HMS Good Hope (1901)
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

HMS ''Good Hope'' was one of four ''Drake''-class armoured cruisers built for 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 ...
around 1900; she was originally named ''Africa'', but was renamed before she was launched. She became flagship of the
1st Cruiser Squadron The First Cruiser Squadron was a Royal Navy squadron of cruisers that saw service as part of the Grand Fleet during the World War I then later as part of the Mediterranean during the Interwar period and World War II it first established in 190 ...
of the Atlantic Fleet in 1906, and was the flagship of the 2nd Cruiser Squadron in 1908. She was reduced to
reserve Reserve or reserves may refer to: Places * Reserve, Kansas, a US city * Reserve, Louisiana, a census-designated place in St. John the Baptist Parish * Reserve, Montana, a census-designated place in Sheridan County * Reserve, New Mexico, a US vi ...
in 1913, but was recommissioned in mid-1914. When war was declared in August 1914, ''Good Hope'' was ordered to reinforce the
4th Cruiser Squadron The 4th Cruiser Squadron and (also known as Cruiser Force H) was a formation of cruisers of the British Royal Navy from 1907 to 1914 and then again from 1919 to 1946. The squadron was first established in 1907, replacing the North America and ...
and became the flagship of Rear Admiral
Christopher Cradock Rear Admiral (Royal Navy), Rear Admiral Sir Christopher "Kit" George Francis Maurice Cradock (2 July 1862 – 1 November 1914) was an English senior officer of the Royal Navy. He earned a reputation for great gallantry. Appointed to the royal ...
. Cradock moved the available ships of his squadron later that month to the coast of South America to search for German
commerce raider Commerce raiding (french: guerre de course, "war of the chase"; german: Handelskrieg, "trade war") is a form of naval warfare used to destroy or disrupt logistics of the enemy on the open sea by attacking its merchant shipping, rather than enga ...
s. He was then ordered further south to the Strait of Magellan to block any attempt of the
German East Asia Squadron The German East Asia Squadron (german: Kreuzergeschwader / Ostasiengeschwader) was an Imperial German Navy cruiser squadron which operated mainly in the Pacific Ocean between the mid-1890s until 1914, when it was destroyed at the Battle of the ...
to penetrate into the South Atlantic. He found the German squadron on 1 November off the coast of Chile. The German squadron outnumbered Cradock's force and were individually more powerful; they sank Cradock's two armoured cruisers in the
Battle of Coronel The Battle of Coronel was a First World War Imperial German Navy victory over the Royal Navy on 1 November 1914, off the coast of central Chile near the city of Coronel. The East Asia Squadron (''Ostasiengeschwader'' or ''Kreuzergeschwader'') ...
. ''Good Hope'' was lost with all hands.


Design and description

''Good Hope'' was designed to displace . The ship had an
overall length The overall length (OAL) of an ammunition cartridge is a measurement from the base of the brass shell casing to the tip of the bullet, seated into the brass casing. Cartridge overall length, or "COL", is important to safe functioning of reloads i ...
of , a
beam Beam may refer to: Streams of particles or energy *Light beam, or beam of light, a directional projection of light energy **Laser beam *Particle beam, a stream of charged or neutral particles **Charged particle beam, a spatially localized grou ...
of and a deep draught of . She was powered by two 4-cylinder
triple-expansion steam engine A compound steam engine unit is a type of steam engine where steam is expanded in two or more stages. A typical arrangement for a compound engine is that the steam is first expanded in a high-pressure ''(HP)'' cylinder, then having given up ...
s, each driving one shaft, which produced a total of and gave a maximum speed of . The engines were powered by 43
Belleville boiler There have been a vast number of designs of steam boiler, particularly towards the end of the 19th century when the technology was evolving rapidly. A great many of these took the names of their originators or primary manufacturers, rather than a m ...
s.Chesneau & Kolesnik, p. 69 She carried a maximum of of coal and her complement consisted of 900 officers and ratings.Friedman, p. 336 Her main armament consisted of two breech-loading (BL) Mk X guns in single
gun turret A gun turret (or simply turret) is a mounting platform from which weapons can be fired that affords protection, visibility and ability to turn and aim. A modern gun turret is generally a rotatable weapon mount that houses the crew or mechani ...
s, one each fore and aft of the superstructure. Her secondary armament of sixteen BL 6-inch Mk VII guns was arranged in casemates amidships. Eight of these were mounted on the main deck and were only usable in calm weather. A dozen quick-firing (QF) 12-pounder 12 cwt guns were fitted for defence against
torpedo boat A torpedo boat is a relatively small and fast naval ship designed to carry torpedoes into battle. The first designs were steam-powered craft dedicated to ramming enemy ships with explosive spar torpedoes. Later evolutions launched variants of ...
s. Two additional 12-pounder 8 cwt guns could be dismounted for service ashore. ''Good Hope'' also carried three 3-pounder Hotchkiss guns and two submerged
torpedo tube A torpedo tube is a cylindrical device for launching torpedoes. There are two main types of torpedo tube: underwater tubes fitted to submarines and some surface ships, and deck-mounted units (also referred to as torpedo launchers) installed aboa ...
s. The ship's
waterline The waterline is the line where the hull of a ship meets the surface of the water. Specifically, it is also the name of a special marking, also known as an international load line, Plimsoll line and water line (positioned amidships), that indi ...
armour belt had a maximum thickness of and was closed off by transverse bulkheads. The armour of the gun turrets and their barbettes was 6 inches thick while the casemate armour was 5 inches thick. The protective deck armour ranged in thickness from and the conning tower was protected by of armour.


