NationMaster - Encyclopedia: HMS Formidable (1898)

HMS Formidable (1898) was the lead ship of the Formidable class of battleship and the third of four to have the name HMS Formidable to serve in the British Royal Navy. [1]HMS Formidable served in the Mediterranean Fleet up to April 1908 when she was transferred to the Channel Fleet. She went to Chatham dockyard for refit from April 1909 to August 1909, after which she joined the Home Fleet and later stayed with the Atlantic Fleet until May 1912. She was reduced to a "nucleus" crew with the 2nd Fleet at the Nore. Between 1912-14, HMS Formidable was part of the 5th Battle Squadron, in which she was serving at the outbreak of World War I. She was sunk on 1st January 1915 while on Channel patrol off Portland Bill by torpedoes of German U-boat U-24. The ship sank quickly during bad weather resulting in the loss of 547 men from her complement of 780, and became the first battleship serving with the British Royal Navy to be sunk during World War I. Image File history File links Download high-resolution version (699x891, 112 KB) This work is in the public domain worldwide. ... Image File history File links Naval_Ensign_of_the_United_Kingdom. ... HMS Implacable The Royal Navys Formidable class of battleships were an eight-ship class of pre-Dreadnoughts built in the late 1890s. ... HMS Victory in 1884 Battleship was the name given to the most powerfully gun-armed and most heavily armored classes of warships built between the 15th and 20th centuries. ... At least two ships of the Royal Navy have been named HMS Formidable. ... The Royal Navy of the United Kingdom is the oldest of the British armed services (and is therefore the Senior Service). ... The British Mediterranean Fleet was part of the Royal Navy. ... The Channel Fleet is the historical name used for the group of Royal Navy warships that defended the waters of the English Channel. ... Chatham is an English town that developed around an important naval dockyard on the east bank of the River Medway in the county of Kent. ... Small shipyard in Klaksvík (Faroe Islands), reparing fishing vessels Dockyards and shipyards are places which repair and build ships. ... The Home Fleet is the traditional name of the fleet of the Royal Navy that protects the United Kingdoms territorial waters. ... The British Atlantic Fleet was a major fleet formation of the Royal Navy. ... N.O.R.E. formerly known as rapper Noreaga, is a member of the rap group C-N-N. N.O.R.E. stands for Niggaz on (the) run eatin. He is currently signed to Def Jam Records and Roc-A-Fella Records. ... A Squadron is a small unit or formation of cavalry, aircraft (including balloons), or naval vessels. ... Combatants Allied Powers: British Empire France Italy Russia United States Central Powers: Austria-Hungary Bulgaria Germany Ottoman Empire Commanders Ferdinand Foch Georges Clemenceau Victor Emmanuel III Luigi Cadorna Armando Diaz Nicholas II Aleksei Brusilov Herbert Henry Asquith Douglas Haig John Jellicoe Woodrow Wilson John Pershing Wilhelm II Paul von Hindenburg... Chesil Beach from the hill above Fortuneswell, Portland Harbour is on the right. ... A modern torpedo, historically called a locomotive torpedo, is a self-propelled projectile that (after being launched above or below the water surface) operates underwater and is designed to detonate on contact or in proximity to a target. ... U-boat is also a nickname for some diesel locomotives built by GE; see List of GE locomotives October 1939. ...

The squadron was participating in gunnery exercises off Portland, supported by the cruisers HMS Topaze and HMS Diamond. On the night of 31st December after the exercises, the fleet remained at sea even though submarine activity had been reported in the area. With the wind increasing and rough sea conditions, submarine attacks would have been difficult to carry out effectively and so were not thought to be a significant threat. The next day, HMS Formidable was steaming at 10 knots at the rear of the squadron just 20 miles from Star Point, when at 02:20 she was struck by a torpedo on the starboard side giving her a list of 20 degress. 45 minutes later she was struck by a second torpedo. The pinnace and launch along with two other boats (one of which capsized soon after) were launched, and the two light cruisers managed to pick up 80 men. HMS Formidable remained afloat until 04:45, and then went down quickly with Captain Loxley still on the bridge along with his Fox terrier. In rough seas near Berry Head, a Brixham trawler, the Provident under the command of Captain W. Piller, picked up the men from the launch before it sank saving 71 members of the crew. The second pinnace took off another 70 men. This boat was spotted from the shore the following night and a further 48 men were brought ashore alive 22 hours after the sinking [2] The total loss of life of HMS Formidable was 35 Officers and 512 men. Chesil Beach from the hill above Fortuneswell, Portland Harbour is on the right. ... USS Port Royal (CG-73), a Ticonderoga-class guided missile cruiser, launched in 1992. ... Several ships of the Royal Navy have been named HMS Diamond. ... German UC-1 class World War I submarine A model of GÃ¼nther Priens Unterseeboot 47 (U-47), German WWII Type VII diesel-electric hunter-killer (SSK) submarine Inside of the Argonaute, showing the typical obstructed, tiny space of a post-WWII diesel attack submarine. ... Starboard is the nautical term (used on boats and ships) that refers to the right side of a vessel as perceived by a person facing towards the bow. ... A pinnace is a light boat, propelled by sails or oars, formerly used as a tender for guiding merchant and war vessels. ... Today a Launch is a motorboat with an open or half open deck. ... Bridge of the brigantine LEtoile The bridge of a ship is an area or room where the ships navigational controls and other essential equipment related to ship operations are housed and operated. ... The Smooth Fox Terrier shows a typical perky terrier expression. ... Berry Head is a coastal headland at the southern end of Torbay, to the southeast of Brixham, Devon, England. ... Location within the British Isles Brixham is a small town in the county of Devon in the southwest of England. ... A modern Icelandic trawler A trawler is a fishing vessel designed for the purpose of operating a trawl, a net that is dragged along the bottom of the sea (or sometimes above the bottom at a specified depth). ...

The wreck site is designated and controlled under the Protection of Military Remains Act. The Protection of Military Remains Act 1986 (1986 c. ...

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