HMS Cassandra in Copenhagen | |
History | |
---|---|
United Kingdom | |
Name | HMS Cassandra |
Builder | Vickers Limited, Barrow in Furness |
Laid down | March 1916 |
Launched | 25 November 1916 |
Commissioned | June 1917 |
Identification | Pennant number: 3C (Jun 17);32 (Jan 18); 04 (Apr 18); [1] |
Fate | Sunk on 5 December 1918 by mine near Saaremaa (Oesel) isle |
General characteristics | |
Class and type | C-class light cruiser |
Displacement | 4,190 tons |
Length | 450 ft (140 m) |
Beam | 43.6 ft (13.3 m) |
Draught | 14 ft (4.3 m) |
Propulsion |
|
Speed | 29 knots (54 km/h; 33 mph) |
Range | carried 300 tons (950 tons maximum) of fuel oil |
Complement | 327 |
Armament | |
Armour |
|
HMS Cassandra was a C-class light cruiser of the Royal Navy. She was part of the Caledon group of the C class of cruisers. Cassandra had a short career, being commissioned in June 1917 and sunk by a mine during the British intervention in the Russian Civil War on 5 December 1918.
She was built by Vickers Limited, Barrow in Furness and laid down in March 1916, launched on 25 November 1916 and commissioned into the Navy in June 1917.
The Caledon sub-class was a slightly larger and improved version of the preceding Centaur sub-class with a more powerful armament. The ships were 450 feet (137.2 m) long overall, with a beam of 42 feet 9 inches (13.0 m) and a deep draught of 16 feet 3 inches (5.0 m). Displacement was 4,120 long tons (4,190 t ) at normal and 4,950 long tons (5,030 t ) at deep load. [2] Cassandra was powered by two sets of Parsons geared steam turbines, each driving one propeller shaft, which produced a total of 40,000 shaft horsepower (30,000 kW). The turbines used steam generated by six Yarrow boilers which gave her a speed of about 29 knots (54 km/h; 33 mph). She carried 935 long tons (950 t) tons of fuel oil. The ship had a crew of about 400 officers and ratings; this increased to 437 when serving as a flagship. [2]
The main armament of the Caledon-class ships consisted of five BL 6-inch (152 mm) Mk XII guns that were mounted on the centreline. One gun was forward of the bridge, two were fore and aft of the two funnels and the last two were in the stern, with one gun superfiring over the rearmost gun. The two QF 3-inch (76 mm) 20 cwt anti-aircraft guns were positioned abreast of the fore funnel. The torpedo armament of the Caledons was eight 21 in (533 mm) torpedo tubes in four twin mounts, two on each broadside. [2] Cassandra was fitted with a flying-off deck and hangar for a fighter aircraft to counter German Zeppelins after August 1917. [3] [4]
Cassandra was laid down at the Barrow-in-Furness shipyard of Vickers in March 1916, was launched on 25 November that year and was completed in June 1917. [2]
Cassandra initially joined the 6th Light Cruiser Squadron of the Grand Fleet. [5] [6] She suffered a mishap when she and sister ship Caradoc ran aground on Fair Isle on 15 August 1917 but both ships were successfully salvaged. [5] In October 1917, Cassandra formed part of a large-scale operation, involving 30 cruisers and 54 destroyers, deployed in eight groups across the North Sea in an attempt to stop a suspected sortie by German naval forces in the North Sea. The 6th Light Cruiser Squadron, including Cassandra, was tasked with patrolling off the Horns Reef. Despite these countermeasures, the two German light cruisers Bremse and Brummer managed to evade the patrols, which were deployed expecting German action further to the south, and attacked the regular convoy between Norway and Britain, sinking nine merchant ships and two destroyers, Mary Rose and Strongbow before returning safely to Germany. [7] [8]
Following the end of the First World War, the 6th Light Cruiser Squadron, including Cassandra, formed part of a force sent to the Baltic under the command of Rear-Admiral Edwyn Alexander-Sinclair to support the independence of the newly founded Baltic States against the Bolsheviks. [9] On 5 December 1918 Alexander-Sinclair's force was on passage to Tallinn, threatened by a Bolshevik army, when Cassandra struck a mine, part of an uncharted German minefield, near Saaremaa in the Gulf of Finland. Cassandra quickly sank, but most of her crew were rescued by the destroyers Westminster and Vendetta with only eleven of her crew lost. (Ten were killed by the initial explosion while one man fell overboard during the rescue attempt). [10] [11]
The Estonian Navy and Estonian Maritime Museum announced in August 2010 that they had located the wrecks of Cassandra, the Arabis-class sloop HMS Gentian, and the Azalea-class HMS Myrtle near Saaremaa in depths of 197 to 328 feet (60 to 100 m). [12] In 2021 the hydrographic research ship HMS Echo determined the location of the wreck in 154 feet (47 m) of water. The bow is torn apart and is located approximately 66 feet (20 m) from the rest of the hull of the cruiser. [13]
HMS Cardiff was a C-class light cruiser built for the Royal Navy during World War I. She was one of the five ships of the Ceres sub-class and spent most of her career as a flagship. Assigned to the Grand Fleet during the war, the ship participated in the Second Battle of Heligoland Bight in late 1917. Cardiff was briefly deployed to the Baltic in late 1918 supporting anti-Bolshevik forces during the British campaign in the Baltic during the Russian Civil War.
