RN Pre-Dreadnought Battleships: Formidable and London Class 1901

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jbryce1437
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RN Pre-Dreadnought Battleships: Formidable and London Class 1901

Unread post by jbryce1437 »

The Formidable class of battleships were a three-ship class of pre-dreadnoughts designed by Sir William White and built for the Royal Navy in the late 1890s. The class comprised Formidable, Irresistible, and Implacable. They were armed with a battery of four 12-inch (305 mm) guns, they had top speed of 18 knots (33 km/h; 21 mph), and they marked the adoption of Krupp armour in British battleship designs. The class formed the basis for the nearly identical London class of five ships, comprising London, Bulwark, Venerable, Queen, and Prince of Wales, and those ships are sometimes included in the Formidable class. Formidable, Irresistible, and Implacable were built between 1898 and 1901 at the Portsmouth, Chatham, and Devonport Dockyards, respectively.
Some photos:

Bulwark
bulwark 1904 stb.side.jpg
bulwark off guzz 1914.jpg
bulwark-1ww.jpg

Formisdable
formidable_104.jpg
formidable-1898.jpg
formidable-1899.jpg

Implacable
implacable 01.jpg
implacable-08-malta.jpg
implacable-battle1.jpg

Irresistable
HMS%20Irrestistible[1].jpg
Irresistible%20prepares%20for%20coaling[1].jpg
HMS%20Irresistable[1].jpg

London
hms london[1].jpg
london 1919 at dover awaiting sale for scrap.JPG
London_04.jpg

Prince of Wales
HMS Prince of Wales 1902.jpg
hms prince of wales portsmouth.jpg
Prince of Wales card.jpg

Queen
HMS Queen[1].jpg
queen-(1902)-stb.side ply.jpg
Queen_1911.jpg

Venerable
HMS VENERABLE.jpg
HMSVenerableDardenlles1915.jpg
venerable-(1890's.) ply.jpg
venerable-1890-aft ply.jpg
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HMS Raleigh 1963 , HMS Collingwood 1963 & 67 , HMS Ark Royal 1964-7, HMS Undaunted 1968-71, HMS Victory (Fleet Maintenance Group) 1971-72, HMS Exmouth 1972-74
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Brian James
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Re: RN Battleships: Formidable and London Class 1901

Unread post by Brian James »

London Class Pre-Dreadnought Battleship HMS Prince of Wales seen in 1914.
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Brian James
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Re: RN Pre-Dreadnought Battleships: Formidable and London Class 1901

Unread post by Brian James »

Lead Ship,Pre-Dreadnought Battleship HMS London pictured at Taranto in 1916.
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designeraccd
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Re: RN Pre-Dreadnought Battleships: Formidable and London Class 1901

Unread post by designeraccd »

A couple of more views of the old FORMIDABLE.............. ;)

Her service:

"Formidable carried out her gunnery trials on 12 June, 1901 under the oversight of Captain Arthur Barrow of H.M.S. Excellent, firing five rounds from her forward 12-in turret and seven from her aft turret.[9]

Formidable was commissioned at Portsmouth on 10 October, 1901, for service in the Mediterranean. Captain Alexander W. Chisholm-Batten paid off the Resolution on 9 October and he and his crew turned over to Formidable on the following day.[10]

Gunnery Lieutenant Arthur Pringle and two sailors died on 28 April 1902 when a boat derrick they were restowing after use fell on them at Terranova Pausania, Italy. Generous offers of support and sympathy from the local populace and Italian Marine Admiral Marchese from Maddalena were politely acknowledged.[11]

Formidable served in the Mediterranean Fleet up to April, 1908 when she was transferred to the Channel Fleet. She went to Chatham Royal Dockyard for refit from April, 1909 to August, 1909, after which she joined the Home Fleet and later the Atlantic Fleet until May, 1912. She was reduced to a "nucleus" crew with the Second Fleet at the Nore. Between 1912–14, Formidable was part of the Fifth Battle Squadron, in which she was serving at the outbreak of World War I.

After covering the safe transportation of the British Expeditionary Forces in August 1914, Formidable took part in the transportation of the Portsmouth Royal Marines Battalion to Ostend on 25 August. She was sunk on 1 January, 1915 while on Channel patrol off Portland Bill by torpedoes of German U-boat U 24. The ship sank quickly during bad weather resulting in the loss of 547 men from her complement of 780, and became the second battleship serving with the Royal Navy to be sunk during the First World War (after H.M.S. Audacious).

