HMS Lord Clive
Encyclopedia
HMS Lord Clive was the lead ship of the British monitors. She was named for Robert Clive, 1st Baron Clive
, a British general of the Seven Years' War
who won the Battle of Plassey
and became Governor of British India. Her main guns were taken from the obsolete pre-dreadnought battleship . She spent World War I
in the English Channel
bombarding German
positions along the Belgian
coast. She was fitted with a single 18 inches (45.7 cm) gun in 1918, but only fired four rounds from it in combat before the end of the war. She was deemed redundant after the end of the war and was sold for scrap in 1927.
of 87 in 2 in (26.57 m) including the torpedo bulge, 57 feet (17.4 m) without, and a draft of 9 foot at deep load. She displaced 5850 long tons (5,943.9 t) at deep load.
s, which developed 2310 ihp with steam from two watertube boilers that gave her a maximum speed of 7 kn (8.5 mph; 13.7 km/h) in service. On trials Lord Clive made 8.02 kn (10 mph; 16 km/h). She carried 356 long tons (361.7 t) of coal which gave her a range of 1100 nmi (2,037.2 km) at 6.5 kn (8 mph; 13 km/h).
in a single hydraulically powered turret
with 100 rounds per gun. Her secondary armament consisted of a pair of 12 pounder guns
for which she carried 300 rounds per gun. Her anti-aircraft
armament consisted of a single 47 millimetres (1.9 in) Vickers QF 3 pounder Mk I gun
with 500 rounds on a high-angle MKIII mount and a 40 millimetres (1.6 in) Vickers 2 pounder Mk I
gun on a HA Mk I mount with 1000 rounds. Four 0.303 inch (0.76962 cm) Maxim gun
s were also carried with 5000 rounds apiece.
s. They fired 100 pounds (45.4 kg) projectiles at a muzzle velocity
of 2725 ft/s (830.6 m/s), giving a maximum range of 13500 yards (12,344.4 m) at the maximum elevation of 15°. The maximum rate of fire was six rounds per minute. Two coal bunkers were turned into magazine
s for them, reducing the range to approximately 960 nautical miles (1,777.9 km), and the crew increased in size to 215, necessitating plating in the sides of much of the upper deck to provide quarters. These guns were replaced by four 4 inches (102 mm) BL Mk IX guns
abreast the bridge. They fired a 31 pounds (14.1 kg) projectile at a muzzle velocity of 2600 ft/s (792.5 m/s) to a maximum range of 13700 yards (12,527.3 m) at a rate of ten rounds per minute. The 12 pounder guns were replaced, probably in 1917, by 3 inches (76 mm) QF Mk I
anti-aircraft guns on HA Mk II mounts. They had a muzzle velocity of 2000 ft/s (609.6 m/s) with a 16 pounds (7.3 kg) shell and had a range of 11200 yards (10,241.3 m) at an angle of 45°. They had a rate of fire of twenty rounds per minute and 332 rounds per gun were carried for them.
The biggest change was the addition of a 18 inches (457 mm) BL Mk I gun in an enormous gun shield
mounted abaft the engine room, fixed over the starboard side. The gun itself could traverse 20°, but the gun shield was fixed. The entire mount weighed 384 LT (390.2 t), but the total weight of the ammunition, equipment and supports nearly doubled this again. This weight so far aft promised to increase the draft at the stern enough that the after inboard compartments of the torpedo bulge, which were normally free-flooding, were closed up, but the ship's draft increased to 8 in 6 in (2.59 m) forward and 13 in 2 in (4.01 m) aft. This corresponded to a displacement of 6850 LT (6,959.9 t), even after removal of the armored conning tower in compensation. The gun was hydraulically worked, but the ammunition parties had to use muscle power. The shells were stowed below deck and had to be moved by overhead rail to the hatch in the deck behind the gun to be lifted up and loaded. The cordite
propellant charges were kept in eighteen steam-heated storage tanks mounted on the forecastle deck abaft the funnel and moved to the gun on a bogie
mounted on rails, two one-sixth charges at a time, reducing the rate of fire to about one round every 3–4 minutes. The interior of the ship was extensively modified to accommodate the larger crew of 278 officers and men, storage and handling gear for the 60 18-inch shells, and to support the weight of the gun mount. Other changes included the transfer of the radio room down into the hold, addition of a new gyrocompass
, enlarging the bridge and rearranging the existing magazines and storage spaces. A pair of two pounder anti-aircraft guns were also mounted on top of the gun shield. The guns had a muzzle velocity
of 2270 ft/s (691.9 m/s) with a 3320 pounds (1,505.9 kg) 8 crh armour-piercing, capped
shell and had a range of 36100 yards (33,009.8 m) at an angle of 45° with a normal charge of 630 lb (285.8 kg). Using the 690 pounds (313 kg) supercharge increased muzzle velocity to 2420 ft/s (737.6 m/s) and range to 40500 yards (37,033.2 m).
