Minotaur-class cruiser (1906)
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

The ''Minotaur'' class was a three-ship
class Class or The Class may refer to: Common uses not otherwise categorized * Class (biology), a taxonomic rank * Class (knowledge representation), a collection of individuals or objects * Class (philosophy), an analytical concept used differentl ...
of
armoured cruiser The armored cruiser was a type of warship of the late 19th and early 20th centuries. It was designed like other types of cruisers to operate as a long-range, independent warship, capable of defeating any ship apart from a battleship and fast eno ...
s built in the first decade of the twentieth century 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 F ...
. These were the last class of armoured cruisers built for the Royal Navy, with that role being substantially replaced by the first battlecruisers. These initially served with the
Home Fleet The Home Fleet was a fleet of the Royal Navy that operated from the United Kingdom's territorial waters from 1902 with intervals until 1967. In 1967, it was merged with the Mediterranean Fleet creating the new Western Fleet. Before the First ...
, generally as the
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 ...
s of
cruiser A cruiser is a type of warship. Modern cruisers are generally the largest ships in a fleet after aircraft carriers and amphibious assault ships, and can usually perform several roles. The term "cruiser", which has been in use for several hu ...
squadron Squadron may refer to: * Squadron (army), a military unit of cavalry, tanks, or equivalent subdivided into troops or tank companies * Squadron (aviation), a military unit that consists of three or four flights with a total of 12 to 24 aircraft, de ...
s. ''Minotaur'' became flagship of the China Station in 1910 and ''Defence'' served as 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 Fleet, Mediterranean during the Interwar period and World War II it first ...
in the Mediterranean from 1912; ''Shannon'' remained at home as flagship of several different squadrons. When
World War I 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 ...
began in August 1914, ''Defence'' participated in the pursuit of the German ships and and ''Minotaur'' hunted for 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 Fa ...
and German commerce raiders in the Pacific and
Indian Ocean The Indian Ocean is the third-largest of the world's five oceanic divisions, covering or ~19.8% of the water on Earth's surface. It is bounded by Asia to the north, Africa to the west and Australia to the east. To the south it is bounded by th ...
s. ''Shannon'' remained with the Grand Fleet, as the Home Fleet was renamed, for the entire war. All three were present at 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 ...
in May 1916, where ''Defence'' was sunk with the loss of all men on board. The surviving pair spent most of the rest of the war assigned to the Northern Patrol unsuccessfully searching for German warships and commerce raiders. The pair were
scrapped Scrap consists of recyclable materials, usually metals, left over from product manufacturing and consumption, such as parts of vehicles, building supplies, and surplus materials. Unlike waste, scrap has monetary value, especially recovered me ...
after the war.


Design and description

The ''Minotaur''-class ships were the last armoured cruisers built for the Royal Navy. They were significantly larger and more heavily armed than their predecessors, although their armour was reduced in an attempt to compensate for the additional weight of the armament. The design was criticized for this weakness as well as the wide dispersal of the turrets along the length of the ship. They have been described by naval historian R. A. Burt as "cruiser editions of the ", and by E.H.H. Archibald of the Greenwich National Maritime Museum as "armed in a manner that presented one of the most ferocious sights in the fleet". A planned fourth ship of the class, ''Orion'', was cancelled due to financial pressures arising from the purchase of the ''Swiftsure''-class battleships.Dodson, p. 102 The ''Minotaur'' class displaced as built and at
deep load The displacement or displacement tonnage of a ship is its weight. As the term indicates, it is measured indirectly, using Archimedes' principle, by first calculating the volume of water displaced by the ship, then converting that value into wei ...
. ''Defence'' and ''Minotaur'' 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 in ...
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 mean draught of . ''Shannon'' had more beam and one foot less draught than 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 to evaluate the theory that she might be faster with these proportions than her sisters. The class displaced more, was longer overall, was one foot broader in beam and had more freeboard than their predecessors of the . At normal load they had a metacentric height of , and at deep load, . The ''Minotaur''s were designed to carry 779 officers and enlisted men, but mustered 802–842 between 1908 and 1912. The ships were powered by a pair of four-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 he ...
s, each driving one shaft, which developed a total of intended to give a maximum speed of . The engines were powered by 24
water-tube boiler A high pressure watertube boiler (also spelled water-tube and water tube) is a type of boiler in which water circulates in tubes heated externally by the fire. Fuel is burned inside the furnace, creating hot gas which boils water in the steam-gene ...
s with a working pressure of . They carried a maximum of of coal and an additional of
fuel oil Fuel oil is any of various fractions obtained from the distillation of petroleum (crude oil). Such oils include distillates (the lighter fractions) and residues (the heavier fractions). Fuel oils include heavy fuel oil, marine fuel oil (MFO), bun ...
that was sprayed on the coal to increase its burn rate. At full capacity, the ships could steam for at a speed of . During her
sea trial A sea trial is the testing phase of a watercraft (including boats, ships, and submarines). It is also referred to as a " shakedown cruise" by many naval personnel. It is usually the last phase of construction and takes place on open water, and ...
s on 6 December 1907, ''Minotaur'' made her designed speed when she reached 23.01 knots from during her eight-hour full-power test. ''Shannon'' proved to be the slowest of the three and only reached from during her trial three days before ''Minotaur''s.


