Designed to augment the destroyerflotillas of the fleet, the Aurora-class cruisers displaced3,750 long tons (3,810t) normal and 4,400 long tons (4,500t) at deep load. They were 436 feet (133m)long overall with a beam of 39 feet (12m) and a mean draught of 13feet 5inches (4.09m). The cruisers were propelled by four shafts driven by Parsons turbines powered by steam from eight boilers creating 40,000 shaft horsepower (30,000kW). This gave the ships a maximum speed of 28+1⁄2knots (52.8km/h; 32.8mph). The cruisers carried 875 long tons (889t) of fuel oil.[1]
The cruiser's keel was laid down at Devonport Dockyard on 24 October 1912 and Aurora was launched on 30 September 1913. The ship was commissioned into the Royal Navy in September 1914.[1]
In January 1915, German command ordered a reconnaissance mission of the Dogger Bank by Hipper. At his disposal were three battlecruisers, one armoured cruiser, four light cruisers and nineteen destroyers.[4] The message ordering the German mission was intercepted by the Admiralty and Tyrwhitt's force was among the units deployed for the coming battle.[5] Tyrwhitt's force began to depart Harwich at 5:30pm on 23 January. Aurora was among the ships that had departed after their commander and when Tyrwhitt met with Admiral David Beatty's force the next morning, Aurora and the majority of Tyrwhitt's force was 12 nautical miles (22km; 14mi) astern. However, Aurora and the majority of Tyrwhitt's force encountered Hipper's fleet at 7:05am on 24 January, with the cruiser spotting a three-funneled cruiser and four destroyers on the horizon. Aurora closed to 8,000 yards (7,300m) and challenged the ship, believing it to be Tyrwhitt's flagship, Arethusa. The German cruiser SMSKolberg opened fire on Aurora in response, hitting the ship three times. Aurora returned fire and sent a signal to the fleet that she was in battle.[6] The German armoured cruiser SMSBlücher was sunk. The light cruisers were ordered to standby to assist the crew of the sunken German cruiser. However, they came under air attack and the rescue efforts were cancelled.[7]
In February 1915, she was assigned as leader of the 10th Destroyer Flotilla of the Harwich Force, guarding the eastern approaches to the English Channel. While a member of this unit, the cruiser was fitted with an aircraft flying-off platform over the forecastle allowing Aurora to launch a French monoplane. This was installed to counter the Zeppelin threat that harassed the Harwich Force. The design was ultimately unsuccessful as the aircraft could not intercept the Zeppelin fast enough and was uninstalled in August. The cruiser left the 10th Destroyer Flotilla in June and joined the 5th Light Cruiser Squadron, which Aurora remained with until the end of the war. That year, the cruiser also had her 3-pounder gun replaced with a QF 3-inch (76mm) 20 cwt gun placed on the centreline aft.[1]
Mines ready for release, seen along the port side at Aurora's stern and screened by canvas, during World War I
In August 1915 she took part in sinking of the German raider Meteor. In September/October, the cruiser captured two naval trawlers In March 1916, Aurora covered the seaplane raid on Hoyer. In May 1917 the cruiser was fitted with chutes and rails for naval mines, which discharged over the stern. The ship carried 74 mines. Over the course of three mine-laying missions, the cruiser laid 212 mines. In 1917, the cruiser had her pole foremast replaced with a tripod carrying a light director and her torpedo tube armament was further augmented by a pair of tubes placed on the upper deck in front of the 6-inch gun. They were later moved ahead of the other torpedo tubes.[1] In March 1918 Aurora was again reassigned, to the 7th Light Cruiser Squadron of the Grand Fleet. Aurora was one of the ships present at the surrender of the German High Seas Fleet in November 1918.[1][8]
Between 1918 and 1920, Aurora was decommissioned to relieve financial pressures of the Home Fleet by the Admiralty. Her manning was reduced to a custodian crew and the relieved personnel were sent to other units. The cruiser remained in commission at Devonport from March 1919 to August 1920 and was paid off in September after being transferred to the Royal Canadian Navy.[1]
Royal Canadian Navy
On 25 March 1920, the Canadian government accepted a British offer of one light cruiser and two destroyers to replace the two decrepit cruisers currently owned by Canada.[9] Originally a Bristol-class cruiser was offered, however they ran on coal and the Canadian government negotiated for an oil-burning cruiser.[10] In 1920 Aurora was re-activated to outfit her for transfer to the Royal Canadian Navy. The cost of fitting out the cruiser for service in the northern Atlantic cost $10,495, exclusive of machinery and a refrigeration plant.[11]
The Royal Canadian Navy commissioned her on 1 November 1920. She sailed shortly afterward from the United Kingdom for Halifax, Nova Scotia, arriving on 21 December with two ex-Royal Navy destroyers that had also been transferred.
