hms cressy sinking

Details of the Cressy class, of which Cruiser Force C was composed, were as follow: Displacement: 12,000 tons In 1914, the best speed they could manage was 15 knots. Hit by a torpedo fired by the German submarine U-21, she was to gain the unfortunate title of being the first British warship to be sunk in this way. The Pathfinder was a “Scout Cruiser”, a type which was to evolve in time into the Light Cruiser. Cressy was stationary and her boats had been lowered. He manoeuvred to bring U-9’s stern tubes to bear and fired both at a range of a thousand yards.  One torpedo struck the Cressy but the second missed. [5], As a result of the losses, the Admiralty ordered all capital ships to remove themselves from danger in the future, and leave rescue attempts to smaller ships. Cressy, named after the 1346 Battle of Crécy, was laid down by Fairfield Shipbuilding at their shipyard in Govan, Scotland on 12 October 1898 and launched on 4 December 1899. Also 2X18” torpedo tubes As many as five men clung to a single life vest, and a dozen men to a single plank. Hit by a torpedo fired by the German submarine U-21, she was to gain the unfortunate title of being the first British warship to … The first indication of the submarine’s potential came on September 5th 1914, when the British cruiser HMS Pathfinder was sunk in the North Sea off the Scottish coast. All three cruisers sank within ninety minutes, with the total loss of 1,459 lives. The magazines of the time left little to the imagination. About a half hour after Cressy went down a small Dutch steamer, the Flora, approached and managed to pluck 286 men from the water. At 7:20, Cressy sighted a torpedo track, and the order was given "full speed ahead both", too late. The squadron was composed of four obsolete Cressy Class Armored Cruisers, the HMS Cressy, HMS, Aboukir, HMS Hogue, and HMS Euryalus. She could make 25 knots top speed but her limited coal capacity was the class’s Achilles heel. 30 Ulstermen are buried at sea, with only 1 Ulsterman with a known grave. The reality cannot have been much different to this, horrible as it was. Of these, at least 31 men had connections to Ulster, most of them Stokers and three quarters of them part time reservists. She was commissioned by Captain Henry Tudor for service on the China Station on 28 May 1901, but her departure was delayed for several months when her steering gear broke down shortly after leaving the base and she had to return. HMS Cressy was launched 4 December 1899, and along with her sister ships HMS Aboukir and HMS Hogue, was torpedoed by a single submarine, the U9, off the Dutch coast early on 22 September 1914. Upon completion she was assigned to the China Station. U-9’s periscope was spotted and the cruiser opened fire, the surged forward in an unsuccessful attempt to ram.  Then, unaccountably, she stopped again. A total of 837 men were rescued, but 1,397 men were lost. Crews were in short supply, leading the ships to be manned by reservists, many middle-aged, many of them pensioners, who had not previously served or exercised together as teams. Only one boat got away, the others either wrecked by the explosion or impossible to launch. The subsequent court of inquiry attributed blame to all of the senior officers involved – Captain Drummond for not zigzagging and for not calling for destroyers and Rear Admiral Christian for not making it clear to Drummond that he could summon the destroyers. As the three Royal Navy cruisers sunk into the cold waters a few miles off the coast of the Netherlands. She eventually l… The most devastating criticism was of Rear Admiral Campbell, who had been Christian’s superior, and for whom the latter had been acting – at the inquiry he made the remarkable statement that he did not know what the purpose of his command was. September 22nd 2014 saw the hundredth anniversary of the first massive loss by the Royal Navy in the First World War. Launched in 1905, she was just under 3000 tons, 385 feet long and carried nine 4-in guns and smaller weapons. Hogue and Cressy were now creeping towards Aboukir’s survivors and lowering boats. Limited range and armament, low speed and, above all, short underwater endurance led many to believe that the offensive threat they posed, especially to warships, would not be great. Cressy was hit forwar… H.M.S.Cressy. Less than a month later, U-9 sank the even more elderly cruiser, HMS Hawke. Thinking she had struck a mine, and sinking fast, the order was given to abandon ship. The first indication of the submarine’s potential came on September 5th 1914, when the British cruiser HMS Pathfinder was sunk in the North Sea off the Scottish coast. 12 × BL 6-inch (152.4 mm) Mk VII guns. Primary Documents - Sinking of the Aboukir, Cressy and Hogue by the U-9, 22 September 1914 Reproduced below is a memoir of the sinking of three British cruisers - the Aboukir, Cressy and Hogue - by a single German U-boat, U-9, on 22 September 1914. They continued to patrol as the weather improved until sunrise on 22 September.