HMS Caroline (1914)
Coordinates: 54°36′47″N 5°54′10″W / 54.61306°N 5.90278°W
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| Career (United Kingdom) |  |
|---|---|
| Name: | HMS Caroline |
| Builder: | Cammell Laird |
| Laid down: | 28 January 1914 |
| Launched: | 29 September 1914 |
| Commissioned: | 4 December 1914 |
| Decommissioned: | 31 March 2011 |
| Motto: | Tenax Propositi |
| Honours and awards: |
Jutland 1916 |
| Status: | To be decided |
| General characteristics | |
| Class and type: | C-class light cruiser |
| Displacement: | Nominal: 3,750 tons Loaded: 4,219 tons Deep: 4,733 tons |
| Length: | 420 ft (130 m) (446 ft (136 m) overall) |
| Beam: | 41.5 ft (12.6 m) |
| Draught: | 16 ft (5 m) maximum |
| Propulsion: | 4 shaft Parsons turbines Power: 40,000 shp |
| Speed: | 28.5 knots (53 km/h) |
| Range: | carried 405 tons (772 tons maximum) of fuel oil |
| Complement: | 325 |
| Armament: | As built:
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| Armour: | Belt: 3 to 1 in Decks: 1 inch |
HMS Caroline was a C-class light cruiser of the British Royal Navy. Caroline was launched and commissioned in 1914. At the time of her decommissioning in 2011 she was the second-oldest ship in Royal Navy service, after HMS Victory. She served as a static headquarters and training ship for the Royal Naval Reserve, based in Alexandra Dock, Belfast, Northern Ireland for the later stages of her career. She was the last remaining British First World War light cruiser in service, and she remains the last survivor of the Battle of Jutland still afloat.
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[edit] Construction
HMS Caroline was built by Cammell Laird of Birkenhead. She was launched in 1914 and commissioned on 4 December 1914. Caroline was part of the early sub-set of C Class ships built without geared turbines[2] and subsequent comparisons with later vessels of the same class demonstrated the superiority of geared propulsion. Caroline's machinery is still in place today, although not in working order.
[edit] Operational history
[edit] Early service
She served in the North Sea throughout the First World War. She spent much of the war with the 4th Light Cruiser Squadron: Caroline fought with the squadron in 1916 in the Battle of Jutland, under the command of Captain H. R. Crooke.
Caroline later served on the East Indies Station before being placed in Reserve and converted to a headquarters and training ship for the Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve's Ulster Division in 1924.
[edit] Second World War
During the Second World War Caroline served as the Royal Navy's headquarters in Belfast Harbour which was used as a home base by many of the warships escorting Atlantic and Russian convoys including Captain-class frigates of the 3rd Escort Group.
As Belfast developed into a major naval base during the Second World War, it outgrew the confines of HMS Caroline herself and occupied different establishments in various parts of the city. Eventually several thousand ratings were wearing Caroline cap tallies. The first such establishment was set up in the Belfast Custom House. Later, Belfast Castle was taken over and included a radio station. There were depth charge pistol and Hedgehog repair workshops associated with HMS Caroline some of which would have been on the quays beside her berth in Milewater Basin.
During the early part of the Second World War when RAF Belfast occupied Sydenham (Belfast harbour) airfield, Fleet Air Arm personnel based there were lodged under HMS Caroline. In 1943, the airfield was transferred to the Admiralty and commissioned as HMS Gadwell.
[edit] Post-war
The Caroline served as the last afloat training establishment in the Royal Naval Reserve. She is listed as part of the National Historic Fleet, Core Collection,
Although no longer capable of making way under her own power, Caroline remains afloat and in excellent condition. Buffeting from waves and high winds have caused the ship to almost come away from her moorings several times. In 2005, during a storm, she ripped several huge bollards out of the jetty concrete, but failed to break free entirely. Proposals have been made to return the ship to her WW-I appearance, which among other restoration work would involve sourcing and installing 4" guns of that era and the removal of the large deck-house from her mid-ships deck. Thus far the costs involved have been prohibitive and no scheme has progressed beyond the discussion stage. Caroline is not normally open to tourists although entrance can be gained during the annual Titanic celebrations.