Torpedoing and Loss

The squadron was participating in gunnery exercises off Portland, supported by the cruisers Topaze and Diamond. On the night of 31 December after the exercises, the fleet remained at sea even though submarine activity had been reported in the area. With the wind increasing and rough sea conditions, submarine attacks would have been difficult to carry out effectively and so were not thought to be a significant threat. The next day, Formidable was steaming at 10 knots at the rear of the squadron just 20 miles from Star Point, when at 02:20 she was struck by a torpedo on the starboard side giving her a list of 20 degrees. 45 minutes later she was struck by a second torpedo. The pinnace and launch along with two other boats (one of which capsized soon after) were launched, and the two light cruisers managed to pick up 80 men. Formidable remained afloat until 04:45, and then went down quickly with Captain Loxley still on the bridge along with his Fox Terrier Bruce. In rough seas near Berry Head, a Brixham trawler, the Provident under the command of Captain W. Piller, picked up the men from the launch before it sank, saving 71 members of the crew. The second pinnace took off another 70 men. This boat was spotted from the shore the following night and a further 48 men were brought ashore alive 22 hours after the sinking.

The total loss of life in Formidable was 35 Officers and 512 men out of 780.

The wreck site is designated and controlled under the Protection of Military Remains Act. Captain Loxley's dog, Bruce, was washed ashore and is buried in a marked grave in Abbotsbury Gardens in Dorset."
"DFO
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Brian James
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Re: RN Pre-Dreadnought Battleships: Formidable and London Class 1901

Unread post by Brian James »

Formidable Class Pre-Dreadnought Battleship HMS Implacable pictured at Malta in 1903.They were developments of earlier British Battleships, featuring the same battery of four 12-inch guns—albeit more powerful 40-calibre versions—and top speed of 19 knots; of the preceding Canopus Class, while adopting heavier armour protection. She was laid down at Devonport Dockyard in July 1898, was launched in March 1899, and was completed in July 1901. Commissioned in September 1901, she was assigned to the Mediterranean Fleet and served with the fleet until 1908. After a refit, she transferred to the Channel Fleet, then onto the Atlantic Fleet in May 1909. By now rendered obsolete by the emergence of the Dreadnought Class ships, she was assigned to the 5th Battle Squadron and attached to the Home Fleet in 1912.
Upon the outbreak of World War I,Implacable along with the squadron was assigned to the Channel Fleet. After operations with the Dover Patrol, she served in the Dardanelles Campaign in support of the Allied and ANZAC landings at Gallipoli. She participated in the Landing at Cape Helles on 25–26 April and supported ANZAC forces ashore over the course of the following month. In late May 1915, she was withdrawn to reinforce the Italian fleet at the southern end of the Adriatic Sea after Italy joined the war on the side of the Allies. She remained in the Mediterranean until June 1917, apart from a brief return to Britain in March and April 1916 for a refit. After returning to England, she was laid up until March 1918, when she was converted for use as a Depot Ship for the Northern Patrol. After the war, she was decommissioned and eventually sold for scrap in 1921.
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Brian James
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Re: RN Pre-Dreadnought Battleships: Formidable and London Class 1901

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London Class Pre-Dreadnought Battleship HMS Prince of Wales pictured c1904.
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Brian James
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Re: RN Pre-Dreadnought Battleships: Formidable and London Class 1901

Unread post by Brian James »

Formidable Class Pre-Dreadnought Battleship HMS Irresistible pictured in 1914..She was laid down at Chatham Dockyard in April 1898, was launched in December that year, and was completed in October 1901. Commissioned in 1902, she initially served with the Mediterranean Fleet until April 1908, when she was transferred to the Channel Fleet. Now outclassed with the emergence of the Dreadnought class of ships, she entered service with the Home Fleet in 1911 following a refit. In 1912, she was assigned to the 5th Battle Squadron.
Following the outbreak of World War I, Irresistible, along with the squadron, was assigned to the Channel Fleet. After operations with the Dover Patrol, during which she bombarded German forces in northern France, she was assigned to the Dardanelles Campaign in February 1915. She took part in numerous unsuccessful attacks on the Ottoman forts guarding the Dardanelles in February and March. These operations included several raids by landing parties to destroy Ottoman coastal artillery batteries. On March 18th, she struck a naval mine that caused extensive flooding and disabled her engines. Without power, she began to drift into the range of Turkish guns, which laid down a withering fire. Attempts to tow her failed, so her surviving crew was evacuated and Irresistible was abandoned and eventually sank. Her crew suffered around 150 killed in the sinking.
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Brian James
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Re: RN Pre-Dreadnought Battleships: Formidable and London Class 1901

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Formidable Class Pre-Dreadnought Battleship HMS Implacable pictured in 1902.
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