HMS Benbow (1914)

History of HMS Benbow (1914)

On the eve of World War I (1914-1918), the Royal Navy invested in a new type of surface warship, the Iron Duke class. There were four of these battleships in total, before the earlier King George V class ships.

The new group was launched from October 1912 to November 1912 and followed the ship design of the King George V class in form and function.

HMS Benbow occupies a quarter of the Iron Duke class. She was ordered in 1911 and on 30 May 1912 by William Beardmore & Company of Glasgow. She was officially launched on November 12, 1913, and officially commissioned on October 7, 1914just in time for World War I.

When completed, she displaces 25,000 long tons, has a length of 622.8 feet, a beam of 90 feet, and a draft of 29.5 feet. Installed power comes from 18 Babcock & Wilcox boiler units supplying 4 shafts to 4 Parsons turbines rated from 29,000 to 31,000 hp.

It has a top speed of 21.25 knots and a range of up to 7,800 nautical miles. There are as many as 1,022 crew members on board. Armor protection ranges from 2.5 inches on the deck to 12 inches on the belt.

On top of the weapon are 10 x BL 13.5"/45 caliber Mk V main guns and 12 x 6"/45 caliber Mk VII guns as secondary guns. There were also 2 x QF 3" 20 cwt guns for anti-aircraft (AA) and 4 x 3 pounders for close surface operations.

Like other ships of the period, the Benbow was equipped with 4 x 21". (533mm) torpedo tubes as an additional distance measure.

HMS Benbow excelled during the First World War (1914-1918), taking part in the famous Battle of Jutland. The battle, which lasted from 31 May 1916 to 1 June 1916, pitted the might of the Royal Navy against the might of the German fleet.

It became the largest naval battle of the entire war, and although more than 200 warships were ultimately exposed to the turmoil, both sides claimed victory in an indecisive skirmish.

Shortly after the war, Bembo was assigned to the Mediterranean and supported Belarusian initiatives during the ensuing Russian Civil War (1917-1923), using her weapons out of anger at Black Sea positions. These operations continued until 1920, when she was again transferred to Mediterranean waters in 1926. From there she was stationed in the Atlantic until her retirement in 1929.

Stripped of wartime value the following year, she was sold as scrap in 1931 to meet the requirements of the London Naval Treaty of April 1930 (signed by the United States, France, Italy and Japan).

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