H.M.S. Dreadnought (1906)
| HMS Dreadnought | |
| Career | Details |
|---|---|
| Ordered: | 1905 |
| Laid down: | 2 October, 1905 |
| Launched: | 10 February , 1906 |
| Commissioned: | 2 December, 1906 |
| Decommissioned: | 1919 |
| Fate: | Scrapped 1923 |
| Specifications | |
| Displacement: | 18,420 tons |
| Length: | 527 feet (160 metres) |
| Beam: | 82 feet (25 metres) |
| Draught: | 26 feet (8 metres) |
| Armour: | Belt: 4 to 11 inch (100 to 280 mm) midship, 2.5 inch (64 mm) at ends Deck: up to 3 inch (75 mm) |
| Armament: |
|
| Propulsion: | Boilers: 18 Babcock & Wilcox 3 drum type Turbines: 4 Parsons geared steam turbines |
| Range: | 6,620 nautical miles (12 260 km) at 10 knots (19 km/h), 4,910 nautical miles (9090 km) at 18.4 knots (34 km/h) |
| Complement: | 695–773 |
Contents
Construction
Career
From April, 1907 to May, 1912 Dreadnought served as flagship of the Royal Navy's Home Fleet, at which point she was relieved by HMS Neptune. On 5 August, 1907 HM King Edward VII with a number of other members of the Royal Family visited Dreadnought at Spithead. Accompanied by the Board of Admiralty, as well as the commander of the Home Fleet Vice-Admiral Francis Bridgeman, the Dreadnought went for a cruise flying the royal standard. For this the captain, Reginald Bacon, was appointed CVO and Bridgeman promoted KCVO by the king.
Bloomsbury Hoax
On 10 February, 1910 she attracted the attention of notorious hoaxer Horace de Vere Cole, who persuaded the Royal Navy to arrange for a party of Abyssinian royals to be given a tour of a ship at Weymouth. In reality, the "Abyssinian royals" were some of Cole's friends in blackface and disguise, including a young Virginia Woolf and her Bloomsbury Group friends; it became known as the Dreadnought hoax. Cole had picked Dreadnought because she was at that time the most prominent and visible symbol of Britain's naval might.
Pre war
On 27 July, 1910, soon after ascending to the throne, HM King George V visited Dreadnought at Torbay. For two days Dreadnought, under the command of Captain Herbert Richmond in company with the Commander-in-Chief William May went to sea on excercises.
War service
Fitted with a Mark I Dreyer Fire Control Table.
Post war
In Command
Other Notable Crew
- Commander Cecil Nugent Reynes, 1914-1918 (Commander and Gunnery Officer)