After a minimal time in port at HMC Dockyard, the three ships set out for a training cruise via the Caribbean Sea to Esquimalt, British Columbia. The cruise masked the secret mission of carrying secret documents from the Admiralty to British consulates throughout Central and North America. While on the cruise, the squadron was ordered to Puntarenas, Costa Rica, where their presence was used to strengthen the Canadian government position in negotiations over oil concessions.[12]Aurora returned to Halifax on 30 July 1921 via the same route.
In August 1921, drastic budget cuts resulted in the decommissioning of Aurora.[13] She was paid off on 1 July 1922 and disarmed.[14][15] Her weapons were placed ashore in training facilities and on other active ships. Her crew was reduced to non-manned, much of her up-to-date equipment was salvaged for use in other Canadian warships. Aurora's hulk was left alongside a jetty at the Canadian naval base in Halifax until 1927 when her deterioration resulted in city officials demanding the navy move her.[14] The Royal Canadian Navy immediately sold her for scrap in August 1927 to A.A. Lasseque of Sorel, Quebec, and she was broken up.[16]
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The Battle of Heligoland Bight was the first Anglo-German naval battle of the First World War, fought on 28 August 1914, between ships of the United Kingdom and Germany. The battle took place in the south-eastern North Sea, when the British attacked German patrols off the north-west German coast. The German High Seas Fleet was in harbour on the north German coast while the British Grand Fleet was out in the northern North Sea. Both sides engaged in long-distance sorties with cruisers and battlecruisers, with close reconnaissance of the area of sea near the German coast—the Heligoland Bight—by destroyer.
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 Arethusa was the name ship of her class of eight light cruisers built for the Royal Navy in the 1910s. She saw a considerable amount of action during the early years of the First World War, participating in the Battle of Heligoland Bight and the Battle of Dogger Bank.
Admiral of the Fleet Sir Reginald Yorke Tyrwhitt, 1st Baronet, was a Royal Navy officer. During the First World War he served as commander of the Harwich Force. He led a supporting naval force of 31 destroyers and two cruisers at the Battle of Heligoland Bight in August 1914, in which action the 1st Battlecruiser Squadron under Sir David Beatty sank three German cruisers and one German destroyer with minimal loss of allied warships. Tyrwhitt also led the British naval forces during the Cuxhaven Raid in December 1914, when British seaplanes destroyed German Zeppelin airships and at the Battle of Dogger Bank in January 1915, in which action Tyrwhitt again supported Beatty's powerful battlecruiser squadron.
HMS Laforey was the lead ship of her class of destroyer built for the Royal Navy. Launched a year before the First World War began, she was attached to the Dover Patrol. Laforey saw action in several engagements with German torpedo boats, including the Battle off Noordhinder Bank and the action of 17 March 1917. Laforey was sunk in 1917 by a British mine after escorting several freighters to France. She was named for Francis Laforey, captain of HMS Spartiate at the Battle of Trafalgar in 1805.
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 Penelope was one of eight Arethusa-class light cruisers built for the Royal Navy in the 1910s. She fought in the First World War, following the war, she was scrapped.
HMS Undaunted was one of eight Arethusa-class light cruisers built for the Royal Navy in the 1910s.
