HMS Neptune (1909)

For other ships of the same name, see HMS Neptune.

Class overview

Name:	Neptune class
Operators:	Royal Navy
Preceded by:	St. Vincent class
Succeeded by:	Colossus class
In commission:	1911–1918/1919
Completed:	1
History
United Kingdom
Name:	HMS Neptune
Namesake:	Neptune, Roman god of the sea
Ordered:	1908 Naval Estimates
Builder:	Portsmouth Dockyard
Laid down:	19 January 1909
Launched:	30 September 1909
Commissioned:	11 January 1911^[1]
Fate:	Scrapped in September 1922
General characteristics
Class and type:	Dreadnought battleship
Displacement:	19,900 tons (22,000 full load)
Length:	546 ft (166 m)
Beam:	85 ft (26 m)
Draught:	27 ft (8.2 m)
Propulsion:	Parsons steam turbines, direct drive on four shafts, 25,000 shp (19,000 kW), 18 Yarrow boilers
Speed:	21 knots (39 km/h)
Range:	6,330 nautical miles (11,720 km; 7,280 mi) at 10 knots (19 km/h)
Complement:	756
Armament:	10 × BL 12-inch (304.8 mm) Mk XI guns (5×2) 12 × BL 4-inch (101.6 mm) Mk VII guns 3 × 18 in (460 mm) torpedo tubes, later removed
Armour:	Belt: 10 in (250 mm) Upper Belt: 8 in (200 mm) Bulkheads: 5 and 8 in (130 and 200 mm) Conning tower: 11 in (280 mm) Turrets: 11 in (280 mm) Barbettes: 9 in (230 mm)

HMS Neptune was a Royal Navy dreadnought battleship, intended to be the lead ship of three Neptune-class battleships, but the subsequent two ships had slightly thicker belt armour and were reclassified as the Colossus class.

Design

Arrangement of main gun turrets, bows pointing right

She was the first Royal Navy battleship that differed in her gun turret layout from Dreadnought. She had two wing turrets staggered en echelon so that all five turrets could shoot in broadside, although in practice the blast damage to the superstructure and boats made this impractical except in an emergency.

The ship was also equipped with superfiring rear turrets; arranged so that one would fire over the other when shooting towards the stern. She was the first Royal Navy ship to have a superfiring main armament (the U.S. battleship USS South Carolina, launched in 1908, was the first battleship anywhere to have superfiring main turrets). However, the upper of the two turrets could not fire within 30 degrees of the stern without the lower turret being damaged by blast through its sighting hoods.^[2]

A further saving in length was achieved by siting the ship's boats on a flying deck over the two midships turrets to reduce the length of the vessel. However, had the flying deck been damaged during action, they may have fallen onto the turrets, immobilising them. The bridge was also situated above the conning tower, which risked similarly being obscured if the bridge collapsed.^[2]

She was one of the first battleships to be built with director gun-control and was used for trials of this then-novel system.^[3]

Service history

King George V and Admiral Callaghan on board HMS Neptune.

She was flagship of the Home Fleet from May 1911 until May 1912 when she was transferred to the 1st Battle Squadron, where she remained until June 1916, just after the Battle of Jutland.^[4] She was accidentally struck by SS Needvaal in April 1916 but no serious damage was done. She was present at the Battle of Jutland as part of Admiral Jellicoe's Battle Fleet. She fired only 48 12 inch (305 mm) shells but is credited with scoring several hits on the German battlecruiser Lützow. Her captain was Vivian Bernard.

After the war she was quickly transferred to the reserve fleet and subsequently scrapped.

References

↑ The Times (London), Wednesday, 11 January 1911, p.7
1 2 DK Brown (2003). The Grand Fleet, warship design and development 1906–1922. Caxton Editions. pp. 38–40. ISBN 1-84067-531-4.
↑ "Neptune Class Dreadnought Battleship". World War 1 Naval Combat. Retrieved 4 February 2007.
↑ "HMS Neptune". Battleships-Cruisers.co.uk. Retrieved 4 February 2007.

Bibliography

Wikimedia Commons has media related to HMS Neptune (ship, 1909).

Burt, R. A. (1986). British Battleships of World War One. Annapolis, MD: Naval Institute Press. ISBN 0-87021-863-8.
Campbell, John (1998). Jutland: An Analysis of the Fighting. Lyons Press. ISBN 1-55821-759-2.
Gardiner, Robert; Gray, Randal, eds. (1984). Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships: 1906–1922. Annapolis: Naval Institute Press. ISBN 0-85177-245-5.
Hythe, Viscount (ed.). The Naval Annual 1914.
Massie, Robert (2004). Castles of Steel: Britain, Germany and the winning of the Great War. Random House. ISBN 0-224-04092-8.
Roberts, John (1997). Battlecruisers. Annapolis, MD: Naval Institute Press. ISBN 1-55750-068-1.

External sources

Dreadnought Project Technical material on the weaponry and fire control for the ships

HMS Neptune

Neptune

Preceded by: St. Vincent class Followed by: Colossus class

List of dreadnought battleships of the Royal Navy

British naval ship classes of the First World War

Aircraft/Seaplane carriers	Empress^S^V Riviera^S^V Engadine^S^V Ark Royal^S Ben-my-Chree^S^V Campania^S^V Raven II^S^V Anne^S^V Vindex^S^V Manxman^S^V Furious^M Pegasus^S^V Nairana^S^V Argus^S^V Vindictive^S^V

Dreadnought battleships	Dreadnought^S Bellerophon St Vincent Neptune^S Colossus Orion King George V Erin^S Agincourt^S Iron Duke Canada^S Queen Elizabeth Revenge

Pre-dreadnought battleships	Royal Sovereign Majestic Canopus Formidable Duncan King Edward VII Swiftsure Lord Nelson

Battlecruisers	Invincible Indefatigable Lion Queen Mary^S Tiger^S Renown Courageous Admiral^S^C Incomparable^X

Armoured cruisers	Cressy Drake Monmouth Devonshire Duke of Edinburgh Warrior Minotaur

Heavy cruisers	Hawkins

Light cruisers	Town^G Arethusa C^{G, C} Danae^C Emerald^A

Protected cruisers	Apollo Astraea Eclipse Blake Pearl Edgar Powerful Diadem Arrogant Pelorus Highflyer Challenger Topaze

Scout cruisers	Adventure Forward Pathfinder Sentinel Boadicea Blonde Active

Destroyer flotilla leaders	Swift^S Faulknor Marksman Parker Admiralty (or Scott)^C Thornycroft (or Shakespeare)^C

Destroyers	A^G B^G C^G D^G E^G F Cricket^G G H I K L Admiralty M Hawthorn M Thornycroft M Yarrow M Yarrow Later M R^G S^{G, C} Talisman V and W^{G, C}

Monitors	Marshal Ney Abercrombie Lord Clive Humber Gorgon M15 M29 Erebus

Minesweepers	Flower Racecourse Hunt 24^C

Gunboats	Fly Insect

Submarines	A B C D E F G H^C J K L^C M^C R^C Swordfish^S V

A All completed after the war C One or more completed after the war G Grouping of several classes M converted from Courageous class S Single ship of class V Conversions X Cancelled

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