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HMS Thunderer (1911)
HMS Thunderer was the fourth and last Orion-class dreadnought battleship built for the Royal Navy in the early 1910s. She spent the bulk of her career assigned to the Home and Grand Fleets. Aside from participating in the Battle of Jutland in May 1916 and the inconclusive action of 19 August, her service during World War I generally consisted of routine patrols and training in the North Sea.
After the Grand Fleet was dissolved in early 1919, Thunderer was transferred back to the Home Fleet for a few months before she was assigned to the Reserve Fleet. The ship was converted into a training ship for naval cadets in 1921 and served in that role until she was sold for scrap in late 1926. While being towed to the scrapyard, Thunderer ran aground; the ship was refloated and subsequently broken up.
The Orion-class ships were designed in response to the beginnings of the Anglo-German naval arms race and were much larger than their predecessors of the Colossus-class battleship to accommodate larger, more powerful guns and heavier armour. In recognition of these improvements, the class was sometimes called "super-dreadnoughts". The ships had an overall length of 581 feet (177.1 m), a beam of 88 feet 6 inches (27.0 m) and a deep draught of 31 feet 3 inches (9.5 m). They displaced 21,922 long tons (22,274 t) at normal load and 25,596 long tons (26,007 t) at deep load as built; by 1918 Thunderer's deep displacement had increased to 27,416 long tons (27,856 t). Her crew numbered 738 officers and ratings when completed in 1912 and 1,107 in 1917.
The Orion class was powered by two sets of Parsons direct-drive steam turbines, each driving two shafts, using steam provided by 18 Babcock & Wilcox boilers. The turbines were rated at 27,000 shaft horsepower (20,000 kW) and were intended to give the battleships a speed of 21 knots (39 km/h; 24 mph). During her sea trials on 5 March 1912, Thunderer reached a maximum speed of 20.8 knots (38.5 km/h; 23.9 mph) from 27,427 shp (20,452 kW), although hampered by a boiler malfunction. The ships carried enough coal and fuel oil to give them a range of 6,730 nautical miles (12,460 km; 7,740 mi) at a cruising speed of 10 knots (19 km/h; 12 mph).
The Orion class was equipped with 10 breech-loading (BL) 13.5-inch (343 mm) Mark V guns in five hydraulically powered twin-gun turrets, all on the centreline. The turrets were designated 'A', 'B', 'Q', 'X' and 'Y', from front to rear. Their secondary armament consisted of 16 BL 4-inch (102 mm) Mark VII guns. These guns were split evenly between the forward and aft superstructure, all in single mounts. Four 3-pounder (1.9 in (47 mm)) saluting guns were also carried. The ships were equipped with three 21-inch (533 mm) submerged torpedo tubes, one on each broadside and another in the stern, for which 20 torpedoes were provided.
The Orions were protected by a waterline 12-inch (305 mm) armoured belt that extended between the end barbettes. Their decks ranged in thickness between 1 inch (25 mm) and 4 inches with the thickest portions protecting the steering gear in the stern. The main battery turret faces were 11 inches (279 mm) thick, and the turrets were supported by 10-inch-thick (254 mm) barbettes.
A prototype fire-control director was installed sometime before November 1912, on a platform below the spotting top. In 1914 the shelter-deck guns were enclosed in casemates and by October 1914, a pair of 3-inch (76 mm) anti-aircraft (AA) guns were installed aboard each ship. Additional deck armour was added after the Battle of Jutland in May 1916. Around the same time, a pair of four-inch guns were removed from the aft superstructure. Two flying-off platforms were fitted aboard the ship during 1917–1918; these were mounted on 'B' and 'X' turret roofs and extended onto the gun barrels. A high-angle rangefinder was fitted in the forward superstructure by 1921.
Thunderer was the sixth ship of her name to serve in the Royal Navy and was laid down by the Thames Ironworks and Shipbuilding Company at their shipyard in Poplar, London on 13 April 1910 and launched on 1 February 1911. She was commissioned on 15 June 1912 at Devonport. Including her armament, her cost is variously quoted at £1,892,823 or £1,885,145. Thunderer and her sister ships comprised the Second Division of the 2nd Battle Squadron (BS) of the Home Fleet. The ship, together with her sisters Monarch and Orion, participated in the Parliamentary Naval Review on 9 July at Spithead. They then participated in training manoeuvres with Vice-Admiral Prince Louis of Battenberg commanding the "Blue Fleet" aboard Thunderer. On 13 November, the ship participated in comparative gunnery trials with Orion to evaluate the effectiveness of the former's gunnery director. Thunderer decisively outshot the latter ship, although some of her success was because her director was above the smoke that obscured the target from Orion's guns. The test was repeated in better conditions on 4 December and Orion performed much better, apparently beating Thunderer. The three sisters were present with the 2nd BS to receive the President of France, Raymond Poincaré, at Spithead on 24 June 1913. During the annual manoeuvres in August, Thunderer was the flagship of Vice-Admiral Sir John Jellicoe, commander of the "Red Fleet". On 4 November, Thunderer, Orion, the dreadnought King George V and the predreadnought King Edward VII fired at and sank the target ship Empress of India to give their crews experience in firing live ammunition against a real ship.