on 9 August 1915 to practice bombardment techniques with her sisters
and . A replica had been laid out there of some of the principal features of the Belgian coast near Zeebrugge
and the ships practised their manoeuvering and spotting arrangements. Two tripods were dropped in the sea, housing observers which could triangulate the fall of shot and signal corrections to the monitors. One problem was that the modified 12-inch gun mounts broke down quite a bit, as they had not been designed to fire at angles up to 30° and many of their components were quite elderly. The ships were judged ready and a bombardment was planned on 21 August. This had to be postponed for a day because of bad weather, but Lord Clive, her sisters and their supporting armada of ten destroyers, nine minesweepers, the seaplane carrier , four ships to handle the observation tripods, and no less than fifty drifters
to handle the explosive anti-submarine nets laid to protect the monitors, sailed to a position about 10 miles (16 km) off Zeebrugge during the night of 22–23 August. Lord Clive anchored and opened fire at 05:36 on the locks of the Zeebrugge Canal that led to the German naval base at Bruges
. She fired 31 shells at the locks over an hour and a half before switching targets to a nearby factory which received eleven rounds. Vice Admiral
Reginald Bacon
ordered the ships to cease-fire after two hours, cancelling the plans to bombard Ostend
as well since both Sir John Moore and Prince Rupert had been suffering significant problems with their turrets. The bombardment was fairly ineffectual; two barges were sunk, some buildings damaged, two civilians killed and some German workmen injured, but the locks were not hit. The British judged this a good first try and planned for a bombardment of Ostend once Sir John Moore and Prince Rupert had been repaired.
The operation had to be postponed for weather several times, but the 77-ship fleet, reinforced by the and the small , was in position on the morning of 7 September. Visibility was excellent everywhere but over the target which was covered by a haze, and Admiral Bacon ordered a withdrawal. German submarines and aircraft attacked as they were leaving, but the monitors took no damage. The monitors returned in the afternoon when the haze cleared and Lord Clive opened fire at 15:30 with a ranging shot on the Ostende lighthouse. However an hitherto unknown battery of four long-range 283 mm (11.1 in) guns began to return fire and soon began to near-miss Lord Clive. She steamed out to sea to open up the range, but her speed was so slow that the Germans had no difficulties compensating for the additional range and she was hit four times in quick succession about 15:50. One hit on the port bulge aft, another alongside the bulge forward, one on the bow and another, that failed to explode, on the starboard two pounder gun, knocking the gun down to the quarterdeck. Only fourteen rounds were fired by the monitors before Admiral Bacon ordered them to retire, one of which set part of the dockyard on fire.
Another attempt was made on 19 September where the newly-arrived monitor attempted to suppress the Tirpitz Battery with her 15 inches (38.1 cm) guns, while Lord Clive and Sir John Moore bombarded Ostend from positions thought to be outside the traversing limits of the German battery. This proved not to be the case and she only managed a few rounds before she had to withdraw. On the 25th Lord Clive and several other monitors bombarded German positions at Westende
as part of a deception operation to suggest that the Allies
were launching an attack in that sector. During the remainder of September and October she occasionally fired on German coastal batteries. During one of these later shoots Lord Clives left gun burst when a shell prematurely detonated inside the barrel after the gun liner had deformed from the pressure of the large number of rounds fired.
s with shrapnel shells fired by her main guns, but she was denied a chance to waste ammunition when the Zeppelins never came within range. She bombarded German batteries at Westende on 26 January using the newly-developed air-spotting techniques, but she only fired about eleven rounds during the half-hour bombardment. This was the last bombardment for the next seven months as the monitors were used to support British light forces, minefields and net defenses in the Channel. Lord Clive was refitted during this period with a pair of six-inch guns to enhance her armament against German ships. This came in handy on 8 June when she, along with other monitors and destroyers, rebuffed an attempt by a dozen German ships to clear the nets and sweep the minefields. Lord Clive participated in a deception operation on 8 July when she, as well as French 240 millimetres (9.4 in) guns, fired blanks to cover the fire of the brand-new 12-inch Dominion Battery at Adinkerke
bombarding the Tirpitz Battery. She was fitted with dummy second funnel to make the Germans think that she was a new monitor. The idea was to deceive the Germans as to the true origin of the shells landing around the battery, but the Germans were not totally deceived and retaliated against the French guns. Shortly afterwards they deployed a smokescreen to hide the battery which hampered spotting and they also located the Dominion Battery and fired against it.