Service

''Good Hope'', named after the British colony on the Cape of Good Hope, was
laid down Laying the keel or laying down is the formal recognition of the start of a ship's construction. It is often marked with a ceremony attended by dignitaries from the shipbuilding company and the ultimate owners of the ship. Keel laying is one o ...
on 11 September 1899 with the name of ''Africa''Silverstone, p. 235 by
Fairfield Shipbuilding & Engineering The Fairfield Shipbuilding and Engineering Company, Limited was a Scottish shipbuilding company in the Govan area on the Clyde in Glasgow. Fairfields, as it is often known, was a major warship builder, turning out many vessels for the Royal Navy ...
at their
Govan Govan ( ; Cumbric?: ''Gwovan'?''; Scots: ''Gouan''; Scottish Gaelic: ''Baile a' Ghobhainn'') is a district, parish, and former burgh now part of south-west City of Glasgow, Scotland. It is situated west of Glasgow city centre, on the south ba ...
shipyard. She was renamed ''Good Hope'' on 2 October and launched on 21 February 1901, when she was formally named by Mrs. (Ethel) Elgar, wife of
Francis Elgar Prof Francis Elgar FRS FRSE LLD (1845 – 17 January 1909), naval architect, born at Portsmouth on 24 April 1845, was eldest son of nine children of Francis Ancell Elgar, who was employed at Portsmouth dockyard, by his wife Susanna Chalkley. L ...
, manager of the shipbuilding company. She arrived in
Portsmouth Portsmouth ( ) is a port and city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. The city of Portsmouth has been a unitary authority since 1 April 1997 and is administered by Portsmouth City Council. Portsmouth is the most dens ...
to be completed and armed in late December 1901. Captain Charles Edward Madden was appointed in command for her first commission on 8 November 1902. She was to be commissioned as flagship of Rear-Admiral Wilmot Fawkes as he succeeded as commander of the
Cruiser Squadron The Cruiser Squadron was a naval formation of the British Home Fleet consisting of Armored cruisers of the Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish k ...
in the Home Fleet, but was ordered first to convey
Joseph Chamberlain Joseph Chamberlain (8 July 1836 – 2 July 1914) was a British statesman who was first a radical Liberal, then a Liberal Unionist after opposing home rule for Ireland, and eventually served as a leading imperialist in coalition with the C ...
, Secretary of State for the Colonies, to South Africa in late 1902. Fawkes hoisted his flag on 23 November, and the ship left
Portsmouth Portsmouth ( ) is a port and city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. The city of Portsmouth has been a unitary authority since 1 April 1997 and is administered by Portsmouth City Council. Portsmouth is the most dens ...
with Chamberlain and his wife on board two days later. During the outward voyage, the ''Good Hope'' docked at Port Said,
Suez Suez ( ar, السويس '; ) is a seaport city (population of about 750,000 ) in north-eastern Egypt, located on the north coast of the Gulf of Suez (a branch of the Red Sea), near the southern terminus of the Suez Canal, having the same bou ...
, Aden,
Mombasa Mombasa ( ; ) is a coastal city in southeastern Kenya along the Indian Ocean. It was the first capital of the British East Africa, before Nairobi was elevated to capital city status. It now serves as the capital of Mombasa County. The town is ...
, and
Zanzibar Zanzibar (; ; ) is an insular semi-autonomous province which united with Tanganyika in 1964 to form the United Republic of Tanzania. It is an archipelago in the Indian Ocean, off the coast of the mainland, and consists of many small islan ...
, before landing Chamberlain at
Durban Durban ( ) ( zu, eThekwini, from meaning 'the port' also called zu, eZibubulungwini for the mountain range that terminates in the area), nicknamed ''Durbs'',Ishani ChettyCity nicknames in SA and across the worldArticle on ''news24.com'' from ...