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HMS Thunderer (1911) AI simulator
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HMS Thunderer (1911)
HMS Thunderer was the fourth and last Orion-class dreadnought battleship built for the Royal Navy in the early 1910s. She spent the bulk of her career assigned to the Home and Grand Fleets. Aside from participating in the Battle of Jutland in May 1916 and the inconclusive action of 19 August, her service during World War I generally consisted of routine patrols and training in the North Sea.
After the Grand Fleet was dissolved in early 1919, Thunderer was transferred back to the Home Fleet for a few months before she was assigned to the Reserve Fleet. The ship was converted into a training ship for naval cadets in 1921 and served in that role until she was sold for scrap in late 1926. While being towed to the scrapyard, Thunderer ran aground; the ship was refloated and subsequently broken up.
The Orion-class ships were designed in response to the beginnings of the Anglo-German naval arms race and were much larger than their predecessors of the Colossus-class battleship to accommodate larger, more powerful guns and heavier armour. In recognition of these improvements, the class was sometimes called "super-dreadnoughts". The ships had an overall length of 581 feet (177.1 m), a beam of 88 feet 6 inches (27.0 m) and a deep draught of 31 feet 3 inches (9.5 m). They displaced 21,922 long tons (22,274 t) at normal load and 25,596 long tons (26,007 t) at deep load as built; by 1918 Thunderer's deep displacement had increased to 27,416 long tons (27,856 t). Her crew numbered 738 officers and ratings when completed in 1912 and 1,107 in 1917.
The Orion class was powered by two sets of Parsons direct-drive steam turbines, each driving two shafts, using steam provided by 18 Babcock & Wilcox boilers. The turbines were rated at 27,000 shaft horsepower (20,000 kW) and were intended to give the battleships a speed of 21 knots (39 km/h; 24 mph). During her sea trials on 5 March 1912, Thunderer reached a maximum speed of 20.8 knots (38.5 km/h; 23.9 mph) from 27,427 shp (20,452 kW), although hampered by a boiler malfunction. The ships carried enough coal and fuel oil to give them a range of 6,730 nautical miles (12,460 km; 7,740 mi) at a cruising speed of 10 knots (19 km/h; 12 mph).
The Orion class was equipped with 10 breech-loading (BL) 13.5-inch (343 mm) Mark V guns in five hydraulically powered twin-gun turrets, all on the centreline. The turrets were designated 'A', 'B', 'Q', 'X' and 'Y', from front to rear. Their secondary armament consisted of 16 BL 4-inch (102 mm) Mark VII guns. These guns were split evenly between the forward and aft superstructure, all in single mounts. Four 3-pounder (1.9 in (47 mm)) saluting guns were also carried. The ships were equipped with three 21-inch (533 mm) submerged torpedo tubes, one on each broadside and another in the stern, for which 20 torpedoes were provided.
The Orions were protected by a waterline 12-inch (305 mm) armoured belt that extended between the end barbettes. Their decks ranged in thickness between 1 inch (25 mm) and 4 inches with the thickest portions protecting the steering gear in the stern. The main battery turret faces were 11 inches (279 mm) thick, and the turrets were supported by 10-inch-thick (254 mm) barbettes.
A prototype fire-control director was installed sometime before November 1912, on a platform below the spotting top. In 1914 the shelter-deck guns were enclosed in casemates and by October 1914, a pair of 3-inch (76 mm) anti-aircraft (AA) guns were installed aboard each ship. Additional deck armour was added after the Battle of Jutland in May 1916. Around the same time, a pair of four-inch guns were removed from the aft superstructure. Two flying-off platforms were fitted aboard the ship during 1917–1918; these were mounted on 'B' and 'X' turret roofs and extended onto the gun barrels. A high-angle rangefinder was fitted in the forward superstructure by 1921.
Thunderer was the sixth ship of her name to serve in the Royal Navy and was laid down by the Thames Ironworks and Shipbuilding Company at their shipyard in Poplar, London on 13 April 1910 and launched on 1 February 1911. She was commissioned on 15 June 1912 at Devonport. Including her armament, her cost is variously quoted at £1,892,823 or £1,885,145. Thunderer and her sister ships comprised the Second Division of the 2nd Battle Squadron (BS) of the Home Fleet. The ship, together with her sisters Monarch and Orion, participated in the Parliamentary Naval Review on 9 July at Spithead. They then participated in training manoeuvres with Vice-Admiral Prince Louis of Battenberg commanding the "Blue Fleet" aboard Thunderer. On 13 November, the ship participated in comparative gunnery trials with Orion to evaluate the effectiveness of the former's gunnery director. Thunderer decisively outshot the latter ship, although some of her success was because her director was above the smoke that obscured the target from Orion's guns. The test was repeated in better conditions on 4 December and Orion performed much better, apparently beating Thunderer. The three sisters were present with the 2nd BS to receive the President of France, Raymond Poincaré, at Spithead on 24 June 1913. During the annual manoeuvres in August, Thunderer was the flagship of Vice-Admiral Sir John Jellicoe, commander of the "Red Fleet". On 4 November, Thunderer, Orion, the dreadnought King George V and the predreadnought King Edward VII fired at and sank the target ship Empress of India to give their crews experience in firing live ammunition against a real ship.