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| HMS Inflexible (1907) | |
|---|---|
| Ship name | HMS Inflexible |
| Ship country | United Kingdom |
| Ship ordered | 1905 |
| Ship builder | Armstrong Whitworth |
| Ship laid down | 1905 |
| Ship launched | 27 September 1907 |
| Ship commissioned | 1908 |
| Ship decommissioned | 19xx |
| Ship fate | Sold for scrap 1921 |
| Ship class | Invincible-class battlecruiser |
| Ship displacement | 17,250 long tons (normal) |
| Ship length | 567 ft |
| Ship beam | 78 ft 6 in |
| Ship draught | 29 ft |
| Ship propulsion | Parsons steam turbines |
| Ship speed | 25 knots |
| Ship range | 3,090 nmi at 10 kn |
| Ship complement | ~755 |
| Ship armament | see below |
| Ship armor | see below |
HMS Inflexible (1907) was an Invincible-class battlecruiser built for the Royal Navy in the first decade of the 20th century. Designed and ordered in the wake of the Dreadnought revolution and the Russo-Japanese War, she combined heavy armament with high speed for commerce protection and fleet scouting. Commissioned before World War I, Inflexible served in the Mediterranean Sea, at the Battle of Heligoland Bight, the Battle of the Falkland Islands, and in the Dardanelles Campaign, later serving with the Grand Fleet.
Inflexible was one of three ships of the Invincible-class designed under the supervision of Admiralty officials responding to fleet requirements influenced by studies of the Battle of Tsushima and the concepts advanced by Alfred Thayer Mahan and debates within the Naval Defence Act 1889 era. Built by Armstrong Whitworth at Elswick and laid down in 1905, she embodied innovations developed at the Royal Dockyards and by firms supplying Parsons turbines and Yarrow boilers. Her hull form and machinery were intended to exceed the speed record of contemporary pre-dreadnought and early dreadnought designs, incorporating lessons from trials conducted by HMS Dreadnought and HMS Invincible (1907) class trials. Construction milestones were watched by officials from the First Sea Lord office and observers from continental navies including delegations from the Imperial German Navy and the French Navy.
Her main battery consisted of eight 12-inch (305 mm) guns mounted in four twin turrets, reflecting armament trends seen in HMS Dreadnought and contemporary German battlecruiser designs such as SMS Von der Tann. Secondary and anti-torpedo-boat armament included sixteen 4-inch (102 mm) guns and multiple 3-pounder and machine guns supplied by manufacturers influenced by contracts with Vickers and Elswick Ordnance Company. Torpedo tubes and fire-control equipment were installed with components produced by HMS Excellent establishments and firms like Rangefinder Company suppliers. Armor protection was lighter than that of contemporaneous battleships to save weight for speed; the belt, turrets, and conning tower used Krupp cemented armor and steel supplied via British Steel contractors, reflecting debates between proponents of speed pioneered by the battlecruiser concept and advocates of heavy protection such as Admiral Sir John Fisher’s opponents.
After commissioning in 1908 Inflexible joined the Home Fleet and then the Mediterranean Fleet, participating in peacetime exercises and showing the flag at ports in the Mediterranean Sea, including visits to Gibraltar, Malta, Alexandria, and Constantinople. She conducted fleet maneuvers with squadrons under commanders from the Channel Fleet and worked with cruisers such as HMS Indefatigable and HMS Invincible. During the July Crisis of 