Lord Clive and all of the other monitors of the Dover Patrol simulated preparations for an amphibious landing during the later stages of the Battle of the Somme by firing on German positions at Westende between 8 and 15 September 1916. She fired only 74 rounds during this period as the smaller monitors spent a considerable amount of time acting as offshore aiming marks for the 15-inch monitors. This was the last bombardment of 1916 as the monitors reverted to their role of supporting the Dover Barrage and making anti-destroyer patrols between Calais
and The Downs
. Lord Clive was given a refit at Southampton during October–November 1916.
s. The plan was to land each pontoon between Westende and Middelkerke
to exploit the Allied gains made during the Battle of Passchendaele and pocket German troops between the landing and the advancing troops. Lord Clive and her sisters rehearsed their role up until mid-July when the battle began. But the Allies could not make the ten-mile (16 km) advance necessary to launch the operation and Field Marshal
Haig
refused to support Admiral Bacon's proposal for a more modest landing in the Nieuport
-Middelkerke area in September, so the operation was cancelled on 2 October.
on 23 April with about fifty rounds of 12-inch and some 6-inch shells. Lord Clive relieved as guardship at Yarmouth
for five weeks while the latter was refitted. She arrived at Portsmouth
on 16 August to have her 18-inch gun fitted, although it was not shipped until 7 September. She began operational trials with her new gun on 13 October. She fired one round on 14 October at the bridge at Snaeskerke during the morning, but received no spotting. She fired another three rounds later in the day, but had to cease fire to avoid hitting friendly advancing troops. One round had already been loaded when the order came to cease fire so she fired it, with a reduced charge, into a minefield to seaward.
almost immediately after the end of the war and laid up at Immingham
. She was towed to Portsmouth in September 1920 to conduct trials with a triple 15-inch gun mount. The Royal Navy had no experience with firing three-gun salvoes from a single turret and wanted to investigate interference between the guns. Her 18-inch gun was removed, along with her secondary armament, and the three guns were installed on the 18-inch mount, covered only by a canvas screen. She recommissioned on 15 December, but she was not ready to conduct the trials until 1 February 1921. She was towed to the Shoeburyness Range for the trials. They revealed no serious problems and she was paid off in August 1921 in Portsmouth. Lord Clive remained there until sold for scrap on 10 October 1927 for £13,500.
Robert Clive, 1st Baron Clive
Major-General Robert Clive, 1st Baron Clive, KB , also known as Clive of India, was a British officer who established the military and political supremacy of the East India Company in Bengal. He is credited with securing India, and the wealth that followed, for the British crown...
, a British general of the Seven Years' War
Seven Years' War
The Seven Years' War was a global military war between 1756 and 1763, involving most of the great powers of the time and affecting Europe, North America, Central America, the West African coast, India, and the Philippines...
who won the Battle of Plassey
Battle of Plassey
The Battle of Plassey , 23 June 1757, was a decisive British East India Company victory over the Nawab of Bengal and his French allies, establishing Company rule in South Asia which expanded over much of the Indies for the next hundred years...
and became Governor of British India. Her main guns were taken from the obsolete pre-dreadnought battleship . She spent World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
in the English Channel
English Channel
The English Channel , often referred to simply as the Channel, is an arm of the Atlantic Ocean that separates southern England from northern France, and joins the North Sea to the Atlantic. It is about long and varies in width from at its widest to in the Strait of Dover...
bombarding German
German Empire
The German Empire refers to Germany during the "Second Reich" period from the unification of Germany and proclamation of Wilhelm I as German Emperor on 18 January 1871, to 1918, when it became a federal republic after defeat in World War I and the abdication of the Emperor, Wilhelm II.The German...
positions along the Belgian
Belgium
Belgium , officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a federal state in Western Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts the EU's headquarters, and those of several other major international organisations such as NATO.Belgium is also a member of, or affiliated to, many...
coast. She was fitted with a single 18 inches (45.7 cm) gun in 1918, but only fired four rounds from it in combat before the end of the war. She was deemed redundant after the end of the war and was sold for scrap in 1927.
