Designed to provide destroyerflotillas with a command ship, Bellona proved too slow in service from the start of her career. Her 25-knot (46km/h; 29mph) speed was barely capable of matching the speeds of the River-class destroyers she led in her flotilla in 1909 and proved inadequate to match the speed of later destroyers.[1]
Displacing3,350 long tons (3,400t), the ship had an overall length of 405 feet (123.4m), a beam of 41feet 6inches (12.6m) and a deep draught of 14 feet (4.3m). She was powered by two sets of Parsonssteam turbines, each driving two shafts. The turbines produced a total of 18,000 indicated horsepower (13,000kW), using steam produced by 12 Yarrow boilers that burned both fuel oil and coal, and gave a maximum speed of 25 knots (46km/h; 29mph). She carried a maximum of 780 long tons (790t) of coal and 189 long tons (192t) of fuel oil.[2] Her crew consisted of 317 officers and ratings.[1]
As a scout cruiser, the ship was only lightly protected to maximise her speed. She had a curved protective deck that was 1 inch (25mm) thick on the slope and 0.5 inches (13mm) on the flat.[2] Her conning tower was protected by four inches of armour.[1]
She was still assigned to the 1st Battle Squadron of the Grand Fleet in Scapa Flow at the start of World War I.[7] On 17 December 1914, Bellona collided with the destroyer leaderBroke, although both ships were seriously damaged, there were no deaths.[8] Captain Arthur Dutton relieved Royds on 24 April 1916.[5]Bellona was at the Battle of Jutland but was assigned to a position at the rear of the squadron and did not fire her guns.[9] Dutton was relieved in his turn by Captain Claud Sinclair on 28 August and was replaced by Captain Ernest Denison on 1 February 1917.[5] The ship was on detached duty by May,[10] probably for her conversion to a minelayer the following month,[1] and was briefly assigned to the 4th Battle Squadron by July[11] before rejoining the 1st Battle Squadron in August.[5]Bellona's stay was destined to short-lived as the ship was transferred to the 2nd Battle Squadron by October.[12]Bellona laid mines at the entrance to the Kattegat on the nights of 18/19 and 24/25 February 1918,[13] part of her total of 306 mines laid in four missions.[1] Captain Theodore Bigg relieved Denison on 15 November.[5] After the war, the ship was relieved of her assignment with the 2nd Battle Squadron and assigned to Devonport Dockyard in February 1919[14] and placed in reserve there the following month.[15] By 18 December, she had been listed for sale[16] and sold for scrap on 9 May 1921 to Thos. W. Ward at Lelant.[3]
Notes
↑ "Cwt" is the abbreviation for hundredweight, 20 cwt referring to the weight of the gun.
Corbett, Julian (March 1997). Naval Operations to the Battle of the Falklands. History of the Great War: Based on Official Documents. Vol.I (2nd, reprint of the 1938ed.). London and Nashville, Tennessee: Imperial War Museum and Battery Press. ISBN0-89839-256-X.
Corbett, Julian (1997). Naval Operations. History of the Great War: Based on Official Documents. Vol.II (reprint of the 1929 seconded.). London and Nashville, Tennessee: Imperial War Museum in association with the Battery Press. ISBN1-870423-74-7.
Corbett, Julian (1997). Naval Operations. History of the Great War: Based on Official Documents. Vol.III (reprint of the 1940 seconded.). London and Nashville, Tennessee: Imperial War Museum in association with the Battery Press. ISBN1-870423-50-X.
Friedman, Norman (2009). British Destroyers From Earliest Days to the Second World War. Annapolis, Maryland: Naval Institute Press. ISBN978-1-59114-081-8.
Friedman, Norman (2011). Naval Weapons of World War One. Barnsley, South Yorkshire, UK: Seaforth. ISBN978-1-84832-100-7.
Preston, Antony (1985). "Great Britain and Empire Forces". In Gardiner, Robert & Gray, Randal (eds.). Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships 1906–1921. Annapolis, Maryland: Naval Institute Press. pp.1–104. ISBN0-85177-245-5.
Phillips, Lawrie (2014). Pembroke Dockyard and the Old Navy: A Bicentennial History. Stroud, Gloucestershire, UK: The History Press. ISBN978-0-7509-5214-9.
Smith, Peter C. (2005). Into the Minefields: British Destroyer Minelaying 1916 - 1960. Barnsley, UK: Pen & Sword Maritime. ISBN1-84415-271-5.
