 Empress of India at anchor, 1906 | |
| History | |
|---|---|
 United Kingdom | |
| Name | HMSEmpress of India |
| Namesake | Regnal title ofQueen Victoria |
| Ordered | 1889 Naval Programme |
| Builder | Pembroke Dockyard |
| Cost | £912,612 |
| Laid down | 9 July 1889 |
| Launched | 7 May 1891 |
| Completed | August 1893 |
| Commissioned | 11 September 1893 |
| Out of service | Early 1912 |
| Fate | Sunk as target, 4 November 1913 |
| General characteristics (as built) | |
| Class & type | Royal Sovereign-classpredreadnought battleship |
| Displacement | 14,150long tons (14,380 t) (normal) |
| Length | 380 ft (115.8 m) (pp) |
| Beam | 75 ft (22.9 m) |
| Draught | 27 ft 6 in (8.4 m) |
| Installed power |
|
| Propulsion | 2 shafts; 2Triple-expansion steam engines |
| Speed | 17.5knots (32.4 km/h; 20.1 mph) |
| Range | 4,720 nmi (8,740 km; 5,430 mi) @ 10 knots (19 km/h; 12 mph) |
| Complement | 692 (asflagship, 1903) |
| Armament |
|
| Armour | |
HMSEmpress of India was one of sevenRoyal Sovereign-classpre-dreadnought battleships built for theRoyal Navy during the 1890s. The ship wascommissioned in 1893 and served as theflagship of thesecond-in-command of theChannel Fleet for two years. She was transferred to the Mediterranean Fleet in 1897, during which timeEmpress of India was assigned to theInternational Squadron blockadingCrete during the uprising there. She returned home in 1901 and was briefly assigned as acoast guard ship in Ireland before she became the second flagship of theHome Fleet. The ship was reduced toreserve in 1905 and accidentally collided with the submarineHMS A10 the following year.Empress of India was taken out of service in early 1912 and accidentally struck a German sailing ship while under tow. She was sunk as atarget ship in 1913.
The design of theRoyal Sovereign-class ships was derived from that of theAdmiral-classironclad battleships, greatly enlarged to improveseakeeping and to provide space for asecondary armament as in the precedingTrafalgar-class ironclad battleships.[1] The shipsdisplaced 14,150long tons (14,380 t) at normal load and 15,580 long tons (15,830 t) atdeep load. They had alength between perpendiculars of 380 feet (115.8 m) and anoverall length of 410 feet 6 inches (125.1 m), abeam of 75 feet (22.9 m), and adraught of 27 feet 6 inches (8.4 m).[2] As a flagship,Empress of India's crew consisted of 692 officers andratings in 1903.[3]
TheRoyal Sovereigns were powered by a pair of three-cylinder, verticaltriple-expansion steam engines, each driving one shaft. TheirHumphrys & Tennant engines[2] were designed to produce a total of 11,000indicated horsepower (8,200 kW) and a maximum speed of 17.5knots (32.4 km/h; 20.1 mph) using steam provided by eightcylindrical boilers withforced draught. The ships carried a maximum of 1,420 long tons (1,443 t) of coal which gave them a range of 4,720nautical miles (8,740 km; 5,430 mi) at a speed of 10 knots (19 km/h; 12 mph).[3]
Their main armament consisted of fourbreech-loading (BL)13.5-inch (343 mm) guns mounted in two twin-gunbarbettes, one each fore and aft of thesuperstructure.[4] Each gun was provided with 80rounds.[3] Their secondary armament consisted of tenquick-firing (QF)6-inch (152 mm) guns.[2] 200 rounds per gun were carried by the ships.[3] Sixteen QF 6-pounder (2.2 in (57 mm)) guns of an unknown type and a dozenQF 3-pounder (1.9 in (47 mm))Hotchkiss guns were fitted for defence againsttorpedo boats. The two 3-pounders in the upperfighting top were removed in 1903–04 and all of the remaining light guns from the lower fighting tops and main deck followed in 1905–09. TheRoyal Sovereign-class ships mounted seven 14-inch (356 mm)torpedo tubes, althoughEmpress of India had four of hers removed in 1902.[5]
TheRoyal Sovereigns' armour scheme was similar to that of theTrafalgars, as thewaterlinebelt ofcompound armour only protected the area between the barbettes. The 14–18-inch (356–457 mm) belt and transversebulkheads 14–16 inches (356–406 mm) thick closed off the ends of the belt. Above the belt was astrake of 4-inch (102 mm) nickel-steel armour closed off by 3-inch (76 mm) transverse bulkheads.[2] The barbettes were protected by compound armour, ranging in thickness from 11 to 17 inches (279 to 432 mm) and the casemates for the 6-inch guns had a thickness equal to their diameter. The thicknesses of the armourdeck ranged from 2.5 to 3 inches (64 to 76 mm). The walls of the forwardconning tower were 12–14 inches (305–356 mm) thick and the aft conning tower was protected by 3-inch plates.[3]
