HMS
King Edward VII, named after King Edward VIIEdward VII was King of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions and Emperor of India from 22 January 1901 until his death on 6 May 1910...
, was the lead ship of the King Edward VII
classThe King Edward VII class was a class of predreadnought battleships launched by the Royal Navy between 1903 and 1905.-Technical characteristics:...
of BritishGreat Britain is an island lying to the northwest of Continental Europe. It is the ninth largest island in the world, and the largest European island. With a population of about 59.6 million people, it is the third most populated island on Earth. Great Britain is surrounded by over 1000 smaller...
Royal NavyThe Royal Navy of the United Kingdom is the oldest of HM Armed Forces . From the beginning of the 18th century until well into the 20th century, it was the most powerful navy in the world, playing a key part in establishing the British Empire as the dominant world power from 1815 until the early...
predreadnought battleshipA battleship is a large, heavily armored warship with a main battery consisting of the largest caliber of guns. Battleships were larger, better armed and armored than cruisers or destroyers. There are currently no battleships in service....
s.
Technical Characteristics
HMS King Edward VII
was laid down at Devonport DockyardHer Majesty's Naval Base Devonport , is one of three UK operating bases for the Royal Navy . HMNB Devonport is located in Devonport, in the west of the city of Plymouth in Devon, England. It is the largest naval base in Western Europe and is the sole nuclear repair and refuelling facility for the...
on 8 March 1902. She was launched by King Edward VII on 23 July 1903, and completed in February 1905.
Although King Edward VII
and her seven sister ships of the King Edward VII
classThe King Edward VII class was a class of predreadnought battleships launched by the Royal Navy between 1903 and 1905.-Technical characteristics:...
were a direct descendant of the Majestic
classThe Majestic class was a class of predreadnought battleships, built under the Spencer Programme of 8 December 1893, which sought to counter the growing naval strength of France and the Russian Empire...
, they were also the first class to make a significant departure from the Majestic
design, displacing about 1,000 tons more and mounting for the first time an intermediate battery of four 9.2-inch (234-mm) guns in addition to the standard outfit of 6-inch (152-mm) guns. The 9.2-inch was a quick-firing gun like the 6-inch, and its heavier shell made it a formidable weapon by the standards of the day when King Edward VII
and her sisters were designed; it was adopted out of concerns that British battleships were undergunned for their displacement and were becoming outgunned by foreign battleships that had begun to mount 8-inch (203-mm) intermediate batteries. The four 9.2-inch were mounted in single turrets abreast the foremast and mainmast, and King Edward VII
thus could bring two of them to bear on either broadside. Even then, King Edward VII and her sisters were criticized for not having, a uniform secondary battery of 9.2-inch guns, something considered but rejected because of the length of time it would have taken to design the ships with such a radical revision of the secondary armament layout. In the end, it proved impossible to distinguish 12-inch and 9.2-inch shell splashes from one another, making fire control impractical for ships mounting both calibers, although King Edward VII
had fire-control platforms on her fore- and mainmasts rather than the fighting tops of earlier classes.
Like all British battleships since the Majestic
class, the King Edward VII
-class ships had four 12-inch (305-mm) guns in two twin turrets (one forward and one aft), the first five King Edwards
, including King Edward VII
herself, mounted the Mark IX 12-inch gun. Mounting of the 6-inch guns in casemateA casemate, sometimes rendered casement, is a fortified gun emplacement or armored structure from which guns are fired, originally a vaulted chamber in a fortress.-Origin of the term:...
s was abandoned in King Edward VII
and her sister ships, the 6-inch instead being placed in a central battery amidships protected by 7-inch (178-mm) armored walls. Otherwise, King Edward VII's
armor was much as in the London
classThe Royal Navy's Formidable class of battleships were an eight-ship class of predreadnoughts designed by Sir William White and built in the late 1890s...
battleships, although there were various differences in detail from the London
s.