General characteristics
Lord Clive had an overall length of 335 in 6 in (102.26 m), a beamBeam (nautical)
The beam of a ship is its width at the widest point. Generally speaking, the wider the beam of a ship , the more initial stability it has, at expense of reserve stability in the event of a capsize, where more energy is required to right the vessel from its inverted position...
of 87 in 2 in (26.57 m) including the torpedo bulge, 57 feet (17.4 m) without, and a draft of 9 foot at deep load. She displaced 5850 long tons (5,943.9 t) at deep load.
Propulsion
She was powered by two four-cylinder Harland & Wolff vertical triple expansion steam engineSteam engine
A steam engine is a heat engine that performs mechanical work using steam as its working fluid.Steam engines are external combustion engines, where the working fluid is separate from the combustion products. Non-combustion heat sources such as solar power, nuclear power or geothermal energy may be...
s, which developed 2310 ihp with steam from two watertube boilers that gave her a maximum speed of 7 kn (8.5 mph; 13.7 km/h) in service. On trials Lord Clive made 8.02 kn (10 mph; 16 km/h). She carried 356 long tons (361.7 t) of coal which gave her a range of 1100 nmi (2,037.2 km) at 6.5 kn (8 mph; 13 km/h).
Armament
Lord Clive mounted two BL 12 inches (305 mm) Mk VIII gunsBL 12 inch naval gun Mk VIII
The BL 12 inch naval gun Mark VIII was one of the first large British naval guns designed for the higher pressures generated by the new cordite propellant, and Britain's first large wire-wound gun...
in a single hydraulically powered turret
Turret
In architecture, a turret is a small tower that projects vertically from the wall of a building such as a medieval castle. Turrets were used to provide a projecting defensive position allowing covering fire to the adjacent wall in the days of military fortification...
with 100 rounds per gun. Her secondary armament consisted of a pair of 12 pounder guns
QF 12 pounder 18 cwt naval gun
The QF 12 pounder 18 cwt gun was a 3 inch high-velocity naval gun used to equip larger British warships such as battleships for defence against torpedo boats...
for which she carried 300 rounds per gun. Her anti-aircraft
Anti-aircraft warfare
NATO defines air defence as "all measures designed to nullify or reduce the effectiveness of hostile air action." They include ground and air based weapon systems, associated sensor systems, command and control arrangements and passive measures. It may be to protect naval, ground and air forces...
armament consisted of a single 47 millimetres (1.9 in) Vickers QF 3 pounder Mk I gun
Ordnance QF 3 pounder Vickers
The Ordnance QF 3 pounder Vickers was a British artillery piece first tested in Britain in 1910. It was used on Royal Navy warships. It was more powerful than and unrelated to the older QF 3 pounder Hotchkiss, with a propellant charge approximately twice as large, but it initially fired the same...
with 500 rounds on a high-angle MKIII mount and a 40 millimetres (1.6 in) Vickers 2 pounder Mk I
QF 2 pounder naval gun
The 2-pounder gun, officially designated the QF 2-pounder and universally known as the pom-pom, was a 1.575 inch British autocannon, used famously as an anti-aircraft gun by the Royal Navy. The name came from the sound that the original models make when firing...
gun on a HA Mk I mount with 1000 rounds. Four 0.303 inch (0.76962 cm) Maxim gun
Maxim gun
The Maxim gun was the first self-powered machine gun, invented by the American-born British inventor Sir Hiram Maxim in 1884. It has been called "the weapon most associated with [British] imperial conquest".-Functionality:...
s were also carried with 5000 rounds apiece.
Wartime modifications
A pair of 6 inches (152 mm) QF Mk I guns with 200 rounds per gun were added in early 1916 abreast the funnel when it was realized that the two 12 pounder guns were not powerful enough to defend the ship from German destroyerDestroyer
In 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, powerful, short-range attackers. Destroyers, originally called torpedo-boat destroyers in 1892, evolved from...
s. They fired 100 pounds (45.4 kg) projectiles at a muzzle velocity
Muzzle velocity
Muzzle velocity is the speed a projectile has at the moment it leaves the muzzle of the gun. Muzzle velocities range from approximately to in black powder muskets , to more than in modern rifles with high-performance cartridges such as the .220 Swift and .204 Ruger, all the way to for tank guns...
of 2725 ft/s (830.6 m/s), giving a maximum range of 13500 yards (12,344.4 m) at the maximum elevation of 15°. The maximum rate of fire was six rounds per minute. Two coal bunkers were turned into magazine
Magazine (artillery)
Magazine is the name for an item or place within which ammunition is stored. It is taken from the Arabic word "makahazin" meaning "warehouse".-Ammunition storage areas:...
