HMS Irresistible (1898)

HMS Irresistible (1898)

HMS Irresistible in 1908

Career (United Kingdom)

Name: Ordered: Builder: Cost: Laid down: Launched: Completed: Commissioned: Fate: HMS Irresistible 1897 Programme Chatham Dockyard 1,112,636 11 April 1898 15 December 1898 October 1901 4 February 1902 Sunk by mine, 18 March 1915, in the Dardanelles

General characteristics
Class & type: Displacement: Length: Beam: Draught: Installed power: Propulsion: Formidable-class pre-dreadnought battleship 14,685 long tons (14,921t) (standard) 15,805 long tons (16,059t) (deep load) 411ft (125.3m) w/l 431ft9in (131.6m) o/a 75ft (22.9m) 26ft9in (8.2m) 15,500ihp (11,600kW) 2 vertical triple expansion steam engines water-tube boilers 2 shafts 18 knots (33km/h; 21mph) 5,500nmi (10,200km; 6,300mi) at 10kn (19km/h; 12mph) 780

Speed: Range: Complement:

HMS Irresistible (1898)

2
4 BL 12-inch Mk IX guns 12 BL 6-inch Mk VII guns 16 QF 12 pounder guns 6 QF 3 pounder guns 2 .303in (7.7mm) machine guns 4 18-inch (450mm) submerged torpedo tubes Belt: 9in (230mm) Bulkheads: 912in (230300mm) Barbettes: 12in (300mm) Turrets: 810in (200250mm) Casemates: 6in (150mm) Conning tower: 14in (360mm) Deck: 13in (2576mm)

Armament:

Armour:

HMS Irresistiblethe fourth British Royal Navy ship of the namewas a Formidable-class pre-dreadnought battleship. Commissioned in 1902, she initially served with the Mediterranean Fleet until April 1908, at which time 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, she served in the Dardanelles Campaign, in support of the bombardment of the Turkish forts guarding the Dardanelles. On 18 March 1915, she struck a mine, which caused severe damage and killed around 150 of her crew. Without power, she began to drift into the range of Turkish guns. With attempts to tow her having failed, she was abandoned with most of her crew having been successfully evacuated, and eventually sank.

Technical characteristics
HMS Irresistible was laid down at Chatham Dockyard on 11 April 1898 and launched on 15 December 1898 in a very incomplete state to clear the building ways for the construction of battleship Venerable. Irresistible was completed in October 1901.[1] Irresistible had the same-calibre armament and was similar in appearance to the Majestic and Canopus classes that preceded her. She and her sister ships are often described as improved Majestics, but in design they were effectively enlarged Canopuses. The Canopus class employed Krupp armour in their construction; this possessed greater strength for a given weight compared to that of the Majestics' Harvey armour, allowing the Canopuses to be lighter and faster without sacrificing protection; however, in Irresistible, Krupp armour was used to improve protection without reducing the size of the ship.[2] Irresistible thus was larger than the ships of the two preceding classes, and enjoyed greater protection than the Majestics and the higher speed of the Canopuses. Irresistible's armour scheme was similar to that of the Canopuses, although the armour belt ran all the way to the stern being 215ft (66m) long, 15ft (4.6m) deep and 9in (23cm) thick. It tapered at the stem to 3in (7.6cm) thick and 12ft (3.7m) deep, and at the stern to 1.5in (3.8cm) thick and 8ft (2.4m) deep. The main battery turrets had 10in (25cm) of Krupp armour on their sides and 8in (20cm) on their backs.[3] Irresistible improved on the main and secondary armament of previous classes, being upgunned from 35- to 40-cal 12in (300mm) guns and from 40- to 45-cal 6in (150mm) guns. The 12in (300mm) guns could be loaded at any bearing and elevation, and had a split hoist with a working chamber beneath the turrets to reduce the chance of a cordite fire spreading from the turrets to the shell and powder handling rooms and to the magazines.[3] Irresistible had an improved hull form that endowed better handling at high speeds than the Majestics and inward-turning screws which allowed reduced fuel consumption and slightly higher speeds than in previous classes, but at the expense of reduced maneuverability at low speeds.[3]

HMS Irresistible (1898) With the appearance of the new dreadnought-type battleships and battlecruisers beginning in 1906, predreadnoughts such as Irresistible were outclassed; however, they still performed some front-line duties during the early part of the First World War.

