HMS Bristol (1910)

HMS Bristol
History
United Kingdom
Name:	HMS Bristol
Namesake:	Bristol
Builder:	John Brown & Company, Clydebank
Laid down:	23 March 1909
Launched:	23 February 1910
Commissioned:	December 1910
Fate:	Sold for scrap, 9 May 1921
General characteristics (as built)
Class and type:	Town-class light cruiser
Displacement:	4,800 long tons (4,877 t)
Length:	430 ft (131.1 m) p/p 453 ft (138.1 m) o/a
Beam:	47 ft (14.3 m)
Draught:	15 ft 3 in (4.65 m) (mean)
Installed power:	22,000 shp (16,000 kW) 12 × Yarrow boilers
Propulsion:	2 × shafts; 2 × Brown-Curtis steam turbines
Speed:	25 kn (46 km/h; 29 mph)
Range:	5,830 nautical miles (10,800 km; 6,710 mi) at 10 knots (19 km/h; 12 mph)
Complement:	410
Armament:	2 × single BL 6 in (152 mm) Mk XI guns 10 × single BL 4 in (102 mm) Mk VII guns 4 × single QF 3-pounder (47 mm (1.9 in)) guns 2 × 18 in (457 mm) torpedo tubes
Armour:	Deck: .75–2 in (19–51 mm) Conning Tower: 6 in (150 mm)

HMS Bristol was a Town-class light cruiser built for the Royal Navy in the 1910s. She was very active during World War I and sold for scrap in 1921.

Design and description

The Bristol sub-class^{[Note 1]} was intended for a variety of roles including both trade protection and duties with the fleet.^[2] They were 453 feet (138.1 m) long overall, with a beam of 47 feet (14.3 m) and a draught of 15 feet 6 inches (4.7 m). Displacement was 4,800 long tons (4,900 t) normal and 5,300 long tons (5,400 t) at full load. Twelve Yarrow boilers fed Bristol's Brown-Curtis steam turbines, driving two propeller shafts, that were rated at 22,000 shaft horsepower (16,000 kW) for a design speed of 25 knots (46 km/h; 29 mph).^[2] The ship reached 27 knots (50 km/h; 31 mph) during her sea trials from 28,711 shp (21,410 kW). The ship's experimental two-shaft layout was very successful, giving greater efficiency, especially at lower speeds, than the four shaft arrangement of her sister ships.^[3] The boilers used both fuel oil and coal, with 1,353 long tons (1,375 t) of coal and 256 long tons (260 t) tons of oil carried, which gave a range of 5,830 nautical miles (10,800 km; 6,710 mi) at 10 knots (19 km/h; 12 mph).^[4]

The main armament of the Bristol class was two BL 6-inch (152 mm) Mk XI guns that were mounted on the centreline fore and aft of the superstructure and ten BL 4-inch Mk VII guns in waist mountings. All these guns were fitted with gun shields.^[2] Four Vickers 3-pounder (47 mm) saluting guns were fitted, while two submerged 18-inch (450 mm) torpedo tubes were fitted.^[5] This armament was considered rather too light for ships of this size,^[6] while the waist guns were subject to immersion in a high sea, making them difficult to work.^[7]

The Bristols were considered protected cruisers, with an armoured deck providing protection for the ships' vitals. The armoured deck was 2 inches (51 mm) thick over the magazines and machinery, 1 inch (25 mm) over the steering gear and ³⁄₄ inch (19 mm) elsewhere. The conning tower was protected by 6 inches (150 mm) of armour, with the gun shields having 3 inches (76 mm) armour, as did the ammunition hoists.^[8] As the protective deck was at waterline, the ships were given a large metacentric height so that they would remain stable in the event of flooding above the armoured deck. This, however, resulted in the ships rolling badly making them poor gun platforms.^[7] One problem with the armour of the Bristols which was shared with the other Town-class ships was the sizable gap between the bottom of the gun shields and the deck, which allowed shell splinters to pass through the gap, giving large numbers of leg injuries in the ships' gun crews.^[9]

Construction and career

The ship was launched on 23 February 1910 at John Brown & Company's Clydebank shipyard.

On the outbreak of the First World War in 1914, she was in the West Indies and engaged the German raider Karlsruhe on 6 August. By early December 1914, she formed part of the squadron sent to hunt Admiral Maximilian von Spee and to avenge the defeat at Coronel, and was refueling with coal in the harbour of Stanley on the morning of 8 December. Because of this, she was two hours late in joining the chase which was the Battle of the Falkland Islands and consequently did not engage the main enemy force, seizing two colliers instead. Bristol was transferred to the Mediterranean in 1915 and then served in the Adriatic in 1916–17. She returned to the coast of South America in 1918. The ship was placed in reserve in June 1919^[2] and was sold for scrapping on 9 May 1921 to Ward of Hayle.^[10]

Notes

1. Sometimes known as the Glasgow class.^[1]

Footnotes

1. Lyon, Part 1, p. 56
2. Gardiner & Gray 1985, p. 51
3. Lyon, Part 2, pp. 59–60
4. Friedman, p. 383
5. Lyon, Part 2, pp. 55–57
6. Lyon, Part 1, p. 53
7. Brown, p. 63
8. Lyon, Part 2, p. 59
9. Lyon, Part 2, p. 57
10. Lyon, Part 3, p. 51

Bibliography

• Brown, David K. (2010). The Grand Fleet: Warship Design and Development 1906–1922. Barnsley, UK: Seaforth Publishing. ISBN 978-1-84832-085-7.
• Corbett, Julian. Naval Operations to the Battle of the Falklands. History of the Great War: Based on Official Documents I (2nd, reprint of the 1938 ed.). London and Nashville, Tennessee: Imperial War Museum and Battery Press. ISBN 0-89839-256-X.
• Friedman, Norman (2010). British Cruisers: Two World Wars and After. Barnsley, South Yorkshire, UK: Seaforth. ISBN 978-1-59114-078-8.
• Friedman, Norman (2011). Naval Weapons of World War One. Barnsley, South Yorkshire, UK: Seaforth. ISBN 978-1-84832-100-7.
• Gardiner, Robert & Gray, Randal, eds. (1984). Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships: 1906–1921. Annapolis, Maryland: Naval Institute Press. ISBN 0-85177-245-5.
• Lyon, David (1977). "The First Town Class 1908–31: Part 1". Warship (London: Conway Maritime Press). Vol. 1 (No. 1): 48–58. ISBN 0-85177-132-7.
• Lyon, David (1977). "The First Town Class 1908–31: Part 2". Warship (London: Conway Maritime Press). Vol. 1 (No. 2): 54–61. ISBN 0-85177-132-7.
• Lyon, David (1977). "The First Town Class 1908–31: Part 3". Warship (London: Conway Maritime Press). Vol. 1 (No. 3): 46–51. ISBN 0-85177-132-7.

External links

• Ships of the Bristol group
• "Royal Navy Log Books - HMS Bristol". Retrieved 2013-12-15. Transcription of ship's logbooks December 1914 to December 1915
• "Royal Navy Log Books - HMS Bristol". Retrieved 2013-12-15. Transcription of ship's logbooks January 1918 to May 1919