HMS Raglan

Last updated

HMS Raglan (1915).jpg
HMS Raglan
History
Naval Ensign of the United Kingdom.svgUnited Kingdom
NameRaglan
Namesake FitzRoy Somerset, 1st Baron Raglan
OperatorNaval Ensign of the United Kingdom.svg  Royal Navy
Builder Harland and Wolff, Govan
Yard number476
Laid down1 December 1914
Launched29 April 1915
Completed24 June 1915
CommissionedMay 1915
FateSunk, 20 January 1918
General characteristics
Class and type Abercrombie-class monitor
Displacement6,150 long tons (6,250 t)
Length334.5 ft (102.0 m)
Beam90 ft (27 m)
Draught10.2 ft (3.1 m)
Propulsion
Speed6  kn (6.9 mph; 11 km/h)
Complement198
Armament
Armour
Aircraft carried
Aviation facilitiesFitted to carry a seaplane

HMS Raglan was a First World War Royal Navy Abercrombie-class monitor, which was sunk during the Battle of Imbros in January 1918.

Contents

Design

On 3 November 1914, Charles M. Schwab of Bethlehem Steel offered Winston Churchill, then First Lord of the Admiralty, the use of eight 14-inch (356 mm)/45 cal BL MK II guns in twin gun turrets, originally destined for the Greek battleship Salamis. These turrets could not be delivered to the German builders, due to the British blockade. The Royal Navy immediately designed a class of monitors, designed for shore bombardment, to use the turrets.

Construction

Raglan was laid down at the Harland and Wolff Ltd shipyard at Govan on 1 December 1914. The ship was named Robert E Lee in honour of the CSA General Robert E Lee, however as the United States was still neutral, the ship was hurriedly renamed HMS M3 on 31 May 1915. She was then named HMS Lord Raglan on 20 June 1915 and again renamed HMS Raglan on 23 June 1915.

Career

Raglan leaving Malta for Brindisi during the First World War. HMS Raglan.jpg
Raglan leaving Malta for Brindisi during the First World War.

Raglan sailed for the Dardanelles in June 1915. She remained in the Eastern Mediterranean, based at Imbros. On 29 October, Raglan took part in the Third Battle of Gaza.

On 20 January 1918, [1] while the battleships Agamemnon and Lord Nelson were absent, Raglan and other members of the Detached Squadron of the Aegean Squadron were attacked by the Turkish battlecruiser Yavuz Sultan Selim (formerly German battlecruiser SMS Goeben), the light cruiser Midilli (formerly German light cruiser SMS Breslau) and four destroyers. Raglan was sunk with the loss of 127 lives. The monitor M28 was also sunk in the same battle. Midilli and Yavuz Sultan Selim ran into a minefield while withdrawing; Midilli sank and Yavuz Sultan Selim was badly damaged.

Related Research Articles

SMS <i>Goeben</i> Battlecruiser of the German Imperial Navy

SMS Goeben was the second of two Moltke-class battlecruisers of the Imperial German Navy, launched in 1911 and named after the German Franco-Prussian War veteran General August Karl von Goeben. Along with her sister ship, Goeben was similar to the previous German battlecruiser design, Von der Tann, but larger, with increased armor protection and two more main guns in an additional turret. Goeben and Moltke were significantly larger and better armored than the comparable British Indefatigable class.

<i>Lord Nelson</i>-class battleship Pre-dreadnought battleship class of the British Royal Navy

The Lord Nelson class consisted of a pair of pre-dreadnought battleships built for the Royal Navy in the first decade of the twentieth century. Although they were the last British pre-dreadnoughts, both were completed and commissioned well over a year after HMS Dreadnought had entered service in late 1906. Lord Nelson and Agamemnon were assigned to the Home Fleet when completed in 1908, with the former ship often serving as a flagship. The sister ships were transferred to the Channel Fleet when the First World War began in August 1914. They were transferred to the Mediterranean Sea in early 1915 to participate in the Dardanelles Campaign.

SMS <i>Breslau</i> Light cruiser of the German Imperial Navy

SMS Breslau was a Magdeburg-class cruiser of the Imperial German Navy, built in the early 1910s and named after the Lower Silesian city of Breslau. Following her commissioning, Breslau and the battlecruiser Goeben were assigned to the Mittelmeerdivision in response to the Balkan Wars. After evading British warships in the Mediterranean to reach Constantinople, Breslau and Goeben were transferred to the Ottoman Empire in August 1914, to entice the Ottomans to join the Central Powers in World War I. The two ships, along with several other Ottoman vessels, raided Russian ports in October 1914, prompting a Russian declaration of war. The ships were renamed Midilli and Yavûz Sultân Selîm, respectively, and saw extensive service with the Ottoman fleet, primarily in the Black Sea against the Russian Black Sea Fleet.

