Difference between revisions 136784151 and 136784152 on dewiki

{{DISPLAYTITLE:''Invincible''-class battlecruiser}}
{|{{Infobox ship begin}}
{{Infobox ship image
|Ship image=[[File:HMS Invincible (1907) British Battleship.jpg|300px|alt=A large grey warship with two tripod masts and three funnels]]
|Ship caption=An early photograph of ''Invincible'', before her torpedo nets were removed.
}}
{{Infobox ship class overview
|Name=''Invincible''-class battlecruiser
|Builders=[[Armstrong Whitworth]], [[John Brown & Company]], [[Fairfield Shipbuilding and Engineering Company|Fairfield]]
|Operators={{navy|UK}}
|Class before=None
|Class after={{Ssclass-|Indefatigable|battlecruiser|4}}
|Cost=£1.7 m
|Built range=1906–1909
|In service range=1908–1921
|Total ships completed=3
|Total ships lost=1
|Total ships scrapped=2
}}
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The ''Invincible''-class ships were formally known as armoured cruisers until 1911 when they were redesignated as battlecruisers by an Admiralty order of 24 November 1911. Unofficially a number of designations were used until then, including cruiser-battleship, dreadnought cruiser and battle-cruiser.<ref>Roberts, pp. 24–25</ref>

The ''Invincible''s were significantly larger than their armoured cruiser predecessors of the {{sclass
-|Minotaur|cruiser (1906)|4}}. They had an [[length overall|overall]] length of {{convert|567|ft|m|abbr=on}}, a [[beam (nautical)|beam]] of {{convert|78.5|ft|m|abbr=on}}, and a [[draft (ship)|draft]] of {{convert|30|ft|m|1|abbr=on}} at deep load. They displaced {{convert|17250|LT|MT}} at load and {{convert|20420|LT|MT}} at deep load, nearly {{convert|3000|LT|MT|-1}} more than the earlier ships.<ref>Roberts, pp. 43–44</ref>

===Propulsion===
(contracted; show full)fied as 'P' and 'Q'. 'P' turret was mounted on the port side and normally faced forward, 'Q' turret was mounted on the starboard side and normally faced aft (rearwards). 'P' and 'Q' turrets were staggered—'P' was forward of 'Q', enabling 'P' to fire in a limited arc to the starboard side and 'Q' to likewise fire in a limited arc towards the port side. These were the same guns as those mounted in the British 
[[{{HMS  |Dreadnought (|1906)|''Dreadnought'']]|6}}, the {{sclass-|Lord Nelson|battleship|4}} and the {{sclass-|Bellerophon|battleship|4}}, and for a brief period the ''Invincible''s equaled the firepower of any other nations' battleships.<ref>Roberts, pp. 81–84</ref>

(contracted; show full)27;Indomitable'' in April 1917 as an [[Anti-aircraft warfare|anti-aircraft]] (AA) gun. It was mounted on a MK II high-angle mounting with a maximum elevation of 60°. It had a reduced propellant charge with a muzzle velocity of only {{convert|2864|ft/s|m/s|abbr=on}}.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.navweaps.com/Weapons/WNBR_4-50_mk7.htm|title=BL 4 inch naval gun Mk VII|accessdate=15 October 2009}}</ref>

Earlier anti-aircraft guns included a 3-pounder [[Hotchkiss gun]] on a high-angle Mk
  Ic mounting with a maximum elevation of 60°. Both ''Invincible'' and ''Indomitable'' carried theirs from November 1914 to August 1917.<ref name=r3/> It fired {{convert|3.3|lb|kg|adj=on}} projectiles at a muzzle velocity of {{convert|1873|ft/s|m/s|abbr=on}} at a rate of fire of 20 rounds per minute. This provided a maximum range of {{convert|7600|yd|m|abbr=on}} at 45°, but the maximum effective anti-aircraft range was only {{convert|1200|yd|m|abbr=on}}.<ref>(contracted; show full) United Kingdom|Prince of Wales]] (later [[George V of the United Kingdom|King George V]]) to the tercentennial celebrations in [[Canada]], before also joining the [[Home Fleet]]. ''Invincible''{{'}}s electrically driven turrets proved to be a failure despite two lengthy refits in 1909 and 1911 and were converted to hydraulic power during her refit in early 1914 at the enormous cost of £151,200. The situation was so bad during her gunnery trials in October 1908 that the captain of 
[[{{HMS  |Excellent (|shore establishment)|HMS Excellent]]|6}}, the Royal Navy's gunnery school described their operation thusly: "When the order was given to train the turret, elevate or run a gun in or out, it was only necessary to push a button, or move a switch, but the result was often a flash of blue flame which seemed to fill the turret."<ref>Captain Reginald Tupper, quoted in Roberts, p. 85</ref>

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On 3 November 1914, [[Winston Churchill|Churchill]] ordered the first British attack on the Dardanelles following the opening of hostilities between Turkey and Russia. The attack was carried out by ''Indomitable'' and ''Indefatigable'', as well as the French [[pre-dreadnought battleship]]s 
[[{{ship|French battleship  |Suffren|''Suffren'']] and [[|2}} and {{ship|French battleship  |Vérité (|1907)|''Vérité'']]|2}}. The intention of the attack was to test the fortifications and measure the Turkish response. The results were deceptively encouraging. In a twenty-minute bombardment, a single shell struck the magazine of the fort at [[Sedd el Bahr]] at the tip of the Gallipoli peninsula, displacing (but not destroying) 10 guns and killing 86 Turkish soldiers. The most significant consequence was that the attention of the Turks was drawn to strengthening their defences, and they set about expanding the mine field.<ref&(contracted; show full)s only {{convert|10000|yd|km}} away as the sun was setting about 8:19 and opened fire. ''Seydlitz'' was hit five times before the battlecruisers were rescued by the [[pre-dreadnought battleship]]s of Rear Admiral Mauve and the British shifted fire to the new threat. Three of the predreadnoughts were hit before they too were able to turn into the gloom.<ref>Campbell, pp. 252–54, 272</ref>

===Post-Jutland career===
The loss of three battlecruisers at Jutland (the others were 
[[{{HMS Queen Mary|''|Queen Mary'']]||2}} and {{HMS|Indefatigable|1909|2}}) led to the force being reorganised into two squadrons, with ''Inflexible'' and ''Indomitable'' in the 2nd BCS. However, after Jutland there was little significant naval activity, for the ''Invincible''s, other than routine patrolling, thanks to the [[Kaiser Wilhelm II|Kaiser's]] order that his ships should not be allowed to go to sea unless assured of victory. The end of the war saw the end for many of the ol(contracted; show full){{DEFAULTSORT:Invincible class battlecruiser}}
[[Category:Battlecruiser classes]]
[[Category:Invincible-class battlecruisers| ]]
[[Category:World War I battlecruisers of the United Kingdom| Invincible class battlecruiser]]
[[Category:Ship classes of the Royal Navy]]

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