King Edward VII and her sisters were the first British battleships with balanced rudders since the 1870s and were very maneuverable, with a tactical diameter of 340 yards (311 m) at 15 knots (27.75 km/h). However, they were difficult to keep on a straight course, and this characteristic led to them being nicknamed "the Wobbly Eight" during their 1914-1916 service in the Grand Fleet. They had a slightly faster roll than previous British battleship classes, but were good gun platforms, although very wet in bad weather.
Primarily powered by coal, King Edward VII
had oil sprayers installed during her construction, as did all of her sisters except HMS New Zealand
HMS New Zealand was a King Edward VII class battleship of the Royal Navy. Like all ships of the class she was named after an important part of the British Empire, namely New Zealand...
, the first time this had been done in BritishThe United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is a sovereign state located off the northwestern coast of continental Europe. It is an island country, spanning an archipelago including Great Britain, the northeastern part of Ireland, and many small islands...
battleships. These allowed steam pressure to be rapidly increased, improving King Edward VII's
acceleration. The eight ships between them were given four different boiler installations for comparative purposes; King Edward VII's
is variously reported to have had 10 Babcock and WilcoxThe Babcock and Wilcox Company is an American firm engaged in the design, engineering, manufacture, service and construction of power generation and pollution control systems and equipment for utilities and industries...
boilers and six cylindrical boilers or 10 Babcock and WilcoxThe Babcock and Wilcox Company is an American firm engaged in the design, engineering, manufacture, service and construction of power generation and pollution control systems and equipment for utilities and industries...
boilers and three cylindrical boilers. She exceeded her designed speed on trials.
King Edward VII was a powerful ship when she was designed, and completely fulfilled the goals set for her at that time. However, she was unlucky in that the years of her design and construction were ones of revolutionary advancement in naval guns, fire control, armor, and propulsion. She joined the fleet in early 1905, but was made obsolete in less than two years by the commissioning of the revolutionary battleship at the end of 1906 and the large numbers of the new
dreadnoughtThe dreadnought was the predominant type of 20th-century battleship. The first of the kind, the Royal Navy's had such an impact when launched in 1906 that battleships built after her were referred to as 'dreadnoughts', and earlier battleships became known as pre-dreadnoughts. Her design had two...
battleships that commissioned in succeeding years. By 1914, King Edward VII
and her sister ships were, like all predreadnoughts, so outclassed that they spent much of their 1914-1916 Grand Fleet service steaming at the heads of divisions of the far more valuable dreadnoughts, protecting the dreadnoughts from naval mines by being the first battleships to either sight or strike them.
Operational History
King Edward VII consented to having King Edward VII
carry his name on the condition that she always serve as a flagshipA flagship is the lead ship in a fleet of vessels, a designation given on account of being either the largest, fastest, newest, most heavily armed or, for publicity purposes, the best known. In military terms, it is a ship used by the commanding officer of a group of naval ships...
. The Royal NavyThe Royal Navy of the United Kingdom is the oldest of HM Armed Forces . From the beginning of the 18th century until well into the 20th century, it was the most powerful navy in the world, playing a key part in establishing the British Empire as the dominant world power from 1815 until the early...
honored this wish throughout her career.
HMS King Edward VII
commissioned on 7 February 1905 at Devonport DockyardHer Majesty's Naval Base Devonport , is one of three UK operating bases for the Royal Navy . HMNB Devonport is located in Devonport, in the west of the city of Plymouth in Devon, England. It is the largest naval base in Western Europe and is the sole nuclear repair and refuelling facility for the...
for service as Flagship, Commander-in-ChiefA commander-in-chief is the commander of a nation's military forces or significant element of those forces. In the latter case, the force element may be defined as those forces within a particular region or those forces which are associated by function. As a practical term it refers to the...
, Atlantic FleetThe Atlantic Fleet was a major fleet formation of the Royal Navy.There have been two main formations in the Royal Navy officially called the Atlantic Fleet. The first was created in 1909 and lasted until 1914...