in late December. After staying through Christmas at Port Elizabeth, she visited
Simon's Town Simon's Town ( af, Simonstad), sometimes spelled Simonstown, is a town in the Western Cape, South Africa and is home to  Naval Base Simon's Town, the South African Navy's largest base. It is located on the shores of False Bay, on the eastern ...
before returning home along the West Coast of Africa. In 1906 she became the flagship of the 1st Cruiser Squadron, Atlantic Fleet and was the flagship of the 2nd Cruiser Squadron when she visited South Africa two years later. ''Good Hope'' was placed in reserve in 1913. ''Good Hope'' was re-commissioned in mid-1914 with a crew composed mainly of naval reservists and was briefly assigned to the
6th Cruiser Squadron The 6th Cruiser Squadron was a formation of cruisers of the British Royal Navy from 1909 to 1915 and again from 1925 to 1945. The Royal Navy's cruiser squadrons usually contained a maximum of five to six ships but down but sometimes as low as two ...
in August, before being transferring the
4th Cruiser Squadron The 4th Cruiser Squadron and (also known as Cruiser Force H) was a formation of cruisers of the British Royal Navy from 1907 to 1914 and then again from 1919 to 1946. The squadron was first established in 1907, replacing the North America and ...
. She rendezvoused at the old Royal Naval Dockyard (which had closed in 1905 and transferred to the
Dominion The term ''Dominion'' is used to refer to one of several self-governing nations of the British Empire. "Dominion status" was first accorded to Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Newfoundland, South Africa, and the Irish Free State at the 192 ...
government to become Her Majesty's Canadian Dockyard) in the former
Imperial fortress Imperial fortress was the designation given in the British Empire to four colonies that were located in strategic positions from each of which Royal Navy squadrons could control the surrounding regions and, between them, much of the planet. His ...
of
Halifax, Nova Scotia Halifax is the capital and largest municipality of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Nova Scotia, and the largest municipality in Atlantic Canada. As of the 2021 Census, the municipal population was 439,819, with 348 ...
(which had replaced the
Bermuda ) , anthem = "God Save the King" , song_type = National song , song = "Hail to Bermuda" , image_map = , map_caption = , image_map2 = , mapsize2 = , map_caption2 = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = , es ...
-based squadron of the
North America and West Indies Station The North America and West Indies Station was a formation or command of the United Kingdom's Royal Navy stationed in North American waters from 1745 to 1956. The North American Station was separate from the Jamaica Station until 1830 when the ...
in 1907), with HMS Suffolk, the flagship of
Rear-Admiral Rear admiral is a senior naval flag officer rank, equivalent to a major general and air vice marshal and above that of a commodore and captain, but below that of a vice admiral. It is regarded as a two star "admiral" rank. It is often regarde ...
Sir Christopher Cradock. Cradock transferred his flag to ''Good Hope'' because she was faster than his previous flagship. In Halifax, the crew of ''Good Hope'' was joined by four young
Canadian Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of ...
midshipmen to assist Cradock with his command. They would become the first
Royal Canadian Navy The Royal Canadian Navy (RCN; french: Marine royale canadienne, ''MRC'') is the naval force of Canada. The RCN is one of three environmental commands within the Canadian Armed Forces. As of 2021, the RCN operates 12 frigates, four attack submar ...