Armament

The ''Minotaur''s carried only four 50-
calibre In guns, particularly firearms, caliber (or calibre; sometimes abbreviated as "cal") is the specified nominal internal diameter of the gun barrel bore – regardless of how or where the bore is measured and whether the finished bore match ...
BL 9.2-inch Mk XI guns, compared to the six of the earlier ships, but the guns were mounted in twin hydraulically powered centreline turrets, which gave them the same four-gun
broadside Broadside or broadsides may refer to: Naval * Broadside (naval), terminology for the side of a ship, the battery of cannon on one side of a warship, or their near simultaneous fire on naval warfare Printing and literature * Broadside (comic ...
as the ''Duke of Edinburgh''s. The guns had an elevation range of −5°/+15°. They fired projectiles at a
muzzle velocity Muzzle velocity is the speed of a projectile (bullet, pellet, slug, ball/shots or shell) with respect to the muzzle at the moment it leaves the end of a gun's barrel (i.e. the muzzle). Firearm muzzle velocities range from approximately to i ...
of ; this provided a maximum range of with armour-piercing (AP) shells. The rate of fire of these guns was up to four rounds per minute and the ships carried 100 rounds per gun.Friedman 2012, p. 336 The secondary armament was much heavier than the older ships, with five single hydraulically powered turrets equipped with 50-calibre BL 7.5-inch Mk II guns mounted on each side. The guns could be depressed to −7.5° and elevated to +15°. Using 4crh AP shells, they had a maximum range of . Their projectiles were fired at a muzzle velocity of at four rounds per minute. Each gun was provided with 100 rounds. Anti- torpedo boat defence was provided by sixteen QF 12-pounder 18-cwt guns. Eight of these were mounted on the tops of the 7.5 inch gun turrets and the other eight in the superstructure (four fore and four aft), as per the deck plan illustration. They fired , projectiles at a muzzle velocity of ; this gave a maximum range of at their maximum elevation of +20°. They also mounted five submerged 18-inch
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, two on each broadside, plus one mounted in the stern.


Armour

Armour in the ''Minotaur'' class was reduced compared to the earlier ships. The upper
belt Belt may refer to: Apparel * Belt (clothing), a leather or fabric band worn around the waist * Championship belt, a type of trophy used primarily in combat sports * Colored belts, such as a black belt or red belt, worn by martial arts practition ...
, considered superfluous after the elimination of the main deck
casemate A casemate is a fortified gun emplacement or armored structure from which artillery, guns are fired, in a fortification, warship, or armoured fighting vehicle.Webster's New Collegiate Dictionary When referring to Ancient history, antiquity, th ...
s, was eliminated as were the transverse bulkheads that connected the
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 ...
belt to the
barbette Barbettes are several types of gun emplacement in terrestrial fortifications or on naval ships. In recent naval usage, a barbette is a protective circular armour support for a heavy gun turret. This evolved from earlier forms of gun protection ...
s that protected the ships from raking fire. The waterline armour belt of
Krupp cemented armour Krupp armour was a type of steel naval armour used in the construction of capital ships starting shortly before the end of the nineteenth century. It was developed by Germany's Krupp Arms Works in 1893 and quickly replaced Harvey armour as the pr ...
extended past the fore and aft 7.5-inch gun turrets; its lower edge was about below the waterline at normal load. Forward the armour was up to about from the bow when it was reduced to three inches; aft the belt armour was three inches thick all the way to the stern. In addition to this, the engine cylinders were protected by armour plates thick. The faces of the primary gun turrets were thick and they had sides. The face armour for the 7.5-inch turrets was also eight inches thick, but their sides were only thick. The main barbettes were protected by seven inches of armour as were the ammunition hoists, although the armour for those thinned to two inches between the lower and main decks. The thickness of the lower deck ranged from 1.5 inches on the flat amidships to two inches on the slope connecting it to the lower edge of the waterline belt for the length of the ship. At the ends of the ship, the thickness of the deck armour increased to two inches. The sides of the forward
conning tower A conning tower is a raised platform on a ship or submarine, often armored, from which an officer in charge can conn the vessel, controlling movements of the ship by giving orders to those responsible for the ship's engine, rudder, lines, and gro ...
were 10 inches thick while those of the rear conning tower were three inches in thickness.