Operational history
Pre-World War I
Irresistible commissioned at Chatham Dockyard on 4 February 1902 for Mediterranean Fleet service and relieved turret ship Devastation as guard ship at Gibraltar. She suffered two mishaps during her years in the Mediterranean, colliding with the Norwegian merchant steamer SSClive while steaming in fog on 3 March 1902, sustaining considerable side-plate damage, and running aground at Malta on 5 October 1905. She underwent a refit a Malta after her grounding, and a second refit there from October 1907 January 1908.[1] In April 1908, Irresistible transferred to the Channel Fleet, where she collided with a schooner while steaming in fog on 4 May 1908, suffering no damage.[4] She was assigned to the Nore Division in 1909, and was reduced to a nucleus crew in May 1910.[5] Her Channel Fleet service ended on 1 June 1910, when she paid off at Chatham Dockyard for a refit.[1] Her refit completed, Irresistible commissioned at Chatham on 28 February 1911 to serve in the 3rd Division, Home Fleet, at the Nore.[1] In 1912, she was assigned to the 5th Battle Squadron.[5]

World War I
When the First World War began in August 1914, the 5th Battle Squadron was based at Portland and assigned to patrol duties in the English Channel under the Channel Fleet.[6] Irresistible covered the landing of the Plymouth Marine Battalion at Ostend, Belgium, on 25 August, and thereafter covered the occupation.[1] In OctoberNovember 1914, Irresistible was temporarily attached to the Dover Patrol. Her duties included bombardment of German Army forces along the Belgian coast in support of Allied troops fighting on the front. On 3 November, she was dettached to support East Coast Patrols during the Gorleston Raid. Irresistible returned to the Channel Fleet later in November 1914.[7] The 5th Battle Squadron transferred to Sheerness on 14 November to guard against a possible German invasion. The squadron transferred back to Portland on 30 December.[8] Dardanelles campaign On 1 February 1915, Irresistible transferred to the Dardanelles for service in the Dardanelles Campaign, serving as flagship of the British Dardanelles Squadron until March 1915. She took part in the opening bombardment of the Turkish forts guarding the entrance to the Dardanelles on 1819 February,[9] as well as later bombardments of the entrance forts and Narrows forts. While supporting the initial landings, she knocked out two 9.4in (240mm) guns at Fort Orkanieh on 25 February.[4] Irresistible relieved the battleship Vengeance as second flagship of the British squadron on 28 February, continuing this duty until 6 March. In early March, she again supported landings.[4]

HMS Irresistible (1898)

Loss On 18 March, Irresistible participated in the main bombardment of the Narrows (where the waterway narrows to one mile in width) forts of anakkale and Kilitbahir. The Turks had previously noted that the British ships turned to starboard into Erin Keui Bay when withdrawing, and had laid a line of naval mines to intercept this maneuver. Irresistible was badly damaged when she struck one of these mines at about 16:16 local time. The starboard engine room flooded very rapidly, killing all but three of the men on duty there, Irresistible listing and sinking in the Dardanelles, 18 March 1915. Photograph and then the midship bulkhead collapsed, taken from the battleship Lord Nelson causing the port engine room to flood and leaving Irresistible without power, listing to starboard, and down by the stern. She drifted helplessly into range of Turkish guns, which laid down a heavy fire on her. Her main gun turrets began to fail, and she was obscured by smoke and spray.[4] All the crew, except for the captain and a few volunteers, were transferred to destroyer Wear, which then transferred them to battleship Queen Elizabeth. Battleship Ocean was sent to bring Irresistible under tow, but Ocean temporarily grounded, and Irresistible continued to drift nearer the shore. Towing Irresistible clear proved out of the question because of her list, heavy enemy fire, and the shallowness of the water.[4] Ocean rescued the remaining men Survivors of Irresistible were spread among several ships in the British squadron. from Irresistible, which was left to her fate, These are on the quarterdeck of the battleship Agamemnon. abandoned and adrift. Ocean herself struck a mine at about 18:05 while withdrawing, was abandoned at around 19:30, and herself sank without loss of life, unobserved by Allied forces, at around 22:30. That evening, the destroyer Jed entered the Dardanelles to torpedo and sink the two abandoned battleships to prevent their capture in case they had remained afloat, but could find no sign of them. The Turks reported that the derelict Irresistible had drifted closer to shore and suffered further severe damage from their shore batteries before sinking[4] at about 19:30.[5] Irresistible's crew suffered about 150 casualties during her sinking.[4]