The Royal Naval Reserve Unit decommissioned from the ship in December 2009 moving ashore and recommissioning as the "stone frigate" HMS Hibernia. The ship was decommissioned on 31 March 2011 in a traditional ceremony. Her ensign was laid up in St Anne's Cathedral in Belfast.[3] Her future is uncertain with several proposals put forward. On her decommissioning she was placed into the care of the National Museum of the Royal Navy based in Portsmouth though remaining moored in her position in Alexandra Dock. One proposal is to remain in Belfast as a museum ship within the Titanic Quarter development alongside SS Nomadic (1911). Another is a move to Portsmouth with many of her original fittings reinstated.[4]
[edit] Records
At her decommissioning she held the title of the second-oldest ship in Royal Navy service, as well as being the last First World War British light cruiser in service. She is the last survivor of the Battle of Jutland.[Note 1]
Caroline retains the record of having the fastest build time of any significant warship – nine months from her keel being laid till her launch. Her Parsons steam turbines are the last surviving examples of the kind introduced after the notable event of Parson's Turbinia cutting up the fleet at the Spithead review in 1897. Harland & Wolff of Belfast removed her weaponry and boilers on arrival in Belfast around 1924.
[edit] Notes
- ^ Among warships afloat, the oldest steel warship appears to be the Netherlands ironclad turret-ram Hr Ms Buffel, launched in 1868 and now a museum ship in Rotterdam, although Buffel is not in commission. HMS Warrior, launched in 1860, is not in commission, and required extensive refurbishment, but is now afloat in Portsmouth. One of the oldest steel warships afloat known to have fought in battle is the USS Olympia launched in November 1892, but it was decommissioned in 1922. Even older and still afloat in the Chilean port of Talcahuano is the ironclad Huáscar, launched in 1865, and which saw extensive service in battle during the War of the Pacific (1879–1883), being now a museum ship. The Russian cruiser Aurora is also afloat and, having been launched in December 1900, is older than Caroline, and is today in commission, but it was an uncommissioned museum ship from 1957 to about 1990. Of ships not afloat, the Japanese battleship Mikasa launched in November 1900 is older than Caroline and the Russian cruiser Aurora, but it is neither in commission nor afloat; it became a museum ship in 1921 and is in drydock. A Swedish ironclad monitor launched in the 1870s, HMS Sölve, is (January 2009) under restoration at the Goteborg Maritime Centre, but it is unknown whether it will be displayed afloat or dry. The Greek Armored Cruiser Georgios Averof (1911) is still apparently afloat and commissioned.
[edit] References
- ^ http://dreadnoughtproject.org/docs/notes/ADM_186_216.php
- ^ The Grand Fleet: Warship Design and Development 1906–1922, D. K Brown
- ^ Weir, Fiona (1 April 2011). "End of an era for HMS Caroline". British Forces Broadcasting Service. http://bfbs.com/news/northern-ireland/end-era-hms-caroline-46236.html. Retrieved 13 April 2011.
- ^ "HMS Caroline options considered by Royal Navy museum". BBC News online. 13 April 2011. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-hampshire-13065401. Retrieved 13 April 2011.
- Colledge, J. J.; Warlow, Ben (2006) [1969]. Ships of the Royal Navy: The Complete Record of all Fighting Ships of the Royal Navy (Rev. ed.). London: Chatham. ISBN 978-1-86176-281-8. OCLC 67375475.
- Jane's Fighting Ships of World War One (1919), Jane's Publishing Company
- Ships of the Caroline class
- Jane's Fighting Ships for 1919 – Caroline-class
[edit] Further reading
- Allison, R.S. (1974). HMS Caroline: a brief account of some warships bearing the name, and in particular of HMS Caroline (1914–1974), and of her part in the development of the Ulster Division, RNVR, and later RNR. Belfast: The Blackstaff Press. ISBN 085640 056 4.
- Friedman, Norman (2010). British Cruisers. Seaforth Publishing. pp. 43,57, 59,61–62. ISBN 978-1-84832-078-9.
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