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.
The Harwich Force originally called Harwich Striking Force was a squadron of the Royal Navy, formed during the First World War and based in Harwich. It played a significant role in the war.
HMS Meteor was a Thornycroft M-class destroyer that served in the British Royal Navy. Meteor saw extensive service throughout World War I, maintaining continuous operations both as a convoy escort and in harbour protection.
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 Nimrod was a Marksman-class flotilla leader of the British Royal Navy. She was built by the Scottish shipbuilder Denny, with construction starting in 1914 and completed in August 1915. She served through the remainder of the First World War. She was sold for scrap in 1921.
HMS Lightfoot was a Marksman-class flotilla leader of the British Royal Navy. Construction by J. Samuel White began in June 1914, shortly before the outbreak of the First World War, and the ship was launched and completed in 1915. She survived the war and was sold for scrap in 1921.
HMS Mentor was a Hawthorn Leslie M-class destroyer of the British Royal Navy. Built by the Tyneside shipbuilder Hawthorn Leslie between 1913 and 1915, Mentor served during the First World War. She formed part of the Harwich Force in the early years of the war, taking part in the Battle of Dogger Bank and then later in the English Channel as part of the Dover Patrol. She survived the war, and was sold for scrap in 1921.
HMS Landrail was a Laforey-class destroyer of the British Royal Navy. The Laforey class was the class of destroyers ordered under the Royal Navy's 1912–1913 construction programme, which were armed with three 4-inch (102 mm) guns and four torpedo tubes and were capable of 29 knots. The ship, which was originally to be named Hotspur but was renamed before launch, was built by the Scottish shipbuilder Yarrow between 1912 and 1914,
HMS Lark was a Laforey-class destroyer of the British Royal Navy. The Laforey class was the class of destroyers ordered under the Royal Navy's 1912–1913 construction programme, which were armed with three 4-inch (102 mm) guns and four torpedo tubes and were capable of 29 knots. The ship, which was originally to be named Haughty but was renamed before launch, was built by the Scottish shipbuilder Yarrow between 1912 and 1913.
HMS Milne was a Royal Navy Admiralty M-class destroyer. Milne was built by John Brown & Company from 1913 to 1914 and was completed in December that year. She served through the remainder of the First World War, at first with the Harwich Force with which she took part in the Battle of Dogger Bank in January 1915, and later with the Dover Patrol, sinking the German submarine UC-26 in May 1917. Milne was sold for scrap in 1921.
HMS Lysander was a Laforey-class destroyer that served with the Royal Navy during the First World War. Launched in August 1913 as HMS Ulysses, the ship was renamed the following month under an Admiralty order to become one of the first in what would be the norm, a class of destroyers named after successive letters of the alphabet. On commissioning, the vessel joined the Third Destroyer Flotilla and operated as part of the Harwich Force. The destroyer took part in the Battle of Heligoland Bight in 1914, attacking the German light cruiser Mainz and escorted the seaplane carriers Engadine and Riviera in an abortive attempt to attack the Cuxhaven airship base. During 1915, Lysander undertook anti-submarine patrols and escorting duties, coming under fire from German short-based batteries while accompanying the mine-laying paddle-steamers Prince of Wales and Queen Victoria off the coast of Ostend. In 1916, the destroyer was involved in action with German battlecruisers following the bombardment of Yarmouth and Lowestoft but escaped unharmed, and rescued the survivors from the Canadian hospital ship Llandovery Castle in 1918. With the cessation of hostilities, the ship was placed in reserve and sold to be broken up in June 1922.
HMS Lawford was a Laforey-class destroyer of the British Royal Navy. The Laforey class was the class of destroyers ordered under the Royal Navy's 1912–1913 construction programme, which were armed with three 4-inch (102 mm) guns and four torpedo tubes and were capable of 29 knots. The ship, which was originally to be named Ivanhoe but was renamed before launch, was built by the Scottish shipbuilder Fairfields between 1912 and 1914.
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