Modifications

The funnels were raised in 1909 to eliminate smoke interference with the
bridge A bridge is a structure built to span a physical obstacle (such as a body of water, valley, road, or rail) without blocking the way underneath. It is constructed for the purpose of providing passage over the obstacle, which is usually somethi ...
. During 1915–16, a 12-pounder was fitted to the rear superstructure and a three-pounder to the
quarterdeck The quarterdeck is a raised deck behind the main mast of a sailing ship. Traditionally it was where the captain commanded his vessel and where the ship's colours were kept. This led to its use as the main ceremonial and reception area on bo ...
, both guns on high-angle mounts for anti-aircraft defence. In 1916, reinforcing legs were added to the foremast to support the weight of a
fire-control director A fire-control system (FCS) is a number of components working together, usually a gun data computer, a director, and radar, which is designed to assist a ranged weapon system to target, track, and hit a target. It performs the same task as a hu ...
; ''Shannon'' received her director that same year and ''Minotaur'' in 1917–18. In the last year of the war, the reinforced foremast was replaced by a stronger tripod mast and the 12-pounder was moved to the top of the forward turret.


Ships


Careers

The sisters were all initially assigned to the Home Fleet upon commissioning with ''Shannon'' frequently serving as the flagship of the
5th Fifth is the ordinal form of the number five. Fifth or The Fifth may refer to: * Fifth Amendment to the United States Constitution, as in the expression "pleading the Fifth" * Fifth column, a political term * Fifth disease, a contagious rash tha ...
,
2nd A second is the base unit of time in the International System of Units (SI). Second, Seconds or 2nd may also refer to: Mathematics * 2 (number), as an ordinal (also written as ''2nd'' or ''2d'') * Second of arc, an angular measurement unit ...
and
3rd Cruiser Squadron The 3rd Cruiser Squadron was a formation of cruisers of the British Royal Navy from 1902 to 1909 and 1911 to 1916 and then again from 1922 to 1941. History First formation The squadron was first formed in June 1902 and disbanded in March 1909 ...
s before reverting to the flagship of the 2nd Squadron in 1914. ''Minotaur'' became the flagship of the China Station in 1910 and she was briefly joined by ''Defence'' in 1912 before the latter was transferred to the Mediterranean at the end of the year to serve as 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 Fleet, Mediterranean during the Interwar period and World War II it first ...
there. When the war began, ''Minotaur'' searched unsuccessfully for 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 Fa ...
in the Pacific and the commerce-raiding light cruiser in the Indian Ocean before she was transferred to the Grand Fleet at the end of 1914. She became flagship of the
7th Cruiser Squadron The 7th Cruiser Squadron (also known as Cruiser Force C) was a blockading force of the Royal Navy during the First World War used to close the English Channel to German traffic. It was employed patrolling an area of the North Sea known as the B ...
and was assigned to the Northern Patrol. ''Defence'' participated in the pursuit of the German
battlecruiser The battlecruiser (also written as battle cruiser or battle-cruiser) was a type of capital ship of the first half of the 20th century. These were similar in displacement, armament and cost to battleships, but differed in form and balance of attr ...
SMS ''Goeben'' and light cruiser SMS ''Breslau'', but Rear-Admiral
Ernest Troubridge Admiral Sir Ernest Charles Thomas Troubridge, (15 July 1862 – 28 January 1926) was an officer of the Royal Navy who served during the First World War. Troubridge was born into a family with substantial military connections, with several of his ...
decided not to engage ''Goeben'' due to the latter's more powerful guns, heavier armour and faster speed. She then
blockaded A blockade is the act of actively preventing a country or region from receiving or sending out food, supplies, weapons, or communications, and sometimes people, by military force. A blockade differs from an embargo or sanction, which are leg ...
the German ships inside the Dardanelles. The Admiralty ordered the ship to the
South Atlantic The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's five oceans, with an area of about . It covers approximately 20% of Earth's surface and about 29% of its water surface area. It is known to separate the " Old World" of Africa, Europe an ...
in October to join Rear-Admiral Christopher Cradock's