HMS Galatea was one of eight Arethusa-class light cruisers built for the Royal Navy in the 1910s. She fought in the First World War, participating in the Battle of Jutland. Following the war, she was scrapped.
HMS Ambuscade was an Acasta-class destroyer of the Royal Navy and was launched in 1913. She served throughout the First World War, forming part of the Grand Fleet and taking part at the Battle of Jutland, serving in the Dover Patrol and spending the latter part of the war as a convoy escort. She was sold for scrapping in 1921.
HMS Curlew was a C-class light cruiser built for the Royal Navy during World War I. She was part of the Ceres sub-class of the C class. The ship survived World War I to be sunk by German aircraft during the Norwegian Campaign in 1940.
HMS Caledon was a C-class light cruiser built for the Royal Navy during World War I. She was the name ship of the Caledon sub-class of the C class. She survived both world wars to be scrapped in 1948.
HMS Caradoc was a C-class light cruiser built for the Royal Navy during World War I. She was one of the four ships of the Caledon sub-class. Assigned to the Grand Fleet during the war, the ship participated in the Second Battle of Heligoland Bight in late 1917. Caradoc was briefly deployed to the Baltic in late 1918 supporting anti-Bolshevik forces during the British campaign in the Baltic and then was transferred to the Mediterranean Fleet in early 1919 and spent the next year and a half doing the same thing in the Black Sea during the Russian Civil War. The ship was withdrawn from the Black Sea in mid-1920 to observe the Greco-Turkish War of 1919–22 and the Chanak Crisis of late 1922. Caradoc spent most of the rest of her time between the World Wars overseas or in reserve with deployments to the Far East and the North America and West Indies Station.
HMS Carysfort 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 in 1915. Assigned to the Grand Fleet, the Harwich Force, and the Dover Patrol during the war, the ship served as a flagship for part of the war. Her only known combat was a short battle against German torpedo boats in the English Channel, although she was very active patrolling the North Sea and unsuccessfully searching for German ships. Carysfort was assigned to the Home and Atlantic Fleets after the war and was sent to the Mediterranean Fleet during the Chanak Crisis of 1922–23 to support British interests in Turkey. In 1922, she patrolled off the Irish coast during the Irish Civil War. The ship was placed in reserve after returning home in 1923 and, aside from ferrying troops overseas, remained in reserve until she was sold for scrap in 1931.
HMS Conquest was a C-class light cruiser of the Royal Navy that saw service during World War I. She was part of the Caroline group of the C class.
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 served as a training ship for most of 1919 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.
HMS Undaunted was one of eight Arethusa-class light cruisers built for the Royal Navy in the 1910s.
HMS Laverock was a Laforey-class destroyer of the Royal Navy. She was launched in 1913 and entered service in October 1914. Laverock served through the First World War, operating with the Harwich Force and in the English Channel. She was sold for scrap in 1921.
HMS Sorceress was an R-class destroyer which served with the Royal Navy during World War I. Launched on 29 August 1916, the vessel operated as part of the Grand Fleet until it was disbanded in 1919. In 1917, the ship took part in action against the German Sixth Destroyer Flotilla and was one of those credited with bounty for the German auxiliary cruiser Konprinz Willhelm. The destroyer was sold to be broken up on 29 April 1927.
HMS Grenville was a Parker-class flotilla leader of the British Royal Navy. She was built by Cammell Laird during the First World War, being launched on 17 June 1916 and completing on 11 October that year. Grenville served with the Grand Fleet for the rest of the war, which she survived. The ship took part in operations in the Baltic during the Russian Civil War in the winter of 1919–1920, before entering a long period of reserve. She was sold for scrap in December 1931.
HMS Rigorous was an R-class destroyer which served with the Royal Navy during World War I. Launched on 30 September 1916, the vessel operated as part of the Grand Fleet, operating as part of destroyer flotillas hunting German ships that were attacking convoys. One flotilla was successful in destroying a Q ship in 1917. After the War, the destroyer was given a reduced complement and was sold to be broken up on 5 November 1926.
