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HMS Hermes

History of HMS Hermes

HMS Hermes was commissioned as a cruiser battleship for the Royal Navy (RN) in 1897. Her keel was laid by Fairfield Shipbuilding & Engineering on April 30, 1897, launched on April 7, 1898, and marked for completion on October 5, 1899.

Hermes served (after retiring) at the start of World War I (1914-1918), but her career in the conflict came to an abrupt end when she fell victim to a German torpedo in October 1914.

HMS Hermes made up a third of the highflyer-class protected cruiser trio that served the RN in the late 19th century.

More specifically, HMS Hermes were completed as "protected" cruisers, meaning greater armor protection than standard cruiser battleships of the time. The term generally describes a warship as carrying additional armor along its upper and forward turret fairings, and also providing additional protection for the mechanics within its hull.

Similar "battleships" at the time also wore additional protection on their belts (at the expense of speed). The HMS Hermes received up to 3 inches of armor protection on the deck, 3 inches on the main turret, and 6 inches on the conning tower.

When completed, the warship displaces 5,560 long tons, has a length of 350 feet, a beam of 54 feet, and a draft of 21.5 feet. Power comes from 18 Belleville boiler units feeding 2 4-cylinder triple-expansion steam engines driving over 10,000 hp on 2 shafts aft. This arrangement allows the vessel to reach 20 knots in ideal conditions.

The standard crew is 470 people.

The Hermes profile consists of a mast set fore and aft, with three funnels arranged amidships. The bridge structure is formed as part of the fore mast and usually provides good visibility to the bow and port and starboard sides. As a cruiser, she was armed with 11 x 6 inch main guns and 8 x QF 12 pound (12 cwt) secondary guns.

6 x QF 3-pounder guns (Hotchkiss) were also carried for close range work, and the ship was equipped with 2 x 18-inch torpedo tubes - the latter being standard for warships at the time.

Once commissioned, HMS Hermes makes the usual stops in various locations in the UK Caribbean and at one point served as RN's flagship in North America and the West Indies. Her propulsion systems - namely her boiler units - were then found to be energized, and these were exchanged for Babcock & Wilcox units on their return to British mainland waters.

The work was done in Belfast.

From there, Hermes remained part of the Channel Fleet until 1905, when she was assigned reserve status, decommissioned and shelved. In 1906, she returned to service and toured the East Indies, which lasted until March 1913, when she was placed in the reserve again.

In April of that year, the Royal Navy authorized an overhaul of the ship's structure to convert it into trial service as a "seaplane carrier" - testing the launch/recovery of carrier-based aircraft and possibly rewriting the current British Naval Doctrine. As a result, her forecastle was completely redesigned to accommodate a flat platform as a flight deck - which resulted in the removal of the forward main gun mounts. A simple canvas-covered hangar was constructed for temporary storage of aircraft ready to fly, while a more permanent hangar was installed on the aft deck. The boat is equipped with a derrick lift system to handle aircraft recovery, requiring returning seaplanes to sit alongside the boat.

These changes give Hermes access to a total of three biplanes.

Following the change, the HMS Hermes returned to service in May with several stationary aircraft launches. Her first en-route plane launch occurred in late July, followed by two test flights through October.

By the end of the project, the Royal Navy authorities were able to properly assess the value of carrier-based aircraft and their value to the modern fleet - not only could aircraft be transported, launched and recovered from the carrier, but the aircraft provided had considerable advantages for the fleet once Liftoff, especially when equipped with proper (and capable) communications equipment. Over-the-horizon reconnaissance has been improved, and shooting accuracy has been further improved.

The testing phase is over and Hermes is closed.

The World War came to Europe in the summer of 1914, and the pre-war coalition ensured the participation of many players, including Great Britain. This brought HMS Hermes back into service on 31 August 1914, and her first operation was to transport aircraft from England to French territory.

On the return trip on 31 October 1914, she was hit by a U-27 torpedo, killing 44 crew members in the sinking. In 1924, with the commissioning of HMS Hermes (No. 95), the HMS Hermes name was revived as the first purpose-built aircraft carrier.

HMS Hermes (R12) was then named after the British royal family during the Cold War until she was sold to India (to become INS Viraat (R22)).