HMS Donegal (1902)

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For other ships with the same name, see HMS Donegal.

Armoured cruiser HMS Donegal - IWM Q 75308.jpg
Armoured cruiser HMS Donegal
History
United Kingdom
NameHMS Donegal
NamesakeCounty Donegal
BuilderFairfield Shipbuilding & Engineering, Govan
Laid down14 February 1901
Launched4 September 1902
ChristenedMary Hamilton, Duchess of Abercorn
Completed5 November 1903
DecommissionedMay 1918
FateSold for scrap, 1 July 1920
General characteristics
Class and type Monmouth-class armoured cruiser
Displacement9,800 long tons (10,000 t) (normal)
Length463 ft 6 in (141.3 m) (o/a)
Beam66 ft (20.1 m)
Draught25 ft (7.6 m)
Installed power
Propulsion
  • 2 × shafts
  • 2 × 4-cylinder triple-expansion steam engines
Speed23 knots (43 km/h; 26 mph)
Complement678
Armament
Armour

HMS Donegal was one of 10 Monmouth-class armoured cruisers built for the Royal Navy in the first decade of the 20th century. She was initially assigned to the 1st Cruiser Squadron upon completion in 1903 and ran aground en route to the China Station in 1906. She was briefly placed in reserve after repairs before she was assigned to the Home Fleet in 1907. She joined the 4th Cruiser Squadron on the North America and West Indies Station in 1909 before returning home for an assignment with the in 1912. Donegal was reduced to reserve before World War I began in August 1914 as part of the Third Fleet

Refitting at the beginning of the war, she was then assigned to Sierra Leone for convoy protection duties as part of the 5th Cruiser Squadron. She was transferred to several different cruiser squadrons of the Grand Fleet in 1915 where she escorted convoys to Archangelsk, Russia. In mid-1916 she was assigned to convoy escort duties in the Atlantic. Donegal rejoined the 4th Cruiser Squadron on North America and West Indies Station in 1917 and continued with convoy duties until the end of the war. Donegal was sold for scrap in 1920.

Design and description[]

Donegal was designed to displace 9,800 long tons (10,000 t). The ship had an overall length of 463 feet 6 inches (141.3 m), a beam of 66 feet (20.1 m) and a deep draught of 25 feet (7.6 m). She was powered by two 4-cylinder triple-expansion steam engines, each driving one shaft, which produced a total of 22,000 indicated horsepower (16,000 kW) and gave a maximum speed of 23 knots (43 km/h; 26 mph). The engines were powered by 31 Belleville boilers.[1] She carried a maximum of 1,600 long tons (1,600 t) of coal and her complement consisted of 678 officers and ratings.[2]

Her main armament consisted of fourteen breech-loading (BL) 6-inch Mk VII guns.[3] Four of these guns were mounted in two twin-gun turrets, one each fore and aft of the superstructure and the others positioned in casemates amidships. Six of these were mounted on the main deck and were only usable in calm weather.[4] They had a maximum range of approximately 12,200 yards (11,200 m) with their 100-pound (45 kg) shells.[5] Ten quick-firing (QF) 12-pounder 12 cwt guns were fitted for defence against torpedo boats.[2] Donegal also carried three 3-pounder Hotchkiss guns and two submerged 18-inch torpedo tubes.[1]

Beginning in 1915, the main deck six-inch guns of the Monmouth-class ships were moved to the upper deck and given gun shields. Their casemates were plated over to improve seakeeping. The twelve-pounder guns displaced by the transfer were repositioned elsewhere. At some point in the war, a pair of three-pounder anti-aircraft guns were installed on the upper deck.[6]

The ship's waterline armour belt was four inches (102 mm) thick amidships and two-inch (51 mm) forward. The armour of the gun turrets, their barbettes and the casemates was four inches thick. The protective deck armour ranged in thickness from 0.75–2 inches (19–51 mm) and the conning tower was protected by ten inches (254 mm) of armour.[7]

Construction and service[]