. She underwent a refit in 1906-1907. Her Atlantic Fleet service ended when she paid off at Portsmouth Dockyard on 4 March 1907.
On 5 March 1907, King Edward VII
recommissioned as flagship of AdmiralAdmiral is the rank, or part of the name of the ranks, of the highest naval officers. It is usually considered a full admiral and above Vice Admiral and below Admiral of the Fleet/Fleet Admiral. It is usually abbreviated to "Adm." or "ADM"...
Lord Charles BeresfordCharles William de la Poer Beresford, 1st Baron Beresford GCB GCVO , known as Lord Charles Beresford until 1916, was a British Admiral and Member of Parliament....
, Commander-in-Chief, Channel FleetThe Channel Fleet is the historical name used for the group of Royal Navy warships that defended the waters of the English Channel.Various fleets of Royal Navy ships have operated in the channel since the 16th century to fight the Spanish Armada in 1588 or the Dutch invasion fleet that brought...
. She underwent another refit at Portsmouth in 1907-1908.
Under a fleet reorganization on 24 March 1909, the Channel Fleet became the 2nd Division, Home Fleet. Accordingly, King Edward VII
recommissioned as Flagship, Vice AdmiralVice Admiral is a naval rank equivalent to Lieutenant General in seniority. A Vice Admiral is typically senior to a Rear Admiral and junior to an Admiral. In many navies, Vice Admiral is a three star rank.-Rank Insignia:...
, Home Fleet on 27 March 1909. She underwent a refit at Portsmouth from December 1909 to February 1910. She recommissioned at Portsmouth on 1 August 1911 as Flagship, Vice Admiral, Third and Fourth Divisions, Home Fleet.
Under a fleet reorganization in May 1912, King Edward VII
and all seven of her sisters of the King Edward VII
class (Africa
The most recent HMS Africa was a predreadnought battleship of the Royal Navy. She was the penultimate ship of the King Edward VII class...
, Britannia
The sixth HMS Britannia of the British Royal Navy was a pre-dreadnought battleship of the King Edward VII class. Like all ships of the class she was named after an important part of the British Empire, namely Britannia, the Roman name for Great Britain.-Technical characteristics:HMS Britannia was...
, Commonwealth
HMS Commonwealth, was a of the British Royal Navy. Like all ships of the class she was named after an important part of the British Empire, namely the Commonwealth of Australia.-Technical characteristics:...
, Dominion
HMS Dominion was a of the Royal Navy. Like all ships of the class she was named after an important part of the British Empire, namely the Dominion of Canada. She has been the only ship of the Royal Navy to bear the name Dominion.-Technical characteristics:HMS Dominion was ordered under the 1902...
, Hibernia
HMS Hibernia was a King Edward VII-class predreadnought battleship of Britain's Royal Navy. Like all ships of the class she was named after an important part of the British Empire, namely Ireland....
, Hindustan
HMS Hindustan was a King Edward VII class pre-dreadnought battleship of the Royal Navy . Like all ships of the class she was named after an important part of the British Empire, namely the Indian Empire.-Technical characteristics:...
, and Zealandia
HMS New Zealand was a King Edward VII class battleship of the Royal Navy. Like all ships of the class she was named after an important part of the British Empire, namely New Zealand...
) were assigned to form the 3rd Battle SquadronThe British Royal Navy 3rd Battle Squadron was a naval squadron consisting of battleships and other vessels, active from at least 1914 to 1945. The 3rd Battle Squadron was initially part of the Royal Navy's Home Fleet. During World War I the Home Fleet was renamed the Grand Fleet...
, assigned to the First Fleet, Home Fleet. King Edward VII commissioned at
SheernessSheerness is a town located beside the mouth of the River Medway on the northwest corner of the Isle of Sheppey in north Kent, England. With a population of 12,000 it is the largest town on the island....
as Flagship, Vice Admiral, 3rd Battle Squadron, First Fleet, Home Fleet, on 14 May 1912.