casualties of the First World War. Cradock's command was despatched to the coast of South America later that month at his own suggestion to better hunt for the German ships preying upon British merchant ships. ''Good Hope'' was coaled at the Royal Naval Dockyard in the North Atlantic Imperial fortress
colony In modern parlance, a colony is a territory subject to a form of foreign rule. Though dominated by the foreign colonizers, colonies remain separate from the administration of the original country of the colonizers, the '' metropolitan state' ...
of Bermuda (by
Bermuda Militia Artillery The Bermuda Militia Artillery was a unit of part-time soldiers organised in 1895 as a reserve for the Royal Garrison Artillery detachment of the Regular Army garrison in Bermuda. Militia Artillery units of the United Kingdom and Colonies were in ...
gunners assisting with coaling). On the way south, ''Good Hope's'' crew was strengthened by the recruitment of 26 stokers in the
West Indies The West Indies is a subregion of North America, surrounded by the North Atlantic Ocean and the Caribbean Sea that includes 13 independent island countries and 18 dependencies and other territories in three major archipelagos: the Greate ...
, probably in
St. Lucia Saint Lucia ( acf, Sent Lisi, french: Sainte-Lucie) is an island country of the West Indies in the eastern Caribbean. The island was previously called Iouanalao and later Hewanorra, names given by the native Arawaks and Caribs, two Amerin ...
. His ships were generally unsuccessful in this and he moved his squadron further south in late September to search for the East Asia Squadron, under the command of Vice Admiral Graf Maximilian von Spee, in the vicinity of
Cape Horn Cape Horn ( es, Cabo de Hornos, ) is the southernmost headland of the Tierra del Fuego archipelago of southern Chile, and is located on the small Hornos Island. Although not the most southerly point of South America (which are the Diego Ramí ...
and the Strait of Magellan in accordance to his orders from the
Admiralty Admiralty most often refers to: *Admiralty, Hong Kong *Admiralty (United Kingdom), military department in command of the Royal Navy from 1707 to 1964 *The rank of admiral *Admiralty law Admiralty can also refer to: Buildings * Admiralty, Traf ...
. At the end of September, Cradock made his first fruitless search of the
Tierra del Fuego Tierra del Fuego (, ; Spanish for "Land of the Fire", rarely also Fireland in English) is an archipelago off the southernmost tip of the South American mainland, across the Strait of Magellan. The archipelago consists of the main island, Isla ...
area and later detached three of his ships to search up the Chilean coast, reaching Valparaiso on 15 October, while ''Good Hope'' returned to
Port Stanley Stanley (; also known as Port Stanley) is the capital city of the Falkland Islands. It is located on the island of East Falkland, on a north-facing slope in one of the wettest parts of the islands. At the 2016 census, the city had a popula ...
, in the
Falkland Islands The Falkland Islands (; es, Islas Malvinas, link=no ) is an archipelago in the South Atlantic Ocean on the Patagonian Shelf. The principal islands are about east of South America's southern Patagonian coast and about from Cape Dubouze ...
, to recoal and to reestablish communications with the Admiralty. He received word on 7 October that Spee's ships were definitely bound for the Cape Horn region and waited for the elderly
predreadnought battleship Pre-dreadnought battleships were sea-going battleships built between the mid- to late- 1880s and 1905, before the launch of in 1906. The pre-dreadnought ships replaced the ironclad battleships of the 1870s and 1880s. Built from steel, prot ...
to reinforce his squadron. She was in poor mechanical condition when she arrived at Port Stanley and required time to make repairs. ''Good Hope'' sailed on 22 October without her, going around Cape Horn, while ''Canopus'' and three colliers departed the following day, taking the shorter route through the Strait of Magellan.


