HMS Duncan (1901) facts for kids
_postcard.jpg)
A 1905 postcard depicting HMS Duncan, painting by William Frederick Mitchell
|
|
Quick facts for kids History |
|
|---|---|
 United Kingdom |
|
| Name | HMS Duncan |
| Namesake | Adam Duncan, 1st Viscount Duncan |
| Builder | Thames Ironworks and Shipbuilding Company, Leamouth |
| Laid down | 10 July 1899 |
| Launched | 21 March 1901 |
| Completed | October 1903 |
| Commissioned | 8 October 1903 |
| Decommissioned | March 1919 |
| Fate | Sold for scrapping 18 February 1920 |
| General characteristics | |
| Class and type | Duncan-class pre-dreadnought battleship |
| Displacement | |
| Length | 432 ft (132 m) (loa) |
| Beam | 75 ft 6 in (23.01 m) |
| Draught | 25 ft 9 in (7.85 m) |
| Installed power |
|
| Propulsion |
|
| Speed | 19 knots (35 km/h; 22 mph) |
| Range | 6,070 nmi (11,240 km; 6,990 mi) at 10 knots (19 km/h; 12 mph) |
| Complement | 720 |
| Armament |
|
| Armour |
|
HMS Duncan was a powerful warship called a pre-dreadnought battleship in the Royal Navy. She was the first ship of her class, which included five other sister ships. These battleships were built to be very fast, reaching speeds of 19 knots (35 km/h; 22 mph). This made them the fastest battleships in the world at the time!
The Duncan-class ships were armed with four large 12-inch (305 mm) guns and twelve 6-inch (152 mm) guns. They were similar to other battleships but had slightly less armor to help them go faster. Duncan was built between 1899 and 1903.
Duncan served in different fleets, including the Mediterranean Fleet and the Channel Fleet. She had a few accidents, like bumping into another battleship and getting stuck near an island. Later, she joined the Atlantic Fleet and then returned to the Mediterranean. In 1913, she became a training ship for gunnery.
When World War I started in 1914, Duncan was being repaired. After her repairs, she joined other ships on patrol in the North Sea. In 1915, she moved to the central Atlantic and later helped the Italian Royal Navy in the Adriatic Sea. In 1916, she went to Greece and was involved in events against Greek royalists who didn't want to join the Allies in the war. Duncan returned to Britain in 1917 and was later used as a barracks ship before being sold for scrap in 1920.
Contents
Ship Design and Features
The six ships of the Duncan class class were ordered because Russia had launched some fast battleships. William Henry White, who designed British warships, wanted the Duncan class to be just as fast. To make them faster without making them too big, he had to reduce their armor.
This made the Duncan-class ships like bigger, better versions of the Canopus-class battleship class. Even though they had less armor, they were still much better than the Russian ships they were built to fight.
Duncan was 432 feet (132 m) long from end to end. She was 75 ft 6 in (23.01 m) wide and sat 25 ft 9 in (7.85 m) deep in the water. When fully loaded, she weighed about 14,900 to 15,200 long tons (15,100 to 15,400 t). Her crew had 720 officers and sailors.
The Duncan-class ships had two powerful engines that turned two propellers. Twenty-four boilers created the steam needed for the engines. These boilers sent smoke up two funnels in the middle of the ship. With 18,000 indicated horsepower (13,000 kW) of power, Duncan and her sister ships could reach 19 knots (35 km/h; 22 mph). This speed made them the fastest battleships in the world for several years! At a slower speed of 10 knots (19 km/h; 12 mph), the ship could travel for 6,070 nautical miles (11,240 km; 6,990 mi) without needing to refuel.
Weapons and Protection
Duncan had a main set of four large 12-inch (305 mm) guns. These were placed in two turrets, one at the front and one at the back of the ship. She also had a secondary set of twelve 6-inch (152 mm) guns, placed along the sides in armored rooms called casemates. For defense against smaller, faster boats, she carried ten 12-pounder guns and six 3-pounder guns. Like many battleships of that time, she also had four 18-inch (457 mm) torpedo tubes hidden below the waterline in her hull.