The 3rd Battle Squadron was detached to the
MediterraneanThe Mediterranean Sea is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean surrounded by the Mediterranean region and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Anatolia and Europe, on the south by Africa, and on the east by the Levant. The sea is technically a part of the Atlantic Ocean, although it...
in November 1912 because of the
First Balkan WarThe First Balkan War, which lasted from October 1912 to May 1913, pitted the Balkan League against the Ottoman Empire. The combined armies of the Balkan states overcame the numerically inferior and strategically disadvantaged Ottoman armies, and achieved rapid success...
(October 1912-May 1913); it arrived at
MaltaMalta , officially the Republic of Malta , is a densely populated developed European country in the European Union. The Southern European island nation is an archipelago that includes the inhabited islands of Malta, Gozo and Comino, along with a number of smaller, uninhabited islands...
on 27 November 1912 and subsequently participated in a
blockadeA blockade is an effort to cut off the communications of a particular area by force. It is distinct from a siege in that a blockade is usually directed at an entire country or region, rather than a fortress or city. Also, a blockade historically took place at sea, with the blockading power seeking...
by an international force of
MontenegroMontenegro , is a country located in Southeastern Europe. It has a coast on the Adriatic Sea to the south-west and is bordered by Croatia to the west, Bosnia and Herzegovina to the northwest, Serbia to the northeast, Kosovo to the east and Albania to the south...
and in an occupation of Scutari. The squadron returned to the United Kingdom in 1913 and rejoined the Home Fleet on 27 June 1913
Upon the outbreak of
World War IWorld War I , also known as the First World War, the Great War, and the War to End All Wars, was a global military conflict which involved most of the world's great powers, assembled in two opposing alliances: the Triple Entente and the Triple Alliance...
, the 3rd Battle Squadron was assigned to the Grand Fleet and based at
RosythRosyth is a town located on the Firth of Forth, three miles south of the centre of Dunfermline. According to the 2007 population estimate, the town has a population of 12,865. The town was founded as a garden city and was built to form the coastal port of Dunfermline which began in 1909...
, with King Edward VII
continuing her service as squadron flagship. The squadron was used to supplement the Grand Fleet's cruiserA cruiser is a large type of warship, which had its prime period from the late 19th century to the end of the Cold War. The first cruisers were intended for individual raiding and protection missions on the seas...
s on the Northern PatrolThe Northern Patrol was a Royal Navy operation of the First World War operating around Scotland and the North Sea.The Patrol existed to form part of the British "distant" blockade of Germany...
. On 2 November 1914, the squadron was detached to reinforce the Channel Fleet and was rebased at Portland. The squadron returned to the Grand Fleet on 13 November 1914, although King Edward VII
remained behind temporarily, not returning to the Grand Fleet until 30 November 1914.
King Edward VII
served in the Grand Fleet until her loss in January 1916. During sweeps by the fleet, she and her sister ships often steamed at the heads of divisions of the far more valuable dreadnoughtThe dreadnought was the predominant type of 20th-century battleship. The first of the kind, the Royal Navy's had such an impact when launched in 1906 that battleships built after her were referred to as 'dreadnoughts', and earlier battleships became known as pre-dreadnoughts. Her design had two...
s, where they could protect the dreadnoughts by watching for mines or by being the first to strike them.
On 6 January 1916, King Edward VII
, having transferred her flag temporarily, departed Scapa Flowright|thumb|250px|Scapa Flow, viewed from its eastern endScapa Flow is a body of water in the Orkney Islands, Scotland, United Kingdom, sheltered by the islands of Mainland, Graemsay, Burray, South Ronaldsay and Hoy...
at 0712 hours on a voyage around the northern coast of ScotlandScotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
to BelfastBelfast is the capital of and the largest city in Northern Ireland, a constituent country of the United Kingdom. It is the seat of devolved government and legislative Northern Ireland Assembly. It is the largest urban area in the province of Ulster, and the second largest city on the island of...