[4]. My Great Grandfather Walter Charles Wood was on the HMS Hogue during the engagement, he survived not only the sinking of the Hogue, but also the HMS Cressy too after he got aboard following the Hogue going down, i have his Medals, a PDF of his Service Record (1895 – 1919) and his “Diddy Box” too, i am trying to gain as much information as i can on his service, and especially … Articles incorporating text from Wikipedia, World War I cruisers of the United Kingdom, Ships sunk by German submarines in World War I, Fairfield Shipbuilding & Engineering Co Ltd, Ships of the Royal Navy: The Complete Record of all Fighting Ships of the Royal Navy, Castles of Steel: Britain, Germany and the Winning of the Great War at Sea, https://military.wikia.org/wiki/HMS_Cressy_(1899)?oldid=2641757, Pages using duplicate arguments in template calls. Crew at commissioning: 760. Henry Charles Wickenden, was lost with the HMS Cressy on 22 September 1914. The impact on neutral opinion was equally powerful. Their average age was only 27 years old. He is commemorated on the Chatham Naval Memorial, Pnel 7. Weddingen ordered the empty torpedo tube reloaded and identified Hogue as his next victim. The supremacy of British naval power had been assumed ever since Trafalgar and was now suspect.  The First World War had opened badly at sea for Britain, and yet more disasters were imminent. [1] She was commissioned by Captain H. M. T. Tudor for service on the China Station on 28 May 1901,[2] but her departure was delayed for several months when her steering gear broke down shortly after leaving the base and she had to return. The 34 vessels of this type that were in service at the outbreak of war had entered service between 1902 and 1908 – they were not old ships. Armament: 2 X 9.2”, 12 X 6” and many smaller. each displacing 12,000 tons and mounting two 9.2” and 12 6” guns. Hit on the starboard side, the cruiser heeled over, then began to right herself.  Some ten minutes later Weddigen fired his last torpedo from its bow tube. After finishing her sea trials she passed into the fleet reserve at Portsmouthon 24 May 1901. A further step in the path leading to disaster was made when Christian did not make it clear that Drummond had the authority to order supporting destroyers to sea if the weather improved, as it indeed did later the following day. Pressdram Ltd. 2011. p. 31. Lord Charles Beresford never again referred to submarines as "playthings" or "toys". In a family letter he recounted in appalling detail what he had heard from members of the local lifeboat about the state of the human remains found when the area was searched. At dawn on September 22nd U-9 surfaced to find the storm over, the sea calm but for a slow swell. Two British trawlers arrived and joined in the rescue effort and eight British destroyers arrived from Harwich two hours later. 22nd Sep 1914 HMS Aboukir HMS Cressy and HMS Hogue sunk HMS Aboukir was a, armoured cruiser of the Cressy-class.She has been launched in 1900 and was sunk by a torpedo along with HMS Cressy and HMS Hogue on the 22nd of September 1914 by U.9 in the North Sea. Loss of HMS Aboukir, Cressy and Hogue The German submarine U9. At 7:30, a third torpedo hit Cressy on the port beam, rupturing tanks in the boiler room and scalding the men. On September 24th U-9 entered the main German naval base at Wilhelmshaven to the cheers of the entire fleet. Six even-older old cruisers, the 10th Cruiser Squadron, were left patrolling off Aberdeen, on the North-East Scottish coast. In all 837 men were saved from the three cruisers but 1459 had been lost. [7], Coordinates: 52°15′01″N 3°40′08″E / 52.25028°N 3.66889°E / 52.25028; 3.66889. She was armed with four torpedo tubes, two forward, two aft, and carried reloads for the forward tubes only. He delegated command to Captain Drummond in Aboukir . At 6:20 AM on 22 September, HMS Aboukir was torpedoed by SM U-9 and sank in 35 minutes. At 6:55, Hogue was struck by two torpedoes. The steamer Titan rescued another 147 men, and later eight of Tyrwhitt's destroyers arrived. Hit amidships on the port side, the engine and boiler rooms were flooded and the ship listed to port. Kapitaenleutnant Weddigen was by now back at sea and on the morning of October 15th – three weeks after his previous exploit – he found Hawke and her sister Endymion stationary and transferring mail. With Christian unable to transfer his flag, command devolved to Captain John Drummond of the Aboukir. Weddigen still had three torpedoes left, two aft, one forward. Then she too sunk, her crew’s plight all the worse since the boats she had sent off were already crowded with Aboukir’s and Hogue’s survivors. 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