Donegal, named to commemorate County Donegal,[8] was laid down by Fairfield Shipbuilding & Engineering at their Govan shipyard on 14 February 1901 and launched on 4 September 1902, when she was named by the Duchess of Abercorn, wife of the Lord-Lieutenant of County Donegal (James Hamilton, 2nd Duke of Abercorn).[9] She was completed on 5 November 1903[1] and was initially assigned to the 1st Cruiser Squadron of the Channel Fleet.[10] Whilst en route to the China Station, she ran aground at Suez, Egypt on 2 March 1906[8] and had to return to Chatham Dockyard for repairs. The ship was briefly placed in reserve before she was assigned to the Home Fleet in 1907. Donegal was transferred to the 4th Cruiser Squadron on the North America and West Indies Station in 1909[10] and collided with the merchant ship at Gibraltar on 8 December.[8] She returned home in 1912 for service with the Training Squadron of Home Fleet and sank the derelict merchantman SS Volturno with gunfire in October 1913.[11] The ship was assigned to the reserve Third Fleet before the beginning of World War I in August 1914.[8]

Refitting when the war began, Donegal was assigned to the 5th Cruiser Squadron at Sierra Leone for convoy protection duties when her refit was completed. She was transferred to the 6th Cruiser Squadron of the Grand Fleet in January 1915 and then to the 7th Cruiser Squadron in November to escort convoys to Archangelsk.[11] In March she was reassigned to the 2nd Cruiser Squadron until she was transferred to the 9th Cruiser Squadron in the mid-Atlantic for convoy escort. Donegal rejoined the 4th Cruiser Squadron on North America and West Indies Station in 1917 and continued with convoy duties until the end of the war. She was sold for scrap on 1 July 1920.[8]

Notable commanding officers[]

Notes[]

  1. ^ "Cwt" is the abbreviation for hundredweight, 12 cwt referring to the weight of the gun.

Footnotes[]

  1. ^ a b c Chesneau & Kolesnik, p. 70
  2. ^ a b Friedman 2012, p. 336
  3. ^ Friedman 2011, p. 81
  4. ^ Friedman 2012, pp. 251–52, 260–61
  5. ^ Friedman 2011, pp. 80–81
  6. ^ Friedman 2012, pp. 280, 286
  7. ^ McBride, Keith, p. 21
  8. ^ a b c d e Silverstone, p. 225
  9. ^ "Naval & Military intelligence". The Times. No. 36865. London. 5 September 1902. p. 4.
  10. ^ a b Friedman 2012, p. 288
  11. ^ a b Gardiner & Gray, p. 12
  12. ^ "Vice-Admiral Sir C. D. Carpendale" (obituary) in The Times dated 23 March 1968, Issue 57208, column F, p. 10

Bibliography[]

  • Chesneau, Roger & Kolesnik, Eugene M., eds. (1979). Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships 1860–1905. Greenwich: Conway Maritime Press. ISBN 0-8317-0302-4.
  • Corbett, Julian. Naval Operations to the Battle of the Falklands. History of the Great War: Based on Official Documents. Vol. I (2nd, reprint of the 1938 ed.). London and Nashville, Tennessee: Imperial War Museum and Battery Press. ISBN 0-89839-256-X.
  • Friedman, Norman (2012). British Cruisers of the Victorian Era. Barnsley, South Yorkshire, UK: Seaforth. ISBN 978-1-59114-068-9.
  • Friedman, Norman (2011). Naval Weapons of World War One. Barnsley, South Yorkshire, UK: Seaforth. ISBN 978-1-84832-100-7.
  • Gardiner, Robert & Gray, Randal, eds. (1985). Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships: 1906–1921. Annapolis, Maryland: Naval Institute Press. ISBN 0-85177-245-5.
  • Massie, Robert K. (2004). Castles of Steel: Britain, Germany, and the Winning of the Great War at Sea. London: Jonathan Cape. ISBN 0-224-04092-8.
  • McBride, Keith (1988). "The First County Class Cruisers of the Royal Navy, Part I: The Monmouths". Warship. London: Conway Maritime Press. 46 (April): 19–26. ISSN 0142-6222.
  • Silverstone, Paul H. (1984). Directory of the World's Capital Ships. New York: Hippocrene Books. ISBN 0-88254-979-0.
  • "Transcript: HMS DONEGAL - October 1914 to December 1916, British waters, Central & North Atlantic, North Russia (Part 1 of 2)". Royal Navy Log Books of the World War 1 Era. Naval-History.net. Retrieved 1 March 2014.

External links[]

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