s for them, reducing the range to approximately 960 nautical miles (1,777.9 km), and the crew increased in size to 215, necessitating plating in the sides of much of the upper deck to provide quarters. These guns were replaced by four 4 inches (102 mm) BL Mk IX guns
BL 4 inch Mk IX naval gun
The BL 4-inch gun Mk IX was a British medium-velocity naval gun introduced in 1916 as secondary armament on the Renown class battlecruisers and Glorious class "large light cruisers", but which served most notably as the main armament on Flower class corvettes throughout World War II.-History:The...
abreast the bridge. They fired a 31 pounds (14.1 kg) projectile at a muzzle velocity of 2600 ft/s (792.5 m/s) to a maximum range of 13700 yards (12,527.3 m) at a rate of ten rounds per minute. The 12 pounder guns were replaced, probably in 1917, by 3 inches (76 mm) QF Mk I
QF 3 inch 20 cwt
The QF 3 inch 20 cwt anti-aircraft gun became the standard anti-aircraft gun used in the home defence of the United Kingdom against German airships and bombers and on the Western Front in World War I. It was also common on British warships in World War I and submarines in World War II...
anti-aircraft guns on HA Mk II mounts. They had a muzzle velocity of 2000 ft/s (609.6 m/s) with a 16 pounds (7.3 kg) shell and had a range of 11200 yards (10,241.3 m) at an angle of 45°. They had a rate of fire of twenty rounds per minute and 332 rounds per gun were carried for them.
The biggest change was the addition of a 18 inches (457 mm) BL Mk I gun in an enormous gun shield
Gun shield
thumb|A [[United States Marine Corps|U.S. Marine]] manning an [[M240 machine gun]] equipped with a gun shieldA gun shield is a flat piece or section of armor designed to be mounted on a crew-served weapon such as a machine gun or artillery piece, or, more rarely, to be used with an assault rifle...
mounted abaft the engine room, fixed over the starboard side. The gun itself could traverse 20°, but the gun shield was fixed. The entire mount weighed 384 LT (390.2 t), but the total weight of the ammunition, equipment and supports nearly doubled this again. This weight so far aft promised to increase the draft at the stern enough that the after inboard compartments of the torpedo bulge, which were normally free-flooding, were closed up, but the ship's draft increased to 8 in 6 in (2.59 m) forward and 13 in 2 in (4.01 m) aft. This corresponded to a displacement of 6850 LT (6,959.9 t), even after removal of the armored conning tower in compensation. The gun was hydraulically worked, but the ammunition parties had to use muscle power. The shells were stowed below deck and had to be moved by overhead rail to the hatch in the deck behind the gun to be lifted up and loaded. The cordite
Cordite
Cordite is a family of smokeless propellants developed and produced in the United Kingdom from 1889 to replace gunpowder as a military propellant. Like gunpowder, cordite is classified as a low explosive because of its slow burning rates and consequently low brisance...
propellant charges were kept in eighteen steam-heated storage tanks mounted on the forecastle deck abaft the funnel and moved to the gun on a bogie
Bogie
A bogie is a wheeled wagon or trolley. In mechanics terms, a bogie is a chassis or framework carrying wheels, attached to a vehicle. It can be fixed in place, as on a cargo truck, mounted on a swivel, as on a railway carriage/car or locomotive, or sprung as in the suspension of a caterpillar...
mounted on rails, two one-sixth charges at a time, reducing the rate of fire to about one round every 3–4 minutes. The interior of the ship was extensively modified to accommodate the larger crew of 278 officers and men, storage and handling gear for the 60 18-inch shells, and to support the weight of the gun mount. Other changes included the transfer of the radio room down into the hold, addition of a new gyrocompass
Gyrocompass
A gyrocompass is a type of non-magnetic compass which bases on a fast-spinning disc and rotation of our planet to automatically find geographical direction...
, enlarging the bridge and rearranging the existing magazines and storage spaces. A pair of two pounder anti-aircraft guns were also mounted on top of the gun shield. The guns had a muzzle velocity
Muzzle velocity
Muzzle velocity is the speed a projectile has at the moment it leaves the muzzle of the gun. Muzzle velocities range from approximately to in black powder muskets , to more than in modern rifles with high-performance cartridges such as the .220 Swift and .204 Ruger, all the way to for tank guns...
of 2270 ft/s (691.9 m/s) with a 3320 pounds (1,505.9 kg) 8 crh armour-piercing, capped
Armor-piercing shot and shell
An armor-piercing shell is a type of ammunition designed to penetrate armor. From the 1860s to 1950s, a major application of armor-piercing projectiles was to defeat the thick armor carried on many warships. From the 1920s onwards, armor-piercing weapons were required for anti-tank missions...
shell and had a range of 36100 yards (33,009.8 m) at an angle of 45° with a normal charge of 630 lb (285.8 kg). Using the 690 pounds (313 kg) supercharge increased muzzle velocity to 2420 ft/s (737.6 m/s) and range to 40500 yards (37,033.2 m).