Russian battleship <i>Imperatritsa Ekaterina Velikaya</i> Imperatritsa Mariya-class dreadnought

Imperatritsa Ekaterina Velikaya was the second of three Imperatritsa Mariya-class dreadnoughts built for the Imperial Russian Navy during World War I. Completed in 1915, she was assigned to the Black Sea Fleet. She engaged the ex-German battlecruiser Yavûz Sultân Selîm once, but only inflicted splinter damage while taking no damage herself. The ship briefly encountered an Ottoman light cruiser, but mostly covered the actions of smaller ships during the war without firing her guns. These included minelaying operations off the Bosporus and anti-shipping sweeps of the coast of Anatolia. Imperatritsa Ekaterina Velikaya was renamed Svobodnaya Rossiya after the February Revolution of 1917.

A naval race had developed in the Aegean after the end of the Balkan Wars, with the Ottoman government ordering several ships, including two dreadnoughts, in Britain. In the event, with the outbreak of World War I, one of these ships, including further two scout cruisers and four destroyers, were confiscated and pressed into service with the Royal Navy. This disappointed the Ottomans, contributing to their joining the Central Powers in the Great War.

HMS <i>Skirmisher</i> (1905) Sentinel-class cruiser

HMS Skirmisher was one of two Sentinel-class scout cruisers built for the Royal Navy during the first decade of the 20th century. Completed in 1905 the ship was placed in reserve until she was commissioned in 1907 as part of the Home Fleet. She then spent the next seven years moving on and off of active service in British waters. Skirmisher was assigned to coastal defence duties when the First World War began in 1914, although she was transferred to the Mediterranean in 1915 and then to the Aegean two years later. The ship returned home in mid-1919 and was sold for scrap in 1920.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Battle of Cape Sarych</span>

The Battle of Cape Sarych was a naval engagement fought off the coast of Cape Sarych in the Black Sea during the First World War. In November 1914, two modern Ottoman warships, specifically a light cruiser and a battlecruiser, engaged a Russian fleet including five obsolescent pre-dreadnought battleships in a short action.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Battle of Imbros</span> World War I naval battle

The Battle of Imbros was a naval action that took place during the First World War. The battle occurred on 20 January 1918 when an Ottoman squadron engaged a flotilla of the British Royal Navy off the island of Imbros in the Aegean Sea. A lack of heavy Allied warships in the area allowed the Ottoman battlecruiser Yavûz Sultân Selîm and light cruiser Midilli to sortie into the Mediterranean and attack the Royal Navy monitors and destroyers at Imbros before assaulting the naval base at Mudros.

Russian battleship <i>Evstafi</i> Imperial Russian Navys Evstafi-class battleship

Evstafi was the lead ship of her class of two pre-dreadnought battleship of the Imperial Russian Navy's Black Sea Fleet. She was built before World War I and her completion was greatly delayed by changes made to reflect the lessons of the Russo-Japanese War of 1905.

HMS M28 was a First World War Royal Navy M15-class monitor. She was sunk during the Battle of Imbros in 1918.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mediterranean Division</span> Military unit

The Mediterranean Division was a division consisting of the battlecruiser SMS Goeben and the light cruiser SMS Breslau of the German Kaiserliche Marine in the early 1910s. It was established in response to the First Balkan War and saw action during the First World War. It was disbanded after the ships were transferred to the Ottoman Empire four years after their pursuit by the British battlecruisers Indomitable and Indefatigable and light cruisers Dublin and Gloucester.

Ottoman cruiser <i>Berk-i Satvet</i> Torpedo cruiser of the Ottoman Navy

Berk-i Satvet was a torpedo cruiser of the Ottoman Navy, the second and final member of the Peyk-i Şevket class. She was built by the Germaniawerft shipyard in Germany in 1906–07, and was delivered to the Ottoman Navy in November 1907. The ship's primary armament consisted of three 450 mm (18 in) torpedo tubes and a pair of 105 mm (4.1 in) guns, and she was capable of a top speed of 21 knots. The ship's early career was uneventful; the Italo-Turkish War of 1911–12 passed without any action of the Ottoman fleet. Berk-i Satvet saw action during the Balkan Wars of 1912–13 in the Aegean and Black Seas, against Greek and Bulgarian opponents, respectively.

French destroyer <i>Coutelas</i> Destroyer of the French Navy

Coutelas was one of 13 Claymore-class destroyers built for the French Navy in the first decade of the 20th century.

French destroyer <i>Cognée</i> Destroyer of the French Navy

Cognée was one of 13 Claymore-class destroyers built for the French Navy in the first decade of the 20th century.

French destroyer <i>Poignard</i> Destroyer of the French Navy

Poignard was one of 10 Branlebas-class destroyers built for the French Navy in the first decade of the 20th century.

Nümune-i Hamiyet, originally built as SMS S167, was one of the four S138-class torpedo boats built for the German Imperial Navy, but was purchased for the Ottoman Navy during construction.

Samsun was one of the four Durandal-class destroyers purchased by the Ottoman Empire from France in 1907. The ship served in the Ottoman Navy during the Italo-Turkish War, the Balkan Wars and World War I.

Basra was one of the four Durandal-class destroyers purchased by the Ottoman Empire from France in 1907. The ship served in the Ottoman Navy during the Italo-Turkish War, the Balkan Wars and World War I.

References

  1. 1 2 "HMS Raglan at Battleships-Cruisers website" . Retrieved 23 September 2008.

Bibliography

40°14′N25°58′E / 40.233°N 25.967°E / 40.233; 25.967