecruiserNew Zealand, which had been presented to the Royal Navy by the government of New Zealand, it became necessary to renameNew Zealand in 1911. At first the nameCaledonia, theRoman name for Scotland, was favoured, but this met opposition in New Zealand. Eventually, the nameZealandia, a personification of New Zealand, was agreed upon, and the ship was renamedZealandia on 1 December 1911.[7]
Under a fleet reorganisation in May 1912,Zealandia and all seven of her sisters (Africa,Britannia,Commonwealth,Dominion,Hibernia,Hindustan, andKing Edward VII) were assigned to form the3rd Battle Squadron, part of the First Fleet, Home Fleet. The squadron was detached to theMediterranean Sea in November because of theFirst Balkan War (October 1912 – May 1913); it arrived atMalta on 27 November and subsequently participated in ablockade by an international force ofMontenegro and in an occupation ofScutari. The squadron returned to the United Kingdom in 1913 and rejoined the Home Fleet on 27 June.[7]
Upon the outbreak of theFirst World War in August 1914, the 3rd Battle Squadron, at the time under the command of Vice AdmiralEdward Bradford, was assigned to the Grand Fleet and based atRosyth, where it was reinforced with the fiveDuncan-class battleships,[8][9] It was used to supplement the Grand Fleet'scruisers on theNorthern Patrol.[7] On 6 August, the day after Britain declared war on Germany, elements of the Grand Fleet sortied to inspect the coast of Norway in search of a German naval base violating Norwegian neutrality.Zealandia and the rest of the 3rd Battle Squadron provided distant support to the operation. No such base was found, and the ships returned to port the next day. On 14 August, the ships of the Grand Fleet went to sea for battle practice before conducting a sweep into theNorth Sea later that day and into 15 August.[10] During sweeps by the fleet, she and her sisters often steamed at the heads of divisions of the far more valuabledreadnoughts, where they could protect the dreadnoughts by watching formines or by being the first to strike them.[11] On 2 November 1914, the squadron was detached to reinforce the Channel Fleet and was rebased at Portland. It returned to the Grand Fleet on 13 November 1914.[12]
On 14 December, the1st Battlecruiser Squadron,2nd Battle Squadron, and accompanying cruisers and destroyers left port to intercept the German forces preparing toraid Scarborough, Hartlepool and Whitby. On the first reports of contact with German units on the morning of 16 December, the Grand Fleet commander, AdmiralJohn Jellicoe, ordered Bradford to take the 3rd Battle Squadron to support the ships in contact at 10:00. Four hours later, they met the1st and4th Battle Squadrons, en route fromScapa Flow, though they failed to reach the GermanHigh Seas Fleet before the latter withdrew. The Grand Fleet remained at sea until late on 17 December, at which point the 3rd Battle Squadron was ordered back to Rosyth.[13]Zealandia and the rest of the squadron joined the Grand Fleet for another sweep into the North Sea on 25 December. The fleet returned to its ports two days later, having failed to locate any German vessels.[14]
The 3rd Battle Squadron went to sea on 12 January 1915 for gunnery training, steaming north and passing to the west ofOrkney on the night of 13–14 January. After completing training on the 14th, they returned to Rosyth on 15 January.[15] On 23 January, the 1st and2nd Battlecruiser Squadrons sortied to ambush the GermanI Scouting Group in what resulted in theBattle of Dogger Bank the following day. Later on the 23rd, the rest of the Grand Fleet, includingZealandia, sortied to support the battlecruisers. The 3rd Squadron ships left first and steamed at full speed to reach ships of theHarwich Force, which had reported contact with German vessels. The battlecruisers intervened first, andZealandia and her sisters arrived around 14:00, by which time the battlecruisers had sunk thearmoured cruiserBlücher and the surviving German ships had fled. The 3rd Battle Squadron patrolled the area with the rest of the Grand Fleet over the night before being detached at 08:00 on 25 January to steam to Rosyth.[16]