HMSEmpress of India, named after aregnal title ofQueen Victoria,[6] was the first ship of her name to serve in the Royal Navy.[7] She was ordered under the Naval Defence Act Programme of 1889 with the name ofRenown and waslaid down on 9 July 1889 atPembroke Dockyard. The ship was renamed before she waslaunched[8] on 7 May 1891 byLouise Margaret,Duchess of Connaught and Strathearn. One man was killed when a cable snapped the following day. The ship was then transferred toChatham Dockyard, where she was completed in August 1893, at a cost of£912,612.[9]
Empress of India was commissioned at Chatham on 11 September 1893 to relieve the ironclad battleshipAnson as the flagship of the second-in-command of the Channel Fleet. She participated in annual manoeuvres in theIrish Sea andEnglish Channel as a unit of the "Blue Fleet", 2–5 August 1894.[8] Sometime during the year, the ship was fitted withbilge keels to reduce herrolling.[10] In June 1895,Empress of India was among the ships representing the Royal Navy at the opening of theKaiser Wilhelm Canal in Germany. That summer, the ship again took part in annual manoeuvres, held from 24 July to 30 August 1895.[8] She became aprivate ship in December 1895[10] and waspaid off at Chatham on 7 June 1897. The following day,Empress of India recommissioned for service with the Mediterranean Fleet. Before departing, she took part in theFleet Review for theDiamond Jubilee of Queen Victoria atSpithead on 26 June 1897.[8]
The ship arrived atMalta to begin her Mediterranean service in August 1897. In August and September 1898, she was part of theInternational Squadron, a multinational force made up of ships of theAustro-Hungarian Navy,French Navy,Imperial German Navy, Italian Royal Navy (Regia Marina),Imperial Russian Navy, and Royal Navy that intervened in the 1897-1898 Greek Christian uprising against theOttoman Empire′s rule inCrete.
She also was in Cretan waters on 6 November 1898, when members of her crew joined crewmen from the British battleshipHMS Revenge in supervising the embarkation on the Britishtorpedo gunboatHMS Hussar of the last Ottoman forces on Crete, whichHussar transported toSalonica. Their departure marked the end of 229 years of Ottoman occupation of Crete.[11][12]
Captain Henry Hart Dyke was appointed in command in June 1899, and was succeeded by Captain John Ferris on 23 October 1900. The ship was relieved by the battleshipImplacable on 14 September 1901[8] and departedGibraltar homebound in early October.[13] On 12 October,Empress of India paid off atDevonport, but she recommissioned the next day under the command of CaptainHenry Louis Fleet,[14] to relieve the ironclad battleshipHowe atQueenstown, Ireland, as both thecoast guard ship there and as flagship toRear-AdmiralEdmund Jeffreys, Senior Naval Officer,Coast of Ireland Station.[8] The ship began an extensive refit atPlymouth in early March 1902.[15] During this refit her upper deck six-inch guns receivedcasemates to improve their protection.[10]
Empress of India was assigned to the Home Fleet on 7 May 1902, in which she served as flagship in port and as flagship of the second-in-command when the fleet was at sea. The ship participated in theCoronation Fleet Review forKing Edward VII held atSpithead on 16 August 1902,[16] and was back in Ireland later that month when she received theImperial Japanese Navyarmored cruiserAsama andprotected cruiserTakasago atCork.[17] CaptainCecil Burney was appointed in command on 16 September, as flag captain to the second-in-command of the Home Fleet (Rear-AdmiralGeorge Atkinson-Willes), who transferred his flag to the ship on the same day.[18] She was assigned as flag ship of the Home Squadron, which was at the time the permanent sea-going nucleus of the Home Fleet.[19]Empress of India served as flagship of "B Fleet" during combined manoeuvres of the Home Fleet, Mediterranean Fleet, and Channel Fleet offPortugal from 5 August to 9 August 1903, but her port engine broke down for 14 hours and the fleet had to leave her behind. Her sister shipRoyal Oak relieved her as flagship of the second-in-command of the Home Fleet on 1 June 1904,[20] and she became a private ship in the Home Fleet. The battleshipHannibal relieved her on 22 February 1905, and the ship paid off the next day.[8]