World War I: 1915
After Lord Clive finished working up she was sent to the Thames EstuaryThames Estuary
The Thames Mouth is the estuary in which the River Thames meets the waters of the North Sea.It is not easy to define the limits of the estuary, although physically the head of Sea Reach, near Canvey Island on the Essex shore is probably the western boundary...
on 9 August 1915 to practice bombardment techniques with her sisters
Sister ship
A sister ship is a ship of the same class as, or of virtually identical design to, another ship. Such vessels share a near-identical hull and superstructure layout, similar displacement, and roughly comparable features and equipment...
and . A replica had been laid out there of some of the principal features of the Belgian coast near Zeebrugge
Zeebrugge
Zeebrugge is a village on the coast of Belgium and a subdivision of Bruges, for which it is the modern port. Zeebrugge serves as both the international port of Bruges-Zeebrugge and a seafront resort with hotels, cafés, a marina and a beach.-Location:...
and the ships practised their manoeuvering and spotting arrangements. Two tripods were dropped in the sea, housing observers which could triangulate the fall of shot and signal corrections to the monitors. One problem was that the modified 12-inch gun mounts broke down quite a bit, as they had not been designed to fire at angles up to 30° and many of their components were quite elderly. The ships were judged ready and a bombardment was planned on 21 August. This had to be postponed for a day because of bad weather, but Lord Clive, her sisters and their supporting armada of ten destroyers, nine minesweepers, the seaplane carrier , four ships to handle the observation tripods, and no less than fifty drifters
Naval drifter
A naval drifter is a boat built along the lines of a commercial fishing drifter but fitted out for naval purposes. The use of naval drifters is paralleled by the use of naval trawlers....
to handle the explosive anti-submarine nets laid to protect the monitors, sailed to a position about 10 miles (16 km) off Zeebrugge during the night of 22–23 August. Lord Clive anchored and opened fire at 05:36 on the locks of the Zeebrugge Canal that led to the German naval base at Bruges
Bruges
Bruges is the capital and largest city of the province of West Flanders in the Flemish Region of Belgium. It is located in the northwest of the country....
. She fired 31 shells at the locks over an hour and a half before switching targets to a nearby factory which received eleven rounds. Vice Admiral
Vice Admiral
Vice admiral is a senior naval rank of a three-star flag officer, which is equivalent to lieutenant general in the other uniformed services. A vice admiral is typically senior to a rear admiral and junior to an admiral...
Reginald Bacon
Reginald Bacon
Admiral Sir Reginald Hugh Spencer Bacon, KCB, KCVO, DSO was an officer in the Royal Navy noted for his technical abilities who was described by the First Sea Lord, Admiral Sir Jacky Fisher, as the man "acknowledged to be the cleverest officer in the Navy".-Family:Reginald was born at Wiggonholt in...
ordered the ships to cease-fire after two hours, cancelling the plans to bombard Ostend
Ostend
Ostend is a Belgian city and municipality located in the Flemish province of West Flanders. It comprises the boroughs of Mariakerke , Stene and Zandvoorde, and the city of Ostend proper – the largest on the Belgian coast....
as well since both Sir John Moore and Prince Rupert had been suffering significant problems with their turrets. The bombardment was fairly ineffectual; two barges were sunk, some buildings damaged, two civilians killed and some German workmen injured, but the locks were not hit. The British judged this a good first try and planned for a bombardment of Ostend once Sir John Moore and Prince Rupert had been repaired.
The operation had to be postponed for weather several times, but the 77-ship fleet, reinforced by the and the small , was in position on the morning of 7 September. Visibility was excellent everywhere but over the target which was covered by a haze, and Admiral Bacon ordered a withdrawal. German submarines and aircraft attacked as they were leaving, but the monitors took no damage. The monitors returned in the afternoon when the haze cleared and Lord Clive opened fire at 15:30 with a ranging shot on the Ostende lighthouse. However an hitherto unknown battery of four long-range 283 mm (11.1 in) guns began to return fire and soon began to near-miss Lord Clive. She steamed out to sea to open up the range, but her speed was so slow that the Germans had no difficulties compensating for the additional range and she was hit four times in quick succession about 15:50. One hit on the port bulge aft, another alongside the bulge forward, one on the bow and another, that failed to explode, on the starboard two pounder gun, knocking the gun down to the quarterdeck. Only fourteen rounds were fired by the monitors before Admiral Bacon ordered them to retire, one of which set part of the dockyard on fire.