Elements of the Grand Fleet went to sea repeatedly over the next few months. The 3rd Battle Squadron patrolled the central North Sea in company with the3rd Cruiser Squadron from 10 to 13 March. The two units again went to sea to sweep the central North Sea from 5 to 8 April. A major fleet operation followed on 11 April, with the entire Grand Fleet sortieing for a sweep of the North Sea on 12 and 13 April. The squadrons returned to their ports on 14 April to replenish their fuel. Another such operation followed on 17 April, which also failed to find any German ships. The 3rd Battle Squadron returned to Rosyth late on 18 April. The fleet sortied again on 21 April, returning to port two days later. The 3rd Battle Squadron, joined by the 3rd Cruiser Squadron, patrolled the northern North Sea from 5 to 10 May, during which a GermanU-boat attacked the battleships but failed to score a hit.[17]
Another sweep into the North Sea took place on 17–19 May, and no German forces were encountered. The fleet went to sea again on 29 May for a patrol south to theDogger Bank before returning to port on 31 May, again without having located any German vessels. The Grand Fleet spent much of June in port conducting training, but the most modern units went to sea on 11 June for gunnery practice to the northwest ofShetland. While they were training,Zealandia and the rest of the 3rd Battle Squadron, along with the 3rd Cruiser Squadron, patrolled the central North Sea. Fleet activities were limited in July, owing to a threatenedstrike by coal miners, which began on 18 July and threatened the supply of coal for the fleet's ships. The strike continued into August, which led Jellicoe to continue to limit fleet activities to preserve his stocks of coal. The fleet saw little activity in September, and during this period, the Grand Fleet began to go to sea without the older ships of the 3rd Battle Squadron.[18]
On 6 November 1915, a division of the 3rd Battle Squadron, consisting of the battleshipsZealandia,Hibernia (theflagship),Russell, andAlbemarle, was detached from the Grand Fleet to serve in theGallipoli Campaign.Albemarle had to return for repairs, assisted byHibernia and accompanied byZealandia, after suffering severe damage in heavy seas on the first night of the outbound voyage.Zealandia incurred damage to hergun ports, which also necessitated repairs. After work onZealandia was completed, she,Russell, andHibernia pressed on and arrived at theDardanelles on 14 December 1915. In late January 1916,Zealandia andHibernia left the eastern Mediterranean to return to the United Kingdom, arriving at Portsmouth Dockyard on 6 February 1916.Zealandia underwent a refit there that lasted until March 1916, after which the ship rejoined the 3rd Battle Squadron and the Grand Fleet on 26 March 1916.[19][20]
On 29 April 1916, the 3rd Battle Squadron was rebased atSheerness, and on 3 May 1916 it was separated from the Grand Fleet, being transferred to theNore Command.Zealandia remained there with the squadron until September 1917, undergoing a refit atChatham Dockyard from December 1916 to June 1917, which saw the 6-inch guns removed from their casemate mounts, four of which were re-mounted in shielded pivot mounts where the 12-pounder guns had been located on the upper deck. On 20 September 1917,Zealandia left the 3rd Battle Squadron and paid off into reserve at Portsmouth Dockyard. While in reserve, she was refitted between January and September 1918 for use as a gunnerytraining ship, receiving much of the upgraded fire control equipment that her sister shipCommonwealth did, although nottorpedo bulges. She also received a pair of 3-inchanti-aircraft guns. Although she never recommissioned or entered service as a gunnery training ship, she was included in many experiments, including the use of various types of fire control equipment. She was used as anaccommodation ship at Portsmouth beginning in 1919.Zealandia was placed on the disposal list on 2 June 1919, and on 8 November 1921 she was sold for scrapping to Stanlee Shipbreaking Company. She was resold to Slough Trading Company, then resold again to German scrappers, and left Portsmouth on 23 November 1923 forscrapping in Germany.[21][22]
