HMS Benbow (1914)

Battleship [ 1914 ]

HMS Benbow of the British Royal Navy was present at the famous Battle of Jutland during World War 1 and led managed a relatively short career thereafter.

Authored By: Staff Writer | Last Edited: 12/17/2016 | Content ©www.MilitaryFactory.com | The following text is exclusive to this site.

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In the lead-up to World War 1 (1914-1918) the British Royal Navy invested in a new class of fighting surface warship - the Iron Duke-class. These battleships numbered four in all and preceded the earlier King George V-class vessels. The new group was launched from October 1912 into November of the following year and followed closely - both in form and function - the King George V-class ship design.

HMS Benbow made up one quarter of the Iron Duke-class. She was ordered in 1911 and saw her keel laid down by William Beardmore and Company of Glasgow on May 30th, 1912. She was formally launched on November 12th, 1913 and officially commissioned on October 7th, 1914 - in time for service in World War 1.

As completed she displaced 25,000 tons (long) and held a length of 622.8 feet, a beam of 90 feet and a draught of 29.5 feet. Installed power was from 18 x Babcock & Wilcox boiler units feeing 4 x Parsons turbines developing 29,000-31,000 horsepower to 4 x shafts. Maximum speed was 21.25 knots with a range out to 7,800 nautical miles. There were as many as 1,022 crew aboard. Armor protection ranged from 2.5" at the deck to 12" at the belt.

Armament was led by 10 x BL 13.5" /45 caliber Mk V main guns with 12 x 6" /45 caliber Mk VII guns as secondary. There were also 2 x QF 3" 20 cwt guns carried for Anti-Aircraft (AA) defense and 4 x 3-pounder guns for close-in surface work. As with other warships of the period, Benbow was outfitted with 4 x 21" (533mm) torpedo tubes as an added ranged measure.

HMS Benbow's notable service occurred in World War 1 (1914-1918) where she was one of the participants in the famous Battle of Jutland. The battle spanned May 31st, 1916 to June 1st, 1916 and pitted forces of the British Royal Navy against the might of the German fleet. It became the largest naval battle of the entire war though, in the end, with over 200 warships committed to the fracas, both sides claimed the victory in this otherwise indecisive engagement.

In the immediate post-war period, Benbow was assigned to the Mediterranean and supported the White Russian initiative during the Russian Civil War (1917-1923) that followed, using her guns in anger from positions in the Black Sea. These actions took her to 1920 to which point she was relocated back to Mediterranean waters until 1926. From there, she was stationed in the Atlantic until decommissioned in 1929. She was stripped of her war-making value the following year and sold for scrapping in 1931 to adhere to the requirements of the London Naval Treaty signed back in April of 1930 (signees included the United States, France, Italy and Japan).©MilitaryFactory.com

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Specifications

United Kingdom
Operators

1914
Commissioned

United Kingdom
National Origin

523
Complement

Iron Duke-class
Hull Class

4
Number-in-Class

HMS Iron Duke; HMS Marlborough; HMS Benbow; HMS Emperor of India
Ships-in-Class

Offshore Bombardment
Offshore bombardment / attack of surface targets / areas primarily through onboard ballistic weaponry.

Land-Attack
Offshore strike of surface targets primarily through onboard missile / rocket weaponry.

Maritime Patrol
Active patroling of vital waterways and maritime areas; can also serve as local deterrence against airborne and seaborne threats.

Airspace Denial / Deterrence
Neutralization or deterrence of airborne elements through onboard ballistic of missile weaponry.

Fleet Support
Serving in support (either firepower or material) of the main surface fleet in Blue Water environments.

Flag Ship / Capital Ship
Serving in the fleet Flag Ship role or Capital Ship in older warship designs / terminology.

325.0 feet
(99.06 meters)
Length

68.0 feet
(20.73 meters)
Beam

27.0 feet
(8.23 meters)
Draught

10,600
tons
Displacement

18 x Babcock & Wilcox boilers with Parsons steam turbines developing 31,000 horsepower to 4 x shafts.
Propulsion

18.0 knots
(20.7 mph)
Surface Speed

5,003 nm
(5,757 miles | 9,265 km)
Range

1 knot = 1.15 mph; 1 nm = 1.15 mile; 1 nm = 1.85 km

5 x 2 x BL 13.5-inch (343mm) Mk V main guns (twin mountings).
12 x BL 6-inch (153mm) Mk VII guns in single mounts.
2 x QF 3-inch (20 cwt) anti-aircraft guns
4 x 21-inch (533mm) torpedo tubes

None.

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