, where she was scheduled to undergo a refit. At 1047 hours she struck a mineA naval mine is a self-contained explosive device placed in water to destroy ships or submarines. Unlike depth charges, mines are deposited and left to wait until they are triggered by the approach of or contact with an enemy ship...
that had been laid by the German auxiliary cruiser SMS Möwe
off Cape WrathCape Wrath is a cape in Sutherland, Highland, in northern Scotland. It is the most northwesterly point on the island of Great Britain....
. The explosionAn explosion is a rapid increase in volume and release of energy in an extreme manner, usually with the generation of high temperatures and the release of gases. An explosion creates a shock wave. If the shock wave is a supersonic detonation, then the source of the blast is called a "high explosive"...
occurred under the starboard engine room, and King Edward VII
listed eight degrees to starboard. Her commanding officer, Captain MacLachlin, ordered her helm put over to starboard to close the coast and beach the ship if necessary, but the helm jammed hard to starboard and the engine rooms quickly flooded, stopping the engines. Counterflooding reduced her list to five degrees.
Signals to the passing collier-Coal industry:*Colliery, coal mining and selling*Collier , a bulk cargo ship which carried coal*Charcoal maker, in colonial United States and also in Sussex, England-Places:*Collier Row, a place in the London Borough of Havering...
Princess Melita
induced her to close with King Edward VII
and attempt to tow the battleship; soon flotilla leaderA flotilla leader was a warship suitable for commanding a flotilla of destroyers or other small warships, typically a small cruiser or a large destroyer . The flotilla leader provided space, equipment and staff for the flotilla captain, including a wireless room, senior engineering and gunnery...
HMS Kempfenfelt
also arrived and joined the tow attempt. Towing began at 1415 hours, but King Edward VII
settled deeper in the water and took on a 15-degee list in a rising sea and strong winds and proved unmanageable. Princess Melita's
towline parted at 1440 hours, after which Captain MacLachlin ordered Kempfenfelt
to slip her tow as well.
With flooding continuing and darkness approaching, Captain MacLachlin ordered King Edward VII
abandoned. DestroyerIn naval terminology, a destroyer is a fast and maneuverable yet long-endurance warship intended to escort larger vessels in a fleet, convoy or battle group and defend them against smaller, short-range but powerful attackers .Before World War II, destroyers were light vessels without the endurance...
Musketeer
came alongside at 1445 hours, and she and destroyers Fortune
HMS Fortune was an Acasta-class destroyer, and the twenty-first ship of the Royal Navy to bear the name. She was launched in 1913 and was sunk at the battle of Jutland in 1916.-Pennant Numbers:-Construction:...
and Marne
, took off the crew without loss of life, the last man off being Captain MacLachlin, who boarded destroyer Nessus
at 1610 hours. Fortune
, Marne
, and Musketeer
departed to take the battleship's crew to port, while Nessus
stayed on the scene until 1720 hours with tugsA tugboat is a boat that maneuvers vessels by pushing or towing them. Tugs move vessels that should not move themselves alone, such as ships in a crowded harbor or a narrow canal, or those that cannot move themselves, such as barges, disabled ships, or oil platforms. Tugboats are powerful for...
that had arrived to assist. After Nessus
departed, the tugs continued to stand by, and saw King Edward VII
capsize at 2010 hours and sink around nine hours after the explosion.
At the time it was not clear whether King Edward VII
had hit a naval mineA naval mine is a self-contained explosive device placed in water to destroy ships or submarines. Unlike depth charges, mines are deposited and left to wait until they are triggered by the approach of or contact with an enemy ship...
or a been torpedoThe modern torpedo is a self-propelled explosive projectile weapon, launched above or below the water surface, propelled underwater toward a target, and designed to detonate on contact or in proximity to a target...
ed. The presence of the minefield was determined from an examination of German records after the war.
The wreck of King Edward VII, in 115 meters (377 ft) of water, was first visited by divers in April 1997.
External links