Implacable 1917
|
Name |
No |
Yard No |
Builder |
Laid down |
Launched |
Comp |
Fate |
| Formidable | 50 | Portsmouth DYd | 21.3.1898 | 17.11.1898 | 9.1901 | sunk 1.1.1915 | |
| Irresistible | 64 | Chatham DYd | 11.4.1898 | 15.12.1898 | 2.1902 | sunk 18.3.1915 | |
| Implacable | 63, 72, N48 | Devonport DYd | 13.7.1898 | 11.3.1899 | 9.1901 | sold for BU 11.1921 |
Displacement normal, t |
14500 |
Displacement full, t |
15800 |
Length, m |
121.9 pp 131.6 oa |
Breadth, m |
22.9 |
Draught, m |
7.90 |
No of shafts |
2 |
Machinery |
2 3-cyl VTE, 20 Belleville boilers |
Power, h. p. |
15000 |
Max speed, kts |
18 |
Fuel, t |
coal 2200 |
|
Endurance, nm(kts) |
8000(10) |
|
Armour, mm |
belt: 229, bulkheads: 305 - 229, gun houses: 254 - 203, barbettes: 305, casemates: 152, decks: 76 - 25, CT: 356 |
Armament |
2 x 2 - 305/40 BL Mk IX, 12 x 1 - 152/45 BL Mk VII, 16 x 1 - 76/40 12pdr 12cwt QF Mk I, 6 x 1 - 47/40 3pdr Hotchkiss Mk I, 4 - 450 TT (beam) |
Complement |
780 |
Project history: Built under the 1897-98 Estimates, these ships, although generally referred to as improved Majestics, closely resembled as enlarged Canopus design, in which the advantages of Krupp armour were used to improve protection rather than reduce size. Their designed load displacement was 15000t.
The armament disposition followed that of the earlier ships but ships of class received new models of main and secondary guns. 305mm guns could be loaded on any bearing or elevation, and the mounting was provided with a split hoist, with a working chamber beneath the guns to reduce the possibility of cordite fire spreading.
On full power trials they averaged 18.2kts with 15500hp. Handier than the Majestics due to their improved hull form and the cutting away of deadwood aft, they did not, however, manoeuvre well at slow speeds because of the inward-turning screws, which were adopted because they gave a slight improvement in speed and a reduction in fuel consumption.
Ship protection: The armour layout was similar to Canopus, except thet the belt continued to the stern as well to the bow. The belt was 229mm Krupp, 66.5m long by 4.6m deep, and continued to the stem as a 76mm belt 3.7m deep, and to the stern as a 38mm belt 2.4m deep. The barbettes reduced to 152mm behind the belt, whilst the gun houses were of Krupp steel with 254mm sides and 203mm backs. Decks were as Canopus except the middle deck, which was increased to 76mm on the slope, and the lower deck aft, to 64mm.
Modernizations: 1917, Implacable: - 4 x 1 - 152/45 main deck casemate guns; + 2 x 1 - 152/45 BL Mk VII on the battery deck.
Naval service: Formidable 1.1.1915 in English Channel was torpedoed by German submarine U24 and sank quickly with the loss of 547 men. Irresistible 18.3.1915 struck a mine in Erenkui Bay (Dardanelles, mine laid by Turkish minelayer Nusret), abandoned under Turkish coastal guns and was sunk those day by gunfire. Implacable was paid off in 1919.
Implacable 1901
© Ivan Gogin, 2008-14