Another attempt was made on 19 September where the newly-arrived monitor attempted to suppress the Tirpitz Battery with her 15 inches (38.1 cm) guns, while Lord Clive and Sir John Moore bombarded Ostend from positions thought to be outside the traversing limits of the German battery. This proved not to be the case and she only managed a few rounds before she had to withdraw. On the 25th Lord Clive and several other monitors bombarded German positions at Westende
Westende
Westende is a town in Flanders, one of the three regions of Belgium, and in the Flemish province of West-Flanders. It lies on the Belgian coast, also called Flemish coast. It used to be the far west of the island Testerep which lay along the Belgian coast....
as part of a deception operation to suggest that the Allies
Allies of World War I
The Entente Powers were the countries at war with the Central Powers during World War I. The members of the Triple Entente were the United Kingdom, France, and the Russian Empire; Italy entered the war on their side in 1915...
were launching an attack in that sector. During the remainder of September and October she occasionally fired on German coastal batteries. During one of these later shoots Lord Clives left gun burst when a shell prematurely detonated inside the barrel after the gun liner had deformed from the pressure of the large number of rounds fired.
1916
During December 1915 and January 1916 Lord Clive was stationed in the Thames Estuary to shoot down approaching German ZeppelinZeppelin
A Zeppelin is a type of rigid airship pioneered by the German Count Ferdinand von Zeppelin in the early 20th century. It was based on designs he had outlined in 1874 and detailed in 1893. His plans were reviewed by committee in 1894 and patented in the United States on 14 March 1899...
s with shrapnel shells fired by her main guns, but she was denied a chance to waste ammunition when the Zeppelins never came within range. She bombarded German batteries at Westende on 26 January using the newly-developed air-spotting techniques, but she only fired about eleven rounds during the half-hour bombardment. This was the last bombardment for the next seven months as the monitors were used to support British light forces, minefields and net defenses in the Channel. Lord Clive was refitted during this period with a pair of six-inch guns to enhance her armament against German ships. This came in handy on 8 June when she, along with other monitors and destroyers, rebuffed an attempt by a dozen German ships to clear the nets and sweep the minefields. Lord Clive participated in a deception operation on 8 July when she, as well as French 240 millimetres (9.4 in) guns, fired blanks to cover the fire of the brand-new 12-inch Dominion Battery at Adinkerke
Adinkerke
Adinkerke a small town in western Belgium close to the French border. It is a conurbation with the coastal town of De Panne which in turn is part of the west Belgian coastal conurbation. Adinkerke railway station is also the Western terminus of the Belgian coast tram line to De Panne; Dunkirk,...
bombarding the Tirpitz Battery. She was fitted with dummy second funnel to make the Germans think that she was a new monitor. The idea was to deceive the Germans as to the true origin of the shells landing around the battery, but the Germans were not totally deceived and retaliated against the French guns. Shortly afterwards they deployed a smokescreen to hide the battery which hampered spotting and they also located the Dominion Battery and fired against it.
Lord Clive and all of the other monitors of the Dover Patrol simulated preparations for an amphibious landing during the later stages of the Battle of the Somme by firing on German positions at Westende between 8 and 15 September 1916. She fired only 74 rounds during this period as the smaller monitors spent a considerable amount of time acting as offshore aiming marks for the 15-inch monitors. This was the last bombardment of 1916 as the monitors reverted to their role of supporting the Dover Barrage and making anti-destroyer patrols between Calais
Calais
Calais is a town in Northern France in the department of Pas-de-Calais, of which it is a sub-prefecture. Although Calais is by far the largest city in Pas-de-Calais, the department's capital is its third-largest city of Arras....
and The Downs
The Downs
The Downs are a roadstead or area of sea in the southern North Sea near the English Channel off the east Kent coast, between the North and the South Foreland in southern England. In 1639 the Battle of the Downs took place here, when the Dutch navy destroyed a Spanish fleet which had sought refuge...
. Lord Clive was given a refit at Southampton during October–November 1916.