HMS Medway was a Admiralty M-class destroyer which served with the Royal Navy during the First World War. The M class were an improvement on the previous Laforey-class, capable of higher speed. Originally laid down as HMS Redwing by J. Samuel White at East Cowes on the Isle of Wight, the vessel was renamed before being launched on 8 March 1916. The vessel was allocated to the Grand Fleet and served in the Second Battle of Heligoland Bight in support of the First Light Cruiser Squadron in their action against German light cruisers and minesweepers. During the action, the ship did not record any hits. After the War, the destroyer was placed in reserve and subsequently sold to be broken up on 9 May 1921.
HMS Llewellyn was a Laforey-class destroyer that served with the Royal Navy. Laid down on 14 December 1912 as HMS Picton, the ship was renamed on 30 September 1913 under an Admiralty order to become one of the first alphabetical class destroyers, being launched on 30 October. On commissioning, the vessel joined the Third Destroyer Flotilla and operated as part of the Harwich Force during the First World War. The destroyer took part in the Battle of Heligoland Bight, as well as undertaking anti-submarine patrols and escort duties. It was during one of these patrols on 4 December 1916 that the vessel unsuccessfully attacked the German submarine UB-18. On 17 March 1917, the destroyer was struck in the bow by a torpedo launched by a German torpedo boat while rescuing survivors from the sunk destroyer Paragon, but returned to port safely by steaming backwards. With the cessation of hostilities, the ship was placed in reserve. Although subsequently offered for sale to the Finnish Navy, Llewellyn was instead withdrawn from service and sold to be broken up on 18 March 1922.
HMS Pellew was a Admiralty M-class destroyer which served with the Royal Navy during the First World War. The M class were an improvement on the preceding L class, capable of higher speed. Launched on 18 April 1916, the vessel served with the Grand Fleet escorting convoys. The vessel was part of an unsuccessful attempt by the navy to trap the German submarines that had taken such a heavy toll on merchant shipping in December 1917. The action involved an eight-ship convoy consisting of four merchant vessels escorted by two armed trawlers and the sister ships Pellew and Partridge. Instead of submarines, four German destroyers attacked, sinking all but one member of the convoy and disappearing before the light cruisers which were to be the spring in the trap could arrive. Pellew, the sole survivor, took refuge in a Norwegian fjord. After the armistice that ended the war, the destroyer was placed in reserve and subsequently sold to be broken up on 9 May 1921.
HMS Peregrine was a Admiralty M-class destroyer that served with the Royal Navy during the First World War. The M class were an improvement on the preceding L class, capable of higher speed. Launched on 29 May 1916, the vessel served with the Grand Fleet, focusing on anti-submarine warfare. In 1917, the destroyer was involved in the search for UC-65 after the submarine had sunk the protected cruiser Ariadne. In 1918, the ship participated in one of the final sorties of the war, although this did not lead to a confrontation with the German High Seas Fleet. After the Armistice that ended the war, the destroyer was placed in reserve and subsequently sold to be broken up on 9 May 1921.
HMS Marne was an Admiralty M-class destroyer which served with the Royal Navy during the First World War. The M class was an improvement on the preceding L class, capable of higher speed. The ship, the first Royal Navy vessel to be named after the River Marne, was launched in 1915. For much of the war, the destroyer escorted merchant ships in convoys and Royal Navy warships, but was also involved in the rescue of crew from the battleship HMS King Edward VII in 1916. The destroyer also took part in the Battle of Jutland as part of the shield for the British battleships and engaged with the German light cruiser force with torpedoes, although all missed. In 1918, the destroyer, along with sister ships Milbrook and Pigeon, sank the German submarine UB-124. After the armistice, Marne was placed in reserve before being decommissioned and, in 1921, sold to be broken up.
HMS Oracle was a Repeat Admiralty M-class destroyer which served in the Royal Navy during the First World War. The M class were an improvement on the previous L-class, capable of higher speed. The vessel was launched on 23 December 1915 and joined the Grand Fleet. Oracle spent much of the war involved in anti-submarine warfare. In August 1916, the destroyer rescued the crew of the light cruiser Nottingham, which had been sunk by a German submarine. In August 1917, the destroyer rammed and sank the submarine U-44. After the Armistice that marked the end of the First World War, the destroyer was transferred to Portsmouth. Initially, the destroyer was part of the local defence flotilla but soon Oracle was placed in reserve, decommissioned and, on 30 October 1921, sold to be broken up.