History of HMS King Edward VII.

The battleship HMS King Edward VII of the British Royal Navy was laid at Devonport Dockyard on 8 March 1902 as the capital ship of her eight-strong King Edward VII class. HMS King Edward VII's sister ships are HMS Commonwealth, HMS Hindustan, HMS Britannia, HMS Dominion, HMS New Zealand (Zealandia), HMS Africa and HMS Hibernia. The HMS King Edward VII was officially commissioned at a ceremony on 7 February 1905 and was aptly named after the then monarch, King Edward VII (provided that she remained the flagship of the fleet). Despite his powerful position, HSM King Edward VII was soon overshadowed by the arrival of HMS Dreadnought in 1906. She deployed a main gun of the same caliber on an armored turret.

At the expense of armor protection, the ship is also relatively fast in the water. The design was originally championed by Admiral John Jackie Fisher and eventually resulted in a classification of warships against which all advancing ships would be measured for the next 25 years.

As such, the HMS King Edward VII and all other battleships that served before the HMS Dreadnought would be referred to as "pre-dreadnoughts" - as outdated as the ironclads they themselves replaced.

The King Edward VII class was designed with a barrel length of over 453 ft (138 m), a beam of 78 ft (24 m) and a draft of 26 ft 9 in (8.15 m). When complete, she displaces 17,800 tons and is powered by a 2 x 4 cylinder vertical triple expansion steam engine. The engines are driven by 10 Babcock and Wilcox water pipes, coal fired boilers and 6 cylindrical boilers with 2 screws fixed below the waterline aft. To further exploit the potential speed, fuel injectors were installed to coat the coal with oil prior to combustion, which helped increase its rate of combustion - creating a rapidly increasing steam pressure, which in turn increased the ship's acceleration (ideal conditions The top speed is almost 19 nodes). ). The overall design of the King Edward VII class is similar to its derived British Majestic class battleships, although the new design is approximately 1,000 long tons heavier and designed to have a higher airspeed. The HMS King Edward VII and her class were the first modern British battleships to feature a new, more maneuverable "balanced" rudder, which gave the ship excellent steering characteristics, although it eventually proved difficult to maintain a straight line course.

It is this characteristic that has earned the class the nickname "Swing Eight".

The choice of the King Edward VII main artillery armament is a widely accepted multi-caliber artillery method in keeping with the times. 4 x 12" (300mm) Mk IX twin turrets were installed to form the main battery, supported by a secondary battery of 4 x 9.2" (230mm) Mk X rapid-firing single turrets. The 9.2" guns were connected by four separate turrets, two forward and two aft, and anchored two 12" turrets to port and starboard. With this arrangement, the HMS King Edward VII can use two of the 9s.

The 2" gun was carried along with the 12" gun on each side of the attack. However, it turned out that placing the 9.2" gun next to the 12" gun proved to have a negative effect in combat, as it was nearly impossible for observers to distinguish between the two calibers of shell splash.

Combat Heat (for distance purposes) Shell Splash of both caliber types has proven useful for adjusting the angle of attack of subsequent fire.

The third tier battery selected for the HMS King Edward VII consisted of a 10 x 6" (150 mm) Mk VII single gun mounted on an evenly spaced turret. This was followed by a single gun mounted 14 x 12 pounder rapid-fire gun Mounts and 14 x 3 pounder rapid-fire guns were mounted around the deck. These guns were designed to take on smaller ships that were considered too close targets for the main and secondary guns.

Common at the time, 5 x 18" (450 mm) torpedo tubes are installed in the design, these torpedo tubes are submerged below the waterline, 2 are installed along the port girder, 2 are installed along the starboard girder, and the last torpedo tube is located aft. On the bridge is 2 x . 303 Maxim Marine machine gun for extreme close range defense against surface and air threats.

Armour protection for the HMS King Edward VII includes 9" belt, 8-12" bulkhead, 8-12" main turret, 5-9" secondary turret protection, 7" for 6" turret and 12" for command Tower, deck armor is kept very little in order to maintain the required speed, usually not enough for "sprinting", only 1-2.5" thickness is used. Since the class is designed with low freeboard, they are upgraded for high seas to extremely wet vessels.

As planned, the HMS King Edward VII did not carry a recoverable seaplane for "Super Horizon" reconnaissance work. In terms of combat capability, the King Edward class is considered a stable artillery platform. [/p ]

The HMS King Edward VII underwent standard modifications from 1906 until 1907. After completing this work, she was assigned to the British Home Fleet, patrolling the vital English Channel waterways serving England and continental Europe.

From December 1909 to 1911, the HMS Kind Edward VII underwent another refit in Portsmouth. In 1912, the Royal Navy created the 3rd Battle Squadron from the King Edward VII class ships. The squadron was then ordered to go to Mediterranean waters in November 1912 to participate in the First Balkan War from October 1912 to May 1913, which involved the Allied forces of Bulgaria, Serbia, Greece and Montenegro against the Ottoman Empire. She arrived in Malta on November 27, 1912, to assist France and Spain in the blockade of Montenegro.

The squadron was then recalled and stationed at Scapa Flow in 1913.

King Edward VII was a formidable warship when it was commissioned in 1905, and it was only completed when she happened to be born in history. Technology at the time advanced by leaps and bounds and has proven to be evolutionary for most of military history.

By the summer of 1914, tensions across Europe had risen to the point of spillover, as evidenced by the June assassination of the little-known Austrian Archduke Franz Ferdinand in Sarajevo, prompting the long-standing alliance to take sides over one side. Another explanation of the war - this is the beginning of the First World War, the Great War.

Surprisingly, many peoples of the European powers were celebrating the coming of war, which many believed would be completed by Christmas.

3rd Combat Squadron was sent to Portland in November to reinforce the Channel Fleet due to the declaration of war (Britain declared war on Germany through an alliance with Belgium). In order to keep up with the ever-changing developments of the war, the squadron was then recalled to the Grand Fleet. However, the HMS King Edward VII had problems with the rudder and had to be left for repairs. She rejoined the Grand Fleet in late November 1914.

King Edward VII then went on to serve as the flagship of the Atlantic Patrol.

In the early days of the war, the task of the 3rd Combat Squadron was to support the large patrols assigned to the Grand Fleet. Since they were seen as "smaller" ships compared to the newer, more powerful "dreadnoughts", the HMS King Edward VII and her class were always placed at the forefront of the fleet, making for the mighty battleships some kind of obstacle. The ons were shelved aft, exposing these lead ships to a variety of potential enemy attacks - torpedoes, mines, surface artillery or air strikes.

The lead ship will trigger the enemy's position, which in turn warns the rest of the fleet.

On 6 January 1916, King Edward VII left Scapa Flow for Belfast for drydock overhaul. On her route, she took on a dual role, patrolling the north coast of Scotland. As she rounded Cape Wrath, she hit an invisible German naval mine that detonated under her starboard engine room. The inflowing water forced her to bank 8 degrees to starboard, although there were no casualties.

However, the torrent threatened to flood the entire engine room and kill the ship outright. In response, Captain McLachlin ordered the ship to starboard in order to pull the ship closer to shore if the situation deteriorated. During this turn, however, the rudder got stuck so badly on the starboard side that the nacelle was flooded and all propulsion ceased.

The crew practiced flood control strategies and managed to temporarily lower their roster to 5 degrees.

Now stranded, HMS King Edward VII calls Collier Princess Melita nearby. Attempts were made to tow the battleship ashore so as not to risk sinking it completely. The C-class destroyer HMS Kempfenfelt arrives to help the sinking King Edward VII.

At this point, the HMS King Edward VII was lower in the water and now pointed a full 15 degrees to starboard. Strong winds further exacerbated the situation, generating six-foot waves that threatened towing initiatives. When the e-chain to Princess Melita was cut, it proved too powerful.

Captain McLachlin, understanding that his ship could not be towed by a destroyer, ordered HMS Kempfenfelt to cut her course and release HMS King Edward VII.

As night fell, the wounded (and sinking) ships prompted Captain McLachlin to issue a final call to abandon ship. The destroyers "Musketeer", "Fortune" and "Marne" have arrived to receive the crew of the King Edward VII in an orderly and professional handover.

One of King Edward VII's crew members was missing when he fell during the operation, but no other 777 crew members were reported injured or killed. Captain McLachlin himself dutifully waited until his entire crew disembarked and boarded the destroyer HMS Nessus.

On January 6, 1916, the HMS King Edward VII sank in the stern after all hands were safely evacuated, ending her tenure at sea.

HMS King Edward VII Specification

Basic

Year:
1905

Roles

- Blue Water Operations

- Fleet Support

- Hunter

- direct attack

Dimensions

Length:

453.5 ft (138.23 m)

width/width:

78 feet (23.77 m)

Elevation/Draft:

26.8 ft (8.17 m)

Weight

Displacement (surface):

16,600 tons

Performance

10 x Babcock & Wilcox water tube boilers with 6 x cylindrical boilers and 2 x 4 cylinder vertical triple expansion steam engines driving 2 x screws.

Performance

Speed ??(surface):

19 kn (21 mph)

Area:

5,214 nautical miles (6,000 miles; 9,656 km)

Armor

4 x 12" (300 mm) BL Mk IX guns mounted on two twin turrets (2x2).

4 x 9.2" (230 mm) BL Mk X Gun, Single Seat

10 x 6" (150 mm) BL Mk VII gun

14 x 12 pdr gun

14 x 3 pdr gun

5 x 18" (450 mm) torpedo tubes (4 x beam; 1 x stern).

2 times. 303 Maxim machine guns

Wing

No.

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