To protect the ship, Duncan had an armored belt along her sides that was 7 in (178 mm) thick. The turrets for her main guns had armor that was 8 to 10 in (203 to 254 mm) thick. The command center, called the conning tower, had very thick sides, 12 in (305 mm) thick. She also had two armored decks, which were 1 and 2 in (25 and 51 mm) thick, to protect against attacks from above.
Service History
Before World War I
HMS Duncan was started on 10 July 1899 and launched into the water on 21 March 1901. She was finished in October 1903. On 8 October, Duncan officially joined the Royal Navy at Chatham Dockyard and began serving with the Mediterranean Fleet.
In February 1905, she moved to the Channel Fleet. On 26 September that year, she accidentally crashed into another battleship, HMS Albion, near Lerwick. Duncan got a hole in her side below the water and damage to her steering. She had another accident on 23 July 1906 when she got stuck near Lundy Island while trying to help another battleship, HMS Montagu, that was also stuck.
Duncan joined the Atlantic Fleet in February 1907. She had some repairs in Gibraltar from November 1907 to February 1908. In July 1908, Duncan visited Canada with her sister ships for a special event. On 1 December, she moved back to the Mediterranean Fleet and became the second most important ship there.
In 1912, the Mediterranean Fleet became part of the Home Fleet, and Duncan moved to Gibraltar. In May 1913, Duncan was assigned to a reserve fleet at Portsmouth and became a gunnery training ship. She started more repairs in May 1914.
During World War I
When World War I began in August 1914, Duncan was still being repaired. After her repairs were done in September 1914, she joined the 3rd Battle Squadron at Scapa Flow. Here, she helped the Grand Fleet's cruisers patrol the northern seas.
On 2 November 1914, Duncan and her sister ships were temporarily sent to the Channel Fleet. This was to make the fleet stronger because the Imperial German Navy was active in the area. The next day, German ships attacked Yarmouth, but Duncan was on patrol and couldn't help. On 13 November, Duncan and her sister ships formed the 6th Battle Squadron in the Channel Fleet.
This squadron was meant to attack German submarine bases in Belgium. They were based at Portland and then Dover. However, because Dover didn't have good defenses against submarines, the squadron moved back to Portland on 19 November 1914.
The 6th Battle Squadron returned to Dover in December 1914. Then, on 30 December, they moved to Sheerness to guard against a possible German invasion of the United Kingdom. Between January and May 1915, the squadron was split up. Duncan left in February 1915 for more repairs at Chatham, which lasted until July 1915.
On 19 July 1915, she rejoined the fleet and was sent to patrol the central Atlantic. In August 1915, Duncan moved to the Adriatic Sea to help the Italian Navy against the Austro-Hungarian Navy. She was based in Taranto, Italy. The Italian naval chief decided it was too risky to use the main fleet in the Adriatic because of enemy submarines and mines. Instead, they kept the main fleet at the safer southern end of the Adriatic.
In June 1916, Duncan moved to the Aegean Sea, based at Salonika, Greece. At this time, Greece's king wanted to stay neutral in the war. However, the Allied powers had landed troops in Salonika. In December 1916, Duncan helped in operations against Greek royalists who were against joining the Allies. Royal Marines were landed in Athens to try and make the king step down. But the Greek army fought back, and the Marines had to go back to their ships. After this, the British and French ships blocked the parts of Greece controlled by the royalists.
Duncan returned to the Adriatic Squadron in January 1917. In February, she went back to the United Kingdom and was taken out of active service. Her crew was used to man other ships that hunted submarines. She stayed in reserve until April, when she moved to Chatham for more repairs. After these repairs in January 1918, she remained in reserve at Chatham, serving as a floating home for sailors.
Duncan was listed for sale in March 1919. She was sold for scrap to a company in Dover on 18 February 1920. She was then towed to Dover in June 1920 to be broken up.