Battle of Coronel

''Good Hope'' rendezvoused with the rest of the squadron at Vallenar Roads in the remote
Chonos Archipelago The Chonos Archipelago is a series of low, mountainous, elongated islands with deep bays, traces of a submerged Chilean Coast Range. Most of the islands are forested with little or no human settlement. The deep Moraleda Channel separates the isl ...
of Chile on 27 October to recoal. They departed two days later, just as ''Canopus'' arrived, Cradock ordering the battleship to follow as soon as possible. He sent the
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 th ...
to scout ahead and to enter
Coronel, Chile Coronel () is a Chilean city and commune, located in the Concepción Province of the eighth region of Bio Bío. Geography The city of Coronel is located in a sandy platform that goes from the mouth of the Biobío River to the Arauco Gulf bay, ...
to pick up any messages from the Admiralty and acquire intelligence regarding German activities. The cruiser began to pick up German radio signals from the light cruiser on the afternoon of 29 October, and delayed entering Coronel for two days with Cradock's permission to avoid being trapped by the fast German ships. A German supply ship was already there and radioed Spee that ''Glasgow'' had entered the harbour around twilight. The cruiser departed on the morning of 1 November, but Spee had already made plans to catch her when informed of her presence the previous evening. ''Glasgow'' departed Coronel at 09:15 after having picked up the squadron's mail and rendezvoused with the rest of the squadron four hours later. Cradock ordered his ships to form line abreast with an interval of between ships to maximise visibility at 13:50, and steered north at a speed of . At 16:17 ''Leipzig'' spotted ''Glasgow'', the easternmost British ship, to its west and she spotted ''Leipzig''s
funnel A funnel is a tube or pipe that is wide at the top and narrow at the bottom, used for guiding liquid or powder into a small opening. Funnels are usually made of stainless steel, aluminium, glass, or plastic. The material used in its construct ...
smoke three minutes later. At 17:10 Cradock ordered his ships to head for ''Glasgow'', the closest ship to the Germans. Once gathered together, he formed them into line astern, with ''Good Hope'' in the lead, steering southeasterly at at 18:18. As the sixteen guns aboard the armoured cruisers ''Scharnhorst'' and were only matched by the two 9.2-inch guns on his flagship, he needed to close the range to bring his more numerous 6-inch guns to bear. The Force 7 winds and high seas, however, prevented the use of half of those guns as they were too close to the water. He also wanted to use the setting sun to his advantage so that its light would blind the German gunners. Spee was well aware of the British advantages and refused to allow Cradock to close the range. His ships were faster than the British, slowed by the 16-knot maximum speed of the armed merchant cruiser , and he opened up the range to until conditions changed to suit him. The sun set at 18:50, which silhouetted the British ships against the light sky while the German ships became indistinguishable from the shoreline behind them. Spee immediately turned to close and signalled his ships to open fire at 19:04 when the range closed to . Spee's flagship, ''Scharnhorst'', engaged ''Good Hope'' while ''Gneisenau'' fired at ''Monmouth''. Cradock's flagship was hit on the ''Scharnhorst''s third salvo, when shells knocked out her forward 9.2-inch turret and set her
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 ...
on fire. Cradock, knowing his only chance was to close the range, continued to do so despite the battering that Spee's ships inflicted. By 19:23 the range was almost half of that when the battle began and the British ships bore onwards. Spee tried to open the range, fearing a torpedo attack, but the British were only away at 19:35. Seven minutes later, ''Good Hope'' charged directly at the German ships, although they dodged out of her way. Spee ordered his armoured cruisers to concentrate their fire on the British flagship and she soon drifted to a halt with her topsides all aflame. At 19:50 her forward magazine exploded, severing the bow from the rest of the ship, and she later sank in the darkness. Spee estimated that his flagship had made 35 hits on ''Good Hope'', suffering only two hits in return that did no significant damage and failed even to wound one crewman. ''Good Hope'' was sunk with all hands, a total of 926 officers and ratings. Four of the midshipmen aboard the ship were the first casualties of the newly formed
Royal Canadian Navy The Royal Canadian Navy (RCN; french: Marine royale canadienne, ''MRC'') is the naval force of Canada. The RCN is one of three environmental commands within the Canadian Armed Forces. As of 2021, the RCN operates 12 frigates, four attack submar ...
.First Canadian Casualties in the RCN
/ref>


Notable commanding officers

* Charles Douglas Carpendale, 1911–1912"Vice-Admiral Sir C. D. Carpendale" (obituary) in ''
The Times ''The Times'' is a British daily national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its current name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its sister paper '' The Sunday Times'' (f ...
'' dated 23 March 1968, Issue 57208, column F, p. 10


Notes


Footnotes


Bibliography

* * * * * * * *


External links


The Coronel MemorialLives of the First World War: Commemorating all those who were lost aboard HMS Good Hope, 1 November 1914Lives of the First World War: Four Canadian Midshipmen who lost their lives aboard HMS Good Hope, 1 November 1914Lives of the First World War: 26 West Indian Stokers who lost their lives aboard HMS Good Hope, 1 November 1914
{{DEFAULTSORT:Good Hope (1901) Drake-class cruisers Ships built on the River Clyde 1901 ships World War I cruisers of the United Kingdom Maritime incidents in November 1914 Shipwrecks in the Chilean Sea World War I shipwrecks in the Pacific Ocean Warships lost in combat with all hands Naval magazine explosions