1917
Lord Clive was modified in March 1917 to handle one of the enormous 2500 long tons (2,540.1 t) pontoons, in company with Sir John Moore, planned to be used during the Great Landing. Each of the three pontoons was lashed in position between two monitors and could carry a brigade of infantry, an artillery battery and three tankTank
A tank is a tracked, armoured fighting vehicle designed for front-line combat which combines operational mobility, tactical offensive, and defensive capabilities...
s. The plan was to land each pontoon between Westende and Middelkerke
Middelkerke
Middelkerke is a municipality located in the Belgian province of West Flanders, on the North Sea, west of Ostend. The municipality comprises the towns of Leffinge, Lombardsijde, Mannekensvere, Middelkerke proper, Schore, Sint-Pieters-Kapelle, Slijpe, Westende and Wilskerke. On January 1, 2006...
to exploit the Allied gains made during the Battle of Passchendaele and pocket German troops between the landing and the advancing troops. Lord Clive and her sisters rehearsed their role up until mid-July when the battle began. But the Allies could not make the ten-mile (16 km) advance necessary to launch the operation and Field Marshal
Field Marshal
Field Marshal is a military rank. Traditionally, it is the highest military rank in an army.-Etymology:The origin of the rank of field marshal dates to the early Middle Ages, originally meaning the keeper of the king's horses , from the time of the early Frankish kings.-Usage and hierarchical...
Haig
Douglas Haig, 1st Earl Haig
Field Marshal Douglas Haig, 1st Earl Haig, KT, GCB, OM, GCVO, KCIE, ADC, was a British senior officer during World War I. He commanded the British Expeditionary Force from 1915 to the end of the War...
refused to support Admiral Bacon's proposal for a more modest landing in the Nieuport
Nieuport
Nieuport, later Nieuport-Delage, was a French aeroplane company that primarily built racing aircraft before World War I and fighter aircraft during World War I and between the wars.-Beginnings:...
-Middelkerke area in September, so the operation was cancelled on 2 October.
1918
Lord Clive was drydocked at Plymouth in October and resumed patrols in the Channel before she was taken in hand between 5 December 1917 and 6 April 1918 for modifications to mount the spare 18-inch gun from the large light cruiser , although the gun and mount themselves would not be delivered until 7 September. She bombarded the Tirpitz and Aachen Batteries at Ostend, along with three other monitors, which fired fifty rounds between them during the abortive first attempt to block the Bruges-Ostend Canal on the night of 11 April. She supported the Inshore Squadron during the First Ostend RaidFirst Ostend Raid
The First Ostend Raid was the first of two attacks by the Royal Navy on the German-held port of Ostend during the late spring of 1918 during the First World War...
on 23 April with about fifty rounds of 12-inch and some 6-inch shells. Lord Clive relieved as guardship at Yarmouth
Yarmouth, Isle of Wight
Yarmouth is a port and civil parish in the western part of the Isle of Wight, off the southern coast of mainland England. The town is named for its location at the mouth of the small Western Yar river...
for five weeks while the latter was refitted. She arrived at Portsmouth
Portsmouth
Portsmouth is the second largest city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire on the south coast of England. Portsmouth is notable for being the United Kingdom's only island city; it is located mainly on Portsea Island...
on 16 August to have her 18-inch gun fitted, although it was not shipped until 7 September. She began operational trials with her new gun on 13 October. She fired one round on 14 October at the bridge at Snaeskerke during the morning, but received no spotting. She fired another three rounds later in the day, but had to cease fire to avoid hitting friendly advancing troops. One round had already been loaded when the order came to cease fire so she fired it, with a reduced charge, into a minefield to seaward.
Peacetime: 1917--1927
Lord Clive was paid offShip decommissioning
To decommission a ship is to terminate her career in service in the armed forces of her nation. A somber occasion, it has little of the elaborate ceremony of ship commissioning, but carries significant tradition....
almost immediately after the end of the war and laid up at Immingham
Immingham
Immingham is a town in North East Lincolnshire, located on the south bank of the Humber Estuary...
. She was towed to Portsmouth in September 1920 to conduct trials with a triple 15-inch gun mount. The Royal Navy had no experience with firing three-gun salvoes from a single turret and wanted to investigate interference between the guns. Her 18-inch gun was removed, along with her secondary armament, and the three guns were installed on the 18-inch mount, covered only by a canvas screen. She recommissioned on 15 December, but she was not ready to conduct the trials until 1 February 1921. She was towed to the Shoeburyness Range for the trials. They revealed no serious problems and she was paid off in August 1921 in Portsmouth. Lord Clive remained there until sold for scrap on 10 October 1927 for £13,500.