HMS Irresistible (1898)

Notes
[1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] [7] [8] [9] Burt, p. 173 Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships 18601905, p. 36 Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships 18601905, p. 36 Burt, p. 174 Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships 19061921, p. 8 Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships 19061921, p. 8; Burt, p. 173 Burt, pp. 173174 Burt, p. 170 Burt, p. 174, although Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships 19061921, p. 8, says that her first gunfire support was not until 26 February

References
Burt, R. A. British Battleships 18891904. Annapolis, Maryland: Naval Institute Press, 1988. ISBN 0-87021-061-0. Chesneau, Roger, and Eugene M. Kolesnik, eds. Conway's All The World's Fighting Ships, 18601905. Londo: Conway Maritime Press, 1979. ISBN 0-85177-133-5. Dittmar, F. J., & J.J. Colledge. "British Warships 19141919". London: Ian Allen, 1972. ISBN 0-7110-0380-7. Gibbons, Tony. The Complete Encyclopedia of Battleships and Battlecruisers: A Technical Directory of All the World's Capital Ships From 1860 to the Present Day. London: Salamander Books Ltd., 1983. Gray, Randal, Ed. Conway's All The World's Fighting Ships 19061921. Annapolis, Maryland: Naval Institute Press, 1985. ISBN 0-87021-907-3.

External links
History on the Imperial War Museum website (Accessed November 2006) (http://webcache.googleusercontent. com/search?q=cache:3cOC69wX4HwJ:www.iwm.org.uk/upload/package/2/gallipoli/pdf_files/Galnaval. pdf+ocean+wear+mine+"hms+irresistible"&hl=en&gl=uk&ct=clnk&cd=1)

Article Sources and Contributors

Article Sources and Contributors

HMS Irresistible (1898) Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?oldid=567509850 Contributors: A2Kafir, Alai, Aldis90, Andon A, Anotherclown, Benea, Bonewah, Chris the speller, DagosNavy, David Newton, Dawkeye, Derekbridges, Dormskirk, Eleland, Fernvale, Fry1989, Fsbr1908, GTAjaxoxo, Gaius Cornelius, Gdr, Gsl, Haus, Hugo999, I Do Care, JRPG, Jackyd101, Jaraalbe, KFP, Ka34, Laisak, LeadSongDog, Lightmouse, MBK004, Magus732, Maralia, Mdnavman, Milton Stanley, Ollieollieollie, Pkoz, Rcbutcher, Red Sunset, Rich Farmbrough, Rjwilmsi, Skyring, Snowmanradio, Sturmvogel 66, TJSwoboda, Template namespace initialisation script, TomTheHand, Tony1, Welsh, Woohookitty, Zawed, Zntrip, 14 anonymous edits

Image Sources, Licenses and Contributors

Image:HMS Irresistible (1898) in 1908.jpg Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=File:HMS_Irresistible_(1898)_in_1908.jpg License: Public Domain Contributors: unattributed; probably Royal Navy. Original uploader was Mdnavman at en.wikipedia File:Naval Ensign of the United Kingdom.svg Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=File:Naval_Ensign_of_the_United_Kingdom.svg License: Public Domain Contributors: AnonMoos, Avicennasis, Bender235, Cycn, Dancingwombatsrule, Ec.Domnowall, Fry1989, Homo lupus, Pumbaa80, Stunteltje, Xiengyod, Yaddah, 3 anonymous edits Image:HMS Irresistible abandoned 18 March 1915.jpg Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=File:HMS_Irresistible_abandoned_18_March_1915.jpg License: Public Domain Contributors: AnRo0002, Docu, Flamarande, Gsl, Morven, Petri Krohn, Pibwl, Rcbutcher, Schimmelreiter, Sevela.p, Svencb, 3 anonymous edits Image:HMS Irresistible (1898) survivors on HMS Agamemnon (1906) quarterdeck March 1915.jpg Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=File:HMS_Irresistible_(1898)_survivors_on_HMS_Agamemnon_(1906)_quarterdeck_March_1915.jpg License: Public Domain Contributors: unattributed; probably Royal Navy. Original uploader was Mdnavman at en.wikipedia

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