The Boadicea-class cruiser was a pair of scout cruisers built for the Royal Navy in the first decade of the 20th century. They were the first class of this type to be fitted with steam turbine machinery. Upon completion in 1909–10, the sister ships served as flotilla leaders for destroyer flotillas of the First Fleet until 1913 when they were assigned to battleship squadrons. When the First World War began in August 1914, they remained with their squadrons as the First Fleet was incorporated into the Grand Fleet, although they changed squadrons over the course of the war. Both ships were present during the Battle of Jutland in mid-1916, but neither fired a shot. They were converted into minelayers the following year and both ships laid minefields in early 1918 in addition to other missions. The sisters were reduced to reserve in 1919 and sold for scrap in 1921 and 1926.
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HMS Essex was one of 10 Monmouth-class armoured cruisers built for the Royal Navy in the first decade of the 20th century. Upon completion in 1904 she was assigned to the 2nd Cruiser Squadron of the Channel Fleet. The ship was placed in reserve in March 1906 and recommissioned in 1909 for service with the 4th Cruiser Squadron on the North America and West Indies Station. In 1912, Essex returned home and was assigned to the Training Squadron of the Home Fleet. After a refit the following year, she rejoined the 4th Cruiser Squadron in early 1914.
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HMS Cordelia was a C-class light cruiser built for the Royal Navy during World War I. She was one of six ships of the Caroline sub-class and was completed at the beginning of 1915. The ship was assigned to the 1st and 4th Light Cruiser Squadrons (LCS) of the Grand Fleet for the entire war and played a minor role in the Battle of Jutland in mid-1916. Cordelia spent most of her time on uneventful patrols of the North Sea. She spent most of 1919 as a training ship before she was recommissioned for service with the Atlantic Fleet in 1920. The ship was placed in reserve at the end of 1922 and was sold for scrap in mid-1923.
The Active-class cruisers were a trio of scout cruisers built for the Royal Navy shortly before the First World War. They were initially assigned to the First Fleet and became destroyer flotilla leaders in 1914. Amphion and Fearless and their flotillas were assigned to the Harwich Force when the war began in August 1914. They went out on a patrol on the first day of the war and Amphion and her destroyers encountered and sank a German minelayer. On the voyage home, the cruiser struck a mine laid by the German ship and sank. She was the first ship of the Royal Navy to be sunk in the war.
HMS Active was the name ship of her class of three scout cruisers built for the Royal Navy in the 1910s. Completed in 1911, she was briefly assigned to several different units until the ship became the flotilla leader of the 2nd Destroyer Flotilla (DF) in 1914. When the First World War began in August of that year, the 2nd DF was assigned to the Grand Fleet where their primary task was to protect the fleet from submarines.
HMS Fearless was one of three Active-class scout cruisers built for the Royal Navy shortly before the First World War. Upon completion in 1913, the ship was assigned to the 1st Light Cruiser Squadron (LCS) of the 1st Fleet. She became flotilla leader of the 1st Destroyer Flotilla (DF) shortly before the start of the war in August 1914 and was transferred to the Harwich Force shortly after it began. Fearless participated in the Battle of Heligoland Bight and the Cuxhaven Raid later that year. The ship was transferred to the Grand Fleet in early 1915 and played a minor role in the Battle of Jutland the following year.
HMS Blanche was the second of two Blonde-class scout cruisers built for the Royal Navy in the first decade of the 20th century. She led the 1st Destroyer Flotilla from completion until 1912 and was then briefly transferred to the 4th Destroyer Flotilla before the ship was assigned to the 3rd Battle Squadron in 1913. During World War I, Blanche was assigned to several different battleship squadrons of the Grand Fleet. She was present at, but did not fight in, the Battle of Jutland in mid-1916. The ship was converted into a minelayer in early 1917 and made 16 sorties to lay mines during the war. Blanche was paid off in 1919 and sold for scrap in 1921.
HMS Blonde was the lead ship of her class of scout cruisers built for the Royal Navy in the first decade of the 20th century. She led the Seventh Destroyer Flotilla in the Mediterranean Fleet from completion until 1912. The ship was temporarily assigned to the First Destroyer Flotilla before she joined the Fourth Battle Squadron in 1913. During the First World War, Blonde was assigned to various battleship squadrons of the Grand Fleet. The ship was converted into a minelayer in 1917, but never actually laid any mines. She was reduced to reserve in 1919 and sold for scrap in 1920.
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