| HMS Nottingham (1913) | |
|---|---|
| Career |  |
| Class and type: | Town-class light cruiser |
| Name: | HMS Nottingham |
| Ordered: | under 1911 Naval Estimates |
| Builder: | Pembroke Dockyard |
| Laid down: | 13 June 1912 |
| Launched: | 18 April 1913 |
| Commissioned: | April 1914 |
| Fate: | Sunk by U-52, 19 August 1916 |
| General characteristics | |
| Displacement: | 5,440 long tons (5,530 t) |
| Length: | 457 ft (139.3 m) o/a |
| Beam: | 50 ft (15.2 m) |
| Draught: | 15 ft 9 in (4.80 m) |
| Installed power: | 25,000 shp (19,000 kW) |
| Propulsion: |
4 × Parsons turbines 12 × Yarrow boilers 4 × shafts |
| Speed: | 25.5 kn (29.3 mph; 47.2 km/h) |
| Range: | 4,680 nmi (5,390 mi; 8,670 km) at 10 kn (12 mph; 19 km/h) |
| Capacity: |
Coal: 1,165 long tons (1,184 t) Fuel oil: 235 long tons (239 t) |
| Complement: | 433 |
| Armament: | 9 × 6 in (150 mm) guns, 1 × 3 in (76 mm) anti-aircraft gun, 4 × 3-pounder guns, 2 × .303 in (7.7 mm) machine guns, 2 × 21 in (530 mm) torpedo tubes |
| Armour: |
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The fifth HMS Nottingham was launched in 1913 and commissioned in 1914. A light Town class light cruiser of 5,440 long tons (5,530 t), 430 ft (130 m) in length and a complement of 401 men, she had 2 in (5.1 cm) thick armour plating and was armed with nine 6 in (150 mm) guns, one 13-pounder anti-aircraft gun and two 21 in (530 mm) torpedo tubes. Seeing action for the first time off Heligoland on 28 August 1914 as one of eight British light cruisers supported by destroyers and submarines, she entered the Heligoland Bight to intercept German vessels employed on coastal protection duties, an action that developed into the Battle of Heligoland Bight.
The ship then saw action in the Yorkshire Raid on 16 December and shortly after that at the Battle of Dogger Bank on 23 January 1915. On 31 May came the Battle of Jutland, where Nottingham was attached to the 2nd Light Cruiser Squadron. On 19 August 1916, she was engaged in a sweep of the North Sea in thick mist 120 mi (190 km) south-east of the Firth of Forth when, at 06:00, she was hit by two torpedoes from U-boat U-52, and another just 25 minutes later. At 07:10, she eventually sank with the loss of only a few hands.
In December 1993, during a ceremony at Emden, Admiral Otto H Ciliax of the Federal German Navy presented the Commanding Officer of the sixth and current HMS Nottingham with a Plaque, Cap Ribbon and the Ensign from the fifth Nottingham as a gesture of goodwill and reconciliation. Admiral Ciliax's grandfather, Otto Ciliax, was the watch-officer of U-52; he recovered these items off a boat from the ship while picking up survivors and they currently reside in the Captain's Cabin Flat. The Union Jack from the ship hangs in St Mary's Church, Nottingham. It was presented by Admiral Sir William George Tennant.
References[]
- 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. OCLC 67375475.
- Jane's Fighting Ships of World War One (1919), Jane's Publishing Company
- Ships of the Birmingham group
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The original article can be found at HMS Nottingham (1913) and the edit history here.