squadron Squadron may refer to: * Squadron (army), a military unit of cavalry, tanks, or equivalent subdivided into troops or tank companies * Squadron (aviation), a military unit that consists of three or four flights with a total of 12 to 24 aircraft, de ...
searching for the German ships. ''Defence'', however, had only reached
Montevideo Montevideo () is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Uruguay, largest city of Uruguay. According to the 2011 census, the city proper has a population of 1,319,108 (about one-third of the country's total population) in an area of . M ...
,
Uruguay Uruguay (; ), officially the Oriental Republic of Uruguay ( es, República Oriental del Uruguay), is a country in South America. It shares borders with Argentina to its west and southwest and Brazil to its north and northeast; while bordering ...
by 3 November when she received word that most of Admiral Cradock's squadron had been destroyed two days previously at the Battle of Coronel. The ship was then ordered to
South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring countri ...
to escort a troop convoy to Great Britain. ''Defence'' departed
Table Bay Table Bay (Afrikaans: ''Tafelbaai'') is a natural bay on the Atlantic Ocean overlooked by Cape Town (founded 1652 by Van Riebeeck) and is at the northern end of the Cape Peninsula, which stretches south to the Cape of Good Hope. It was named ...
,
Cape Town Cape Town ( af, Kaapstad; , xh, iKapa) is one of South Africa's three capital cities, serving as the seat of the Parliament of South Africa. It is the legislative capital of the country, the oldest city in the country, and the second largest ...
in December and rejoined the 1st Cruiser Squadron of the Grand Fleet as its flagship upon her arrival.Burt, p. 91 In early 1915, the sisters were all assigned to the Grand Fleet, each as flagship of their respective squadrons. Just before the Battle of Jutland on 31 May 1916, the 2nd and 7th Cruiser Squadrons were combined with ''Minotaur'' as the flagship. During the battle the 2nd Cruiser Squadron was unengaged and did not fire their guns. In contrast the 1st Cruiser Squadron was engaged at close range by the German
capital ship The capital ships of a navy are its most important warships; they are generally the larger ships when compared to other warships in their respective fleet. A capital ship is generally a leading or a primary ship in a naval fleet. Strategic im ...
s during the battle;Marder, pp. 97–98 ''Defence'' was hit by two
salvo A salvo is the simultaneous discharge of artillery or firearms including the firing of guns either to hit a target or to perform a salute. As a tactic in warfare, the intent is to cripple an enemy in one blow and prevent them from fighting b ...
es from the German ships that caused the aft 9.2-inch magazine to explode. The resulting fire spread via the ammunition passages to the adjacent 7.5-inch magazines which detonated in turn. The ship exploded with the loss of all men on board; between 893 and 903 men were killed. ''Shannon'' and ''Minotaur'' were also present during the attempted interception of the High Seas Fleet by the Grand Fleet on 19 August although no combat occurred. For the rest of the war, the ships were assigned to the Northern Patrol. On 11 December 1917, the sisters and four destroyers were assigned to patrol the convoy route between
Lerwick Lerwick (; non, Leirvik; nrn, Larvik) is the main town and port of the Shetland archipelago, Scotland. Shetland's only burgh, Lerwick had a population of about 7,000 residents in 2010. Centred off the north coast of the Scottish mainland ...
and Norway, but the Germans successfully destroyed a convoy off the Norwegian coast on the following day and returned home without being spotted. The British ships were only able to rescue survivors and escort the sole surviving ship from the convoy, the crippled destroyer , back to
Scapa Flow Scapa Flow viewed from its eastern end in June 2009 Scapa Flow (; ) is a body of water in the Orkney Islands, Scotland, sheltered by the islands of Mainland, Graemsay, Burray,S. C. George, ''Jutland to Junkyard'', 1973. South Ronaldsay and ...
. The sisters were
paid off Ship commissioning is the act or ceremony of placing a ship in active service and may be regarded as a particular application of the general concepts and practices of project commissioning. The term is most commonly applied to placing a warship in ...
in 1919, although ''Shannon'' temporarily became a training ship before the two were sold for scrap in 1920. ''Shannon'' was not actually broken up until January 1923.Burt, pp. 89, 93


Notes


Footnotes


Bibliography

* * * * * * * * * * * * * *


External links


The Dreadnought Project
Technical details of the ships. {{WWI British ships Cruiser classes Ship classes of the Royal Navy