hms hms invincible class battlecruisers built royal_navy world war active career war tried hunt german ships mediterranean war broke bombarded turkish fortifications protecting dardanelles british declared war turkey helped sink german armoured cruiser towed damaged british battlecruiser safety battle damaged german battlecruisers watched sister ship hms invincible explode deemed obsolete war sold scrap design general characteristics invincible class ships formally known armoured cruisers redesignated battlecruisers admiralty order november unofficially number designations including cruiser battleship dreadnought cruiser battle cruiser significantly larger armoured cruiser predecessors class overall length feet beam feet inches draft feet deep load displaced long tons load long tons deep load nearly long tons earlier ships propulsion paired sets parsons direct drive turbines turbines designed produce total shaft horsepower reached nearly shp trials designed speed knots mph reached knots mph trials maintained average speed knots mph days passage north_atlantic august steam plant comprised water tube boilers arranged boiler rooms maximum long tons coal additional long tons fuel oil sprayed coal increase burn rate fuel capacity steam nautical miles speed knots mph armament mounted inch guns twin powered turrets secondary armament consisted sixteen guns turret roof guns transferred superstructure total number guns reduced remaining guns enclosed casemates given blast shields time better protect gun crews weather enemy action iii guns replaced inch vii guns anti aircraft armament consisted single inch cwt gun high angle mount aft end superstructure carried july pounder hotchkiss gun high angle mounting maximum elevation mounted november august inch vii high angle mount added april inch submerged torpedo tubes fitted stern fourteen torpedoes carried armour invincible waterline belt maximum thickness inches amidships belt inches thick roughly fore aft inch gun turrets reduced inches fore turret bow extend aft rear turret gun turrets barbettes protected inches armour turret roofs inches cemented armour thickness main deck inches lower deck armour inches mild steel torpedo bulkheads inch thickness fitted abreast magazines shell rooms battle jutland revealed vulnerability additional armour added area magazines turret roofs exact thickness known unlikely thick total long tons construction built laid march launched march commissioned june fully complete carry prince wales canada early career immediately commissioning embarked prince wales soon king george celebration return voyage average fraction knots record atlantic crossing knots set liner returned august immediately returned builders final completion assigned october assigned 1st cruiser squadron march flagship rear admiral commanding 1st july refitted times transferred mediterranean august form 2nd sister ship invincible slightly damaged collision march malta july deepening crisis forced navy cut short refit world war accompanied command admiral sir encountered german battlecruiser light cruiser morning august headed east bombardment french port britain germany war turned shadow germans headed battlecruisers problems boilers able break contact reached morning 5th time war declared german invasion belgium admiralty order respect italian neutrality stay outside mile limit italian coast entrance passage observe port directly stationed northern exit expecting germans break west attack french troop transports light cruiser gloucester southern exit sent better positioned react german sortie germans sortied august headed east constantinople trailed gloucester expecting turn west kept battlecruisers malta shortly midnight august set sail knots spotted hours earlier received incorrect signal admiralty stating britain war austria war declared august order hours later followed standing orders guard adriatic austrian breakout attempt seek finally august given clear orders chase passed 7th steering north east believe heading dardanelles resolved guard exit unaware intend come remained mediterranean blockade dardanelles ordered home august november churchill ordered british attack dardanelles following opening hostilities turkey russia attack carried french pre dreadnought battleships intention attack test fortifications measure turkish response results encouraging minute bombardment single shell struck magazine fort tip gallipoli peninsula displacing destroying guns killing turkish soldiers significant consequence attention turks drawn strengthening defences set expanding field attack actually took place formal declaration war britain ottoman_empire didn happen 5th ordered return england december joined 2nd january force german battlecruisers command admiral sortied clear british fishing boats small craft collect intelligence german movements british reading coded messages sailed intercept larger force british battlecruisers command admiral included contact initiated 24th british light cruiser spotted german light cruiser sms germans spotted force hipper ordered turn south knots mph believing ships saw northwest british battleships increased speed maximum speed knots mph british battlecruisers ordered battlecruisers speed catch germans escape managed exceed knots mph recognized performance signal despite achievement slowest ships gradually fell newer faster battlecruisers heavily damaged fire battlecruisers speed dropped knots mph steering gear jammed ordered attack combination mistake flag lieutenant signaling heavy damage flagship lion knocked radio caused smoke obscure signal couldn communicate ships caused rest battlecruisers turn away hipper main body engage fired shells capsized sank end battle ordered tow lion port engines knocked failing number times beneath waterline took day half speeds knots mph transferred february repaired electrical fire time rear admiral took command 3rd 1st 3rd sortied response german bombardment april failed locate german ships heavy weather battle jutland end 3rd temporarily assigned grand_fleet gunnery practice entire grand_fleet admiral battlecruisers ordered sea prepare excursion german high seas fleet order support admiral hood took battlecruisers ahead grand_fleet invincible intercepted radio message british light cruiser attached reporting sighting enemy cruisers reports seven enemy ships steering north hood interpreted attempt escape ordered increase speed knots mph steered east southeast cut fleeing ships minutes later invincible intercepted message reporting enemy battlecruisers sight later signals reporting engaging enemy south easterly course hood ordered speed course south southeast attempt converge british ships sight hood requested course position speed received reply hood continued course gunfire spotted direction light cruiser chester dispatched investigate gunfire flashes chester encountered light cruisers hipper badly damaged hood turned investigate able drive german cruisers away chester invincible opened fire followed minutes later german ships turned south firing torpedoes attempted find shelter mist turned invincible hit engine room knocked engines hit escorted light cruiser destroyers 2nd 9th 12th half flotilla attacked 3rd succession driven hood remaining light cruiser canterbury destroyers escort confused action germans launched torpedoes disabled destroyer shark gunfire having turned west close ships broadside oncoming torpedoes invincible turned north turned south present profile torpedoes torpedoes missed passed underneath invincible turned north helm jammed come stop fix problem quickly squadron reformed heading west grand fleet hood turned south lead battlecruisers hipper battlecruisers yards away immediately opened fire hipper flagship hit times quickly took hits lion invincible including hits waterline forward invincible ultimately doom hipper flagship invincible abruptly appeared clear target german ships fired invincible sank seconds inch shell struck roof invincible turret flash detonated magazines ship blew broke killing crew officers men including rear admiral hood remained company rest battle encountered hipper battlecruisers yards away sun setting opened fire hit times german battlecruisers rescued appearance pre dreadnought battleships british shifted fire new threat hit able turn loss battlecruisers jutland led force reorganised squadrons 2nd jutland little significant naval activity routine patrolling thanks kaiser order ships allowed sea assured victory refitted august received additional armour magazine turret roofs fitted flying ramps fitted turrets early end war saw end older vessels remaining sent paid march sold scrap december
HMS Indomitable (1907)