HMS Warspite was one of five s built for the Royal Navy during the early 1910s. Completed during the First World War in 1915, she was assigned to the Grand Fleet and participated in the Battle of Jutland. Other than that battle, and the inconclusive Action of 19 August, her service during the war generally consisted of routine patrols and training in the North Sea. During the interwar period the ship was deployed in the Atlantic Ocean and the Mediterranean Sea, often serving as flagship, and was thoroughly modernised in the mid-1930s.
During the Second World War, Warspite was involved in the Norwegian Campaign in early 1940 and was transferred to the Mediterranean later that year where the ship participated in fleet actions against the Royal Italian Navy () while also escorting convoys and bombarding Italian troops ashore. She was damaged by German aircraft during the Battle of Crete in mid-1941 and required six months of repairs in the United States. They were completed after the start of the Pacific War in December and the ship sailed across the Pacific to join the Eastern Fleet in the Indian Ocean in early 1942. Warspite returned home in mid-1943 to conduct naval gunfire support as part of Force H during the Italian campaign. She was badly damaged by German radio-controlled glider bombs during the landings at Salerno and spent most of the next year under repair. The ship bombarded German positions during the Normandy landings and on Walcheren Island in 1944, despite not being fully repaired. These actions earned her the most battle honours ever awarded to an individual ship in the Royal Navy. For this and other reasons, Warspite gained the nickname the "Grand Old Lady" after a comment made by Admiral Sir Andrew Cunningham in 1943 while she was his flagship.
When she was launched in 1913, the use of oil as fuel and untried 15-inch guns were revolutionary concepts in the naval arms race between Britain and Germany, a considerable risk for Winston Churchill, then First Lord of the Admiralty, and Admiral of the Fleet Sir Jackie Fisher, who had advocated the design. However, the new "fast battleships" proved to be an outstanding success during the First World War. Decommissioned in 1945, in 1947 Warspite ran aground on rocks near Prussia Cove, Cornwall, while under tow to be scrapped, and was eventually broken up nearby.
Warspite was the sixth Royal Navy ship to bear the name. It likely originated from an archaic word for woodpecker, 'speight'; with the implication that, during the Age of Sail the war-speight would peck holes in her enemies' wooden hulls.Ballantyne, 2013, p. 10.
Design and description The Queen Elizabeth-class ships were designed to form a fast squadron for the fleet that was intended to operate against the leading ships of the opposing battleline. This required maximum offensive power and a speed several knots faster than any other battleship to allow them to defeat any type of ship.
Warspite had a length overall of , a beam of and a deep draught of . She had a normal displacement of and displaced at deep load. She was powered by two sets of Parsons steam turbines, each driving two shafts using steam from 24 Yarrow boilers. The turbines were rated at and intended to reach a maximum speed of . The ship had a range of at a cruising speed of . Her crew numbered 1,025 officers and ratings in 1915 and 1,220 in 1920.
The Queen Elizabeth class was equipped with eight breech-loading (BL) Mk I guns in four twin-gun turrets, in two superfiring pairs fore and aft of the superstructure, designated 'A', 'B', 'X', and 'Y' from front to rear. Twelve of the fourteen BL Mk XII guns were mounted in casemates along the broadside of the vessel amidships; the remaining pair were mounted on the forecastle deck near the aft funnel and were protected by gun shields. The anti-aircraft (AA) armament were composed of two quick-firing (QF) 20 cwt Mk I"Cwt" is the abbreviation for hundredweight, 20 cwt referring to the weight of the gun. guns. The ships were fitted with four submerged 21-inch (533 mm) torpedo tubes, two on each broadside.
Warspite was completed with two fire-control directors fitted with rangefinders. One was mounted above the conning tower, protected by an armoured hood, and the other was in the spotting top above the tripod mast. Each turret was also fitted with a 15-foot rangefinder. The main armament could be controlled by 'B' turret as well. The secondary armament was primarily controlled by directors mounted on each side of the compass platform on the foremast once they were fitted in July 1917.
The waterline belt of the Queen Elizabeth class consisted of Krupp cemented armour (KC) that was thick over the ships' vitals. The gun turrets were protected by of KC armour and were supported by barbettes thick. The ships had multiple armoured decks that ranged from in thickness. The main conning tower was protected by 13 inches of armour. After the Battle of Jutland, 1 inch of high-tensile steel was added to the main deck over the magazines and additional anti-flash equipment was added in the magazines.
The ship was fitted with flying-off platforms mounted on the roofs of 'B' and 'X' turrets in 1918, from which fighters and reconnaissance aircraft could launch. Exactly when the platforms were removed is unknown, but no later than Warspites 1934–1937 reconstruction.
