HMS Prince Eugene

HMS Prince Eugene was one of eight Lord Clive-class monitors built for the Royal Navy in 1915 to conduct shore bombardments during the First World War. The ship was assigned to the Dover Patrol for the duration of the war and provided cover for the Inshore Squadron during the First Ostend Raid. She was sold for scrap in 1921.

History
United Kingdom
NamePrince Eugene
BuilderHarland and Wolff, Govan
Yard number477
Laid down1 February 1915
Launched14 July 1915
Completed2 September 1915
Commissioned21 August 1915
Decommissioned1919
FateSold for scrap, 9 May 1921
General characteristics (as built)
Class and typeLord Clive-class monitor
Displacement5,850 long tons (5,940 t) (deep load)
Length335 ft 6 in (102.3 m)
Beam87 ft 2 in (26.6 m)
Draught9 ft 10 in (3 m) (deep load)
Installed power
Propulsion2 shafts, 2 triple-expansion steam engines
SpeedAbout 7.5 knots (13.9 km/h; 8.6 mph)
Complement12 officers, 182 ratings
Armament
Armour

Design and description

The Lord Clive design was derived from that of the preceding Abercrombie class, modified to suit the smaller and lighter main battery. The ships had an overall length of 335 feet 6 inches (102.3 m), a maximum beam of 87 feet 2 inches (26.6 m), and a deep draught of 9 feet 10 inches (3 m). She displaced 5,850 long tons (5,940 t) at deep load. To improve stability, 15-foot (4.6 m) torpedo bulges were incorporated into the hull. Her crew numbered 12 officers and 182 ratings.[1]

Prince Eugene was powered by a pair of four-cylinder triple-expansion steam engines each driving one propeller shaft using steam provided by two coal-burning watertube boilers. The engines developed a total of 2,500 indicated horsepower (1,900 kW) and were designed for a maximum speed of 10 knots (19 km/h; 12 mph), although the ships proved to be significantly slower, with Prince Eugene reaching an adjusted speed of 7.6 knots (14.1 km/h; 8.7 mph) during her sea trials. The Lord Clives had a range of 1,100 nautical miles (2,000 km; 1,300 mi) at a cruising speed of 6.5 knots (12.0 km/h; 7.5 mph).[2]

The ships were armed with a pair of BL 12-inch (305 mm) Mk VIII guns in a single twin-gun turret; Prince Eugene's turret was taken from the elderly predreadnought battleship HMS Hannibal. The ship's anti-aircraft armament consisted of a (3 in (76 mm)) and a 2-pounder (40 mm (1.6 in)) guns on high-angle mounts.[3]

Construction and career

Prince Eugene was named after Prince Eugene of Savoy[4] and has been the only ship of the Royal Navy to be named after the general.[5] The ship was laid down on 1 February 1915 at Harland and Wolff's Govan shipyard, launched on 14 July and commissioned on 2 September.[6]

During a refit from December 1918 to March 1918, Prince Eugene was modified to accept a single 18-inch (457 mm) gun in a limited-traverse mount aft of her funnel. Delivery of the mounts was slow and the ship had not received hers by the war's end in November 1918. Prince Eugene was decommissioned in early 1919 and was sold for scrap on 9 May 1921. She arrived at Thos. W. Ward's Preston, Lancashire, scrapyard on 10 August 1923 to begin demolition.[7]

Citations
  1. Buxton, pp. 45, 77
  2. Buxton, pp. 51, 77
  3. Buxton, pp. 49, 77
  4. Silverstone, p. 257
  5. Colledge, p. 276
  6. Buxton, p. 77
  7. Buxton, pp. 74, 77

References
  • Buxton, Ian (2008). Big Gun Monitors: Design, Construction and Operations 1914–1945 (2nd, revised and expanded ed.). Annapolis, Maryland: Naval Institute Press. ISBN 978-1-59114-045-0.
  • Colledge, J. J.; Warlow, Ben (2006) [1969]. Ships of the Royal Navy: The Complete Record of all Fighting Ships of the Royal Navy (Rev. ed.). London: Chatham Publishing. ISBN 978-1-86176-281-8.
  • Dittmar, F. J. & Colledge, J. J. (1972). British Warships 1914–1919. London: Ian Allan. ISBN 978-0-7110-0380-4.
  • Preston, Antony (1985). "Great Britain and Empire Forces". In Gray, Randal (ed.). Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships 1906–1921. Annapolis, Maryland: Naval Institute Press. pp. 1–104. ISBN 0-85177-245-5.
  • Silverstone, Paul H. (1984). Directory of the World's Capital Ships. New York: Hippocrene Books. ISBN 0-88254-979-0.
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