That same day,Empress of India recommissioned in reserve at Devonport and relieved the battleshipBarfleur as flagship of the new Fleet in Commission in Reserve at Home. In July 1905 she participated inReserve Fleet manoeuvres. In September 1905, theprotected cruiserAeolus relieved her of her duties, but she recommissioned on 31 October 1905 with a new nucleus crew to resume her Reserve Fleet duties. She then underwent a refit that lasted into 1906.[8]Empress of India collided with thesubmarineA10 inPlymouth Sound on 30 April 1906.[8]
When the Reserve Fleet was abolished in February 1907 and became the Home Fleet,Empress of India continued her service as flagship, but now for the Rear-Admiral, Devonport Division. On 25 May she was relieved as flagship by the protected cruiserNiobe. Three days later, the ship recommissioned as a special service vessel.[8]Empress of India relieved hersister shipRoyal Oak as parent ship of the special service vessels in November 1911.[21] On 2 March, the ship left Portsmouth under tow by thearmoured cruiserWarrior, en route to theMotherbank, where she was to be laid up, but she collided with the GermanbarqueWinderhudder en route and had to return to Portsmouth for repairs. She finally arrived at the Motherbank two months later and was laid up, awaiting disposal.[8]
On 4 November 1913,[8]Empress of India was used as atarget ship in firing trials inLyme Bay that were primarily intended to give officers and men an idea of the effect of live shell against a real target.[22] A secondary objective was to look at the problems caused by several ships firing at the same target at the same time. The first ship to engage the stationaryEmpress of India was thelight cruiserLiverpool, followed by twodreadnought battleshipsThunderer andOrion and the predreadnought battleshipKing Edward VII, and finally the four dreadnoughtsNeptune,King George V,Thunderer, andVanguard. By 16:45, "Empress of India was blazing furiously and down by the stern, sinking at" 18:30.[22] She had received forty-four 12-inch (305-mm) and 13.5-inch (343-mm) hits and "it is not surprising that an elderly ship sank,"[22] though the intention had been to repeat the firing at longer range before she did.[22]
WhenEmpress of India sank, she settled upside-down on the seabed, and somesalvage was soon carried out by aJersey company which owned the rights to the vessel. A big hole in her side was made not by a shell, but bysalvage divers removing acondenser. The wreck is accessible and is a deep dive forrecreational divers.[23]
Details of the firing are given in the table below.[22] The sinking is also referenced in theElvis Costello song"Veronica".
| Ship firing | Type of ship | Range | Firing order | Ammunition | Fired | Hits |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Liverpool | Light cruiser | 4,750 yd (4,340 m) | First | 6-inchHE shell | 16 | 7 |
| 4-inch (102 mm) HE shell | 66 | 22 | ||||
| Thunderer Orion | Dreadnought battleship | 9,800 yd (9,000 m) | Second | 13.5-inch common shell | 40 | 17 |
| King Edward VII | Predreadnought battleship | 9,800 yd (9,000 m) | Second | 12-inch common shell | 16 | 5 |
| 9.2-inch (234 mm) common shell | 18 | 7 | ||||
| 6-inch common shell | 27 | 5 | ||||
| Neptune King George V Thunderer Vanguard | Dreadnought battleships | 8,000–10,000 yd (7,300–9,100 m) | Third | 13.5-inch and 12-inch common shell | 95 | 22 |
Shipwrecks and maritime incidents in 1906 | |
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Shipwrecks and maritime incidents in 1911 | |
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Shipwrecks and maritime incidents in 1913 | |
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50°29′42″N2°57′54″W / 50.49500°N 2.96500°W /50.49500; -2.96500
