Bellerophon-class battleship

	HMS Bellerophon
Class overview
Name	Bellerophon
Operators	Royal Navy
Preceded by	HMS Dreadnought
Succeeded by	St. Vincent class
Cost	about £1,600,000 plus £116,300 for guns
Built	1906–1909
In service	1909–1921
In commission	1909–1921
Completed	3
Retired	3
General characteristics
Class and type	Battleship
Displacement	list error: <br /> list (help); 18,800 tons load; 22,102 tons full load
Length	160.3 m (526 ft) overall
Beam	25.2 m (83 ft)
Draught	8.3 m (27.2 ft)
Propulsion	list error: <br /> list (help); Parsons turbines, direct drive on four shafts; 18 Babcock & Wilcox or Yarrow boilers; 23,000 ihp
Speed	list error: <br /> list (help); Bellerophon: 21.25 knots (39 km/h) at 25,061 ihp (18,688 kW) ; Superb: 21.56 knots (40 km/h) at 27,407 ihp (20,437 kW); Temeraire: 21.55 knots (40 km/h) at 26,966 ihp (20,109 kW)
Range	5,720 nmi (10,590 km) at 10 knots (19 km/h)
Complement	733
Armament	list error: <br /> list (help); 10 × BL 12-inch (304.8 mm) Mk X guns(5 × 2); 16 × BL 4-inch (101.6 mm) Mk VII guns; 4 × 3-pdr; 3 × 18 inch (450 mm) torpedo tubes
Armour	list error: <br /> list (help); 5–10 in (130–250 mm) belt; 5–9 in (130–230 mm) barbettes; 8–11 in (200–280 mm) conning tower; 11 in (280 mm) turret; ½–4 in (15–100 mm) deck

The Bellerophon class was a class of three dreadnought battleships that were built in the United Kingdom prior to World War I, and served in the Royal Navy during the war. The ships of the Bellerophon class were near carbon copies of the previous HMS Dreadnought, with the exception of a second tripoid mast. The lead ship, HMS Bellerophon, was laid down on the same day of HMS Dreadnought's final completion, which was also built at Portsmouth Dockyard.

Design

Changes to the hull gave a more complete internal protection and allowed the larger ships to make the same speed with the same powerplant. While Dreadnought had bulkheads that protected only the magazines, the Bellerophon had complete bulkheads running longitudinally through the ship. The 12-pounder guns that had been added to Dreadnought for protection from torpedo boats were recognised as being insufficient and their secondary armament was made up of 4-inch (102 mm) guns. A mainmast added ahead of the aft funnel was still affected by the plume of the fore funnel and was not considered a success. These changes did require some compromises in the design resulting in thinner armor, reducing the belt armor from 11 to 10 inches (250 mm), and a reduced coal bunkerage, which limited the steaming endurance.

General Characteristics

The Bellerophon's design was virtually identical to the preceding Dreadnought with some minor improvements.^[1] The tripod foremast, which on Dreadnought was behind the forward funnel, was positioned in front of the forward funnel so that lookouts stationed on the observation platform could be out of the smoke plume.^[1] A second tripod mast was placed in front of the second funnel.^[2]

The ships of the Bellerophon class were 160.3 m (526 ft) long. They had a beam of 25.2 m (83 ft), a draught of 8.3 m (27 ft), and normally displaced 18,800 tonnes with a maximum displacement of 22,102 tonnes.^[3]

Propulsion

The Bellerophon class had the same propulsion design as the previous Dreadnought ship. The ships were powered by four-shaft Parsons turbines in 18 coal-fired boilers. The ships' powerplants delivered at a rated 23,000 shp.^[4]

Armament

The Bellerophon class armament featured an improved second battery. Sixteen 4 in (10 cm) guns replaced the twenty-seven 3 in (7.6 cm) guns on the Dreadnought. However, the main armament was the same having ten 12 in (30 cm) guns in five twin turrets.^[3]

Construction

Ship	Builder	Engine builder	Laid down	Launched	Commissioned
Ship	Builder	Engine builder	Laid down	Launched	Commissioned
Bellerophon	Portsmouth Dockyard, Portsmouth, England	Fairfield Shipbuilding and Engineering Company, Parsons turbines	6 December 1906	27 July 1907	20 February 1909^[1]
Superb	Armstrong Elswick Works, Newcastle upon Tyne, England	Wallsend Co., Parsons turbines	6 February 1907	7 November 1907	9 June 1909^[1]
Temeraire	Devenport Dockyard Plymouth, England	Hawthorn Leslie and Company, Parsons turbines	1 January 1907	24 August 1907	15 May 1909^[1]

Footnotes

^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e Gardiner and Gray, p.22
^ Miller, p.145
^ ^a ^b Miller, p.144
^ http://www.maritimequest.com/warship_directory/great_britain/pages/battleships/bellerophon_class.htm

References

Gardiner, Robert; Gray, Randal, eds. (1984). Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships: 1906–1922. Annapolis: Naval Institute Press. ISBN 0870219073.
Miller, David (2001). Illustrated Directory of Warships of the World. Osceola: Salamander Books. ISBN 0760311277.

External links

[Gardiner_and_Gray-1] Gardiner and Gray, p.22

[Miller_2-2] Miller, p.145

[Miller-3] Miller, p.144

[4] ttp://www.maritimequest.com/warship_directory/great_britain/pages/battleships/bellerophon_class.htm

[1]

[2]

[3]

[4]

v t e Bellerophon-class battleships
Bellerophon Temeraire Superb
Preceded by: HMS Dreadnought Followed by: St Vincent class
List of dreadnought battleships of the Royal Navy

v t e 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 London Duncan King Edward VII Swiftsure Lord Nelson
Battlecruisers	Invincible Indefatigable Lion Queen Mary^S Tiger^S Renown Courageous Admiral^S^A
Armoured cruisers	Cressy Drake Monmouth Devonshire Duke of Edinburgh Warrior Minotaur
Heavy cruisers	Hawkins^A
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 Thornycroft (or Shakespeare)^C Admiralty (or Scott)^C
Destroyers	A^G B^G C^G D^G E^G F G H I K L Admiralty M Hawthorn M Thornycroft M Yarrow M Yarrow Later M Medea Arno^S R^G S^G^C Talisman V and W^G^C
Torpedo boats	TB 81^S TB 98 TB 109 TB 114 Cricket^G
Monitors	Marshal Ney Abercrombie Lord Clive Humber Gorgon M15 M29 Erebus
Minesweepers	Racecourse Hunt Dance
Gunboats	Fly Insect
Submarines	A B C D E F G H^C J K L^C M^C R^C Swordfish^S V
Sloops	P Cadmus Flower Acacia Azalea Arabis Anchusa Aubrietia 24^C
naval trawlers	Castle Mersey
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