Construction and career Warspite, the sixth warship of the Royal Navy to carry the name, was laid down on 21 October 1912 at Devonport Royal Dockyard, launched on 26 November 1913, and completed in April 1915 under the command of Captain Edward Phillpotts.Ballantyne, 2013, p. 30. Warspite joined the 2nd Battle Squadron of the Grand Fleet following a number of acceptance trials,Sutherland and Canwell, 2010, p. 62. including gunnery trials, which saw Churchill present when she fired her 15-inch (381 mm) guns. Churchill was suitably impressed with their accuracy and power.Ballantyne, 2013, p. 29. In late 1915, Warspite was grounded in the River Forth causing some damage to her hull; she had been led by her escorting destroyers down the small ships channel. After undergoing repairs for two months at Rosyth and Jarrow, she rejoined the Grand Fleet, this time as part of the new 5th Battle Squadron which had been created for Queen Elizabeth-class ships. In early December, Warspite was involved in another incident when, during an exercise, she collided with her sister ship , which caused considerable damage to Warspites bow. She made it back to Scapa Flow and from there to Devonport for more repair work, rejoining the fleet on Christmas Eve 1915.Watton, 1986, p. 8.
First World War Battle of Jutland (1916)
Following the German raid on Lowestoft in April 1916, Warspite and the 5th Battle Squadron were temporarily assigned to Vice-Admiral David Beatty's Battlecruiser Force.Ballantyne, 2013, p. 32. On 31 May, Warspite was deployed with the squadron to fight in the Battle of Jutland, the largest naval encounter between Britain and Germany during the war. Following a signalling error, the battleships were left trailing Beatty's fast ships during the battlecruiser action, and the 5th Battle Squadron was exposed to heavy fire from the German High Seas Fleet as the force turned away to the north,Ballantyne, 2013, p. 42–43. although Warspite was able to score her first hit on the battlecruiser .Ballantyne, 2013, p. 41.
The 5th Battle Squadron then headed north, exchanging fire with both Hipper's battlecruiser force and the leading elements of Scheer's battleships, damaging .Campbell, 1985, p. 134–145. When the squadron turned to join the Grand Fleet, the damage from a shell hitting the port-wing engine room caused Warspites steering to jam as she attempted to avoid her sister ships and .Ballantyne, 2013, p. 50. Captain Phillpotts decided to maintain course, in effect circling, rather than come to a halt and reverse. This decision exposed Warspite and made her a tempting target; she was hit multiple times, but inadvertently diverted attention from the armoured cruiser , which had been critically damaged whilst attacking the leading elements of the German fleet. This action gained her the admiration of Warriors surviving crew, who believed that Warspites movement had been intentional.Marder, 1978, p. 97–98.
The crew regained control of Warspite after two full circles. Their efforts to end the circular motion placed her on a course which took her towards the German fleet.Ballantyne, 2013, p. 51. The rangefinders and the transmission station were non-functional and only "A" turret could fire, albeit under local control with 12 salvos falling short of their target. Sub Lieutenant Herbert Annesley Packer was subsequently promoted for his command of "A" turret. Rather than continue, Warspite was stopped for ten minutes so the crew could make repairs. They succeeded in correcting the problem, but the ship would be plagued with steering irregularities for the rest of her naval career. As the light faded the Grand Fleet crossed ahead of the German battle line and opened fire, forcing the High Seas Fleet to retreat and allowing Warspite to slip away.Ballantyne, 2013, pp. 51–52.
Warspite was hit fifteen times during the battle,Campbell, 1985, p. 354. and had 14 killed and 16 wounded; among the latter warrant officer Walter Yeo, who became one of the first men to receive facial reconstruction via plastic surgery. Although she had been extensively damaged, Warspite could still raise steam and was ordered back to Rosyth during the evening of 31 May by Rear-Admiral Hugh Evan-Thomas, commander of the 5th Battle Squadron. Whilst travelling across the North Sea the ship came under attack from a German U-boat. The U-boat fired three torpedoes, all of which missed their target. Warspite later attempted to ram a surfaced U-boat.Ballantyne, 2013, p. 53–56. She signalled ahead for escorts and a squadron of torpedo boats came out to meet her. They were too slow to screen her effectively, but there were no more encounters with German vessels and she reached Rosyth safely on the morning of 1 June, where it took two months to repair the damage.Watton, 1986, pp. 7–8.
1916–1918 Upon the completion of her repairs, Warspite rejoined the 5th Battle Squadron. Further misfortune struck soon afterwards, when she collided with Valiant after a night-shooting exercise, necessitating more repair work at Rosyth. Captain Philpotts avoided reprimand on this occasion, but was moved to a shore-based job as Naval Assistant to the new First Sea Lord, Admiral Jellicoe.Ballantyne, 2013, pp. 65–66. He was replaced by Captain de Bartolome in December 1916.Watton, 1986, p. 8. In June 1917, Warspite collided with a destroyer, but did not require major repairs. Early in April 1918 she joined the Grand Fleet in a fruitless pursuit of the German High Seas Fleet which had been hunting for a convoy near Norway. In 1918, Warspite had to spend four months being repaired after a boiler room caught fire.Ballantyne, 2013, p. 67. Captain Hubert Lynes relieved Captain de Bartolome and on 21 November he took Warspite out to escort the German High Seas Fleet into internment at Scapa Flow following the signing of the Armistice.
Interbellum (1919–1939)