HMS Valiant was one of five s built for the Royal Navy during the early 1910s. She was built at Devonport Royal Dockyard between January 1914 and November 1914, and entered service shortly after the outbreak of the First World War. She participated in the Battle of Jutland during the First World War as part of the Grand Fleet. 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, she was one of several warships involved in the Invergordon Mutiny, in which sailors struck against pay cuts. Valiant saw further action during the Second World War in the Mediterranean, where her service included destroying Vichy ships at Mers-el-Kébir and the Battle of Cape Matapan, during which time Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh served aboard as a midshipman. While in drydock in Alexandria, the battleship was severely damaged by an Italian raid. After additional refits and service in Sicily, she was sent to join the Eastern Fleet, raiding Japanese bases in Indonesia, before a drydock accident in Ceylon resulted in Valiant being returned to Devonport and decommissioned.
Design and description The Queen Elizabeth-class ships were designed to form a fast squadron for the fleet 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.Burt 2012b, p. 277Parkes, pp. 560–561
Ship measures and propulsion Valiant 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 Brown-Curtis steam turbines, each driving two shafts using steam from 24 Babcock & Wilcox 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 919 officers and ratings in 1915 and 1,218 in 1919.Burt 2012b, pp. 284–285, 287
Armament, sensors and fire control 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.Burt 2012b, pp. 284–285, 288–289
Valiant 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.Raven & Roberts, pp. 20–21, 30
Armour 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.Raven & Roberts, pp. 21, 26
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. During her 1929–1930 refit, the platform was removed from 'X' turret and a folding Type EIH catapult was installed on the quarterdeck, along with a crane to recover a floatplane. The platform atop 'B' turret, the catapult and its crane were removed when Valiant was reconstructed in 1937–1939.Raven & Roberts, pp. 30, 134, 136, 239
Modifications Between 1929 and 1930, anti-torpedo bulges were added, which increased Valiant's beam to . The two funnels were trunked into one and a single octuple 2-pounder mounting was added. Two of the torpedo tubes were removed, and the aircraft platforms were replaced by a single catapult. These modifications brought the maximum displacement up to 35,970 tons. In 1936, a second octuple 2-pounder mounting was added.
Between March 1937 and November 1939, HMS Valiant underwent a complete rebuild at Devonport. The machinery was changed to eight Admiralty 3-drum boilers with four Parsons steam turbines producing a total of . Fuel load was 3,393 tons oil, and maximum speed was reduced to despite the increase in power, due to the increase in displacement and draught. Deck armour was increased to over the magazines, over the machinery while the new guns had between and of armour.Raven & Roberts, p. 247 The secondary armament was changed to 20 × Mk I dual purpose guns in 10 twin mountings and the close-range anti-aircraft armament consisted of four octuple 2-pounder "pom pom" mountings. The ship's fire control was modernised to include the HACS MkIV AA fire control system and the Admiralty Fire Control Table Mk VII for surface fire control of the main armament.Brooks (2003), p. 82 These modifications increased draught to and maximum displacement to 36,513 tons.
Construction and career HMS Valiant was laid down at the Fairfield Shipbuilding and Engineering Company, Govan on 31 January 1913, launched on 4 November 1914 and commissioned on 19 February 1916 under the command of Captain Maurice Woollcombe. Upon completion, Valiant joined the recently formed 5th Battle Squadron of the Grand Fleet.
First World War Battle of Jutland
In an attempt to lure out and destroy part of the Grand Fleet, the German High Seas Fleet, which consisted of 16 battleships, 6 battle cruisers, and other ships, left Wilhelmshaven early on the morning of 31 May. The plan called for Vice-Admiral Franz Hipper to leave Wilhelmshaven with the battlecruisers of the 1st and the light cruisers of the 2nd Reconnaissance Group and push north out of sight of the Danish coast. There he was to provoke a departure of British ships by attacking coastal towns and lure them toward the High Seas Fleet. The intelligence Division of the British Admiralty Room 40 had intercepted and decoded German radio traffic containing operational plans. As a result, the Admiralty ordered Admiral Sir John Jellicoe and Vice-Admiral Sir David Beatty to sail that night with the Grand Fleet from Scapa Flow, Cromarty, and Rosyth to cut off and destroy the High Seas Fleet.
After the 5th Battle Squadron departed Rosyth that morning, Beatty ordered a course change to the northeast at 14:15 to join up with Grand Fleet. At 14:20, Hipper's battlecruisers spotted Beatty's battlecruisers. At 14:32, Beatty ordered a course change to the east-southeast to cut off the Germans' line of retreat. Hipper ordered his ships to turn to starboard and set a southeasterly course. With this turn, Hipper fell back to the High Seas Fleet, which was behind him. Beatty then also changed course to the east to catch up with Hipper.Tarrant, p. 69
By 15:05, the 5th Battle Squadron had had the German light cruisers within range. By 15:08, the 5th Battle Squadron had reached the rear of the German battlecruisers and Valiant opened fire on the SMS Moltke, which received one hit. The situation changed when the German battleships came into view at 15:40. Since Beatty had failed to sufficiently signal his intentions when he turned north, the battleships of the 5th Battle Squadron were on an opposite course past the battlecruisers and headed directly for the approaching main body of the High Seas Fleet.Preston, p. 95 At 15:48, Scheer opened fire on the British battleships. Valiant managed to avoid hits and in turn fired on the SMS Moltke between 16:15 and 16:30. At 16:46, Valiant was severely shaken by a salvo, but emerged unscathed.
Valiant continued to participate in the battle until the enemy came out of sight at a distance of 17 kilometers at about 17:02. A hit on Valiant was incorrectly claimed by the SMS Grosser Kurfürst at 17:09, but poor visibility hampered most of Valiants actions for the next hour. She reopened fire on the German ships at 18:15 but scored no hits. Valiant was the only capital ship in the Fifth Battle Squadron to sustain no damage. Post-Jutland service
On 19 August 1916, the 5th Battle Squadron was sent to prevent an attack by the German High Seas Fleet on the town of Sunderland. The 5th Battle Squadron were stationed ahead of the main fleet to scout for the High Seas Fleet, but did not see combat as the High Seas Fleet abandoned the attack before any engagement could occur.Marder, pp. 287–291
Following a night-shooting exercise on 24 August 1916, HMS Warspite collided with Valiant, necessitating repairs which were completed by 18 September of that same year.Ballantyne, 2013, pp. 65–66.
Inter-war period From 1919 to the end of 1924, Valiant was part of the 1st Battle Squadron, Atlantic Fleet after which she was with the 1st Battle Squadron of the Mediterranean Fleet until March 1929. On 2 December 1930 she was recommissioned for service in the Atlantic where in 1931 her crew participated in the Invergordon Mutiny. March 1932 saw her transferred to the Home Fleet until in July 1935 she was once again in the Mediterranean.Burt 2012a, p. 184
World War II On 30 November 1939, Valiant was commissioned at Devonport and assigned to the America and West Indies Station. She returned to Britain in December 1939, and was assigned to escort Canadian troops across the Atlantic. She joined the Home Fleet on 7 January 1940. Valiant engaged in escort duty for troop transports for most of early 1940.
In May 1940, Valiant supported the British landing forces in the Norwegian campaign; specifically, alongside HMS Warspite, she was sent to cover troop landings at Narvik. On 15 April 1940, during the Battles of Narvik, the submarine U-38 fired a torpedo at Valiant at Vaagsfjord, but missed.Lardas 2026, p. 11 Following the battle, Valiant patrolled the fjord for a short period and then was sent to Scapa Flow with a screen of three destroyers.
Mers-el-Kébir