HMS ''Birmingham'' was lead ship of the ''Birmingham'' group of three ships of the of

light cruiser A light cruiser is a type of small or medium-sized warship. The term is a shortening of the phrase "light armored cruiser", describing a small ship that carried armor in the same way as an armored cruiser: a protective belt and deck. Prior to thi ...

s built by the

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against F ...

. Her

sister ship A sister ship is a ship of the same class or of virtually identical design to another ship. Such vessels share a nearly identical hull and superstructure layout, similar size, and roughly comparable features and equipment. They often share a ...

s were and . The three ships were virtually identical to the third group of Town-class ships, but with an additional gun worked in on the

forecastle The forecastle ( ; contracted as fo'c'sle or fo'c's'le) is the upper deck of a sailing ship forward of the foremast, or, historically, the forward part of a ship with the sailors' living quarters. Related to the latter meaning is the phrase " be ...

History

''Birmingham, a two-screw ship,'' was built at Elswick, launched on 7 May 1913 and completed on 30 January 1914. She joined the 1st Light Cruiser Squadron of the

Grand Fleet The Grand Fleet was the main battlefleet of the Royal Navy during the First World War. It was established in August 1914 and disbanded in April 1919. Its main base was Scapa Flow in the Orkney Islands. History Formed in August 1914 from the ...

in 1914, visiting

Kiel Kiel () is the capital and most populous city in the northern Germany, German state of Schleswig-Holstein, with a population of 246,243 (2021). Kiel lies approximately north of Hamburg. Due to its geographic location in the southeast of the J ...

in June that year. On 9 August 1914, she spotted the , whose engines had failed as she lay stopped on the surface in heavy fog, off

Fair Isle Fair Isle (; sco, Fair Isle; non, Friðarey; gd, Fara) is an island in Shetland, in northern Scotland. It lies about halfway between mainland Shetland and Orkney. It is known for its bird observatory and a traditional style of knitting. Th ...

. The crew of ''Birmingham'' could hear hammering from inside the boat from attempted repairs, and so fired on her but missed. As the U-boat began to dive, she rammed her, cutting her in two. ''U-15'' went down with all hands, the first U-boat loss to an enemy warshi

''Birmingham'' also sank two German merchant ships that year and took part in the Battle of Heligoland Bight (1914), Battle of Heligoland on 28 August, and the Battle of Dogger Bank in January 1915. In February, she joined the 2nd Light Cruiser Squadron, attacking a u-boat on 18 June 1915 without success. HMS Birmingham (1913) Jutland

She also took part in the

Battle of Jutland The Battle of Jutland (german: Skagerrakschlacht, the Battle of the Skagerrak) was a naval battle fought between Britain's Royal Navy Grand Fleet, under Admiral John Jellicoe, 1st Earl Jellicoe, Sir John Jellicoe, and the Imperial German Navy ...

as a member of the 2nd Light Cruiser Squadron, during which she sustained damage caused by splintering during the night of the battle. After the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

, she was

flagship A flagship is a vessel used by the commanding officer of a group of naval ships, characteristically a flag officer entitled by custom to fly a distinguishing flag. Used more loosely, it is the lead ship in a fleet of vessels, typically the fi ...

to the 6th Light Cruiser Squadron in 1919-1920, after which she was transferred to the

Nore The Nore is a long bank of sand and silt running along the south-centre of the final narrowing of the Thames Estuary, England. Its south-west is the very narrow Nore Sand. Just short of the Nore's easternmost point where it fades into the cha ...

from 1920-1922. Considered (with two other two shaft 'Towns') for conversion to a minelayer, but the idea was not pursued. She was recommissioned in November 1923 to the Africa Station with the 6th Light Cruiser Squadron as Flagship, relieving ''Lowestoft''. She then continued to serve in foreign stations until being sold in 1931. She arrived at the yards of

Thos. W. Ward Thos. W. Ward Ltd was a Sheffield, Yorkshire, steel, engineering and cement business, which began as coal and coke merchants. It expanded into recycling metal for Sheffield's steel industry, and then the supply and manufacture of machinery. I ...

, of

Pembroke Dock Pembroke Dock ( cy, Doc Penfro) is a town and a community in Pembrokeshire, South West Wales, northwest of Pembroke on the banks of the River Cleddau. Originally Paterchurch, a small fishing village, Pembroke Dock town expanded rapidly following ...

on 12 March that year to be broken up.

Notes

Bibliography

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External links

Ships of the Birmingham group
*
An Echo from Jutland
Pathe newsreel dated 24 October 1921, in which the Lord Mayor of Birmingham receives the ship's battle scarred ensign. * OldWeather.org transcription of ship's logbooks June 1919 to June 1921
Battle of Jutland Crew Lists Project - HMS Birmingham Crew List
{{DEFAULTSORT:Birmingham (1913) Town-class cruisers (1910) of the Royal Navy Ships built by Armstrong Whitworth Ships built on the River Tyne 1913 ships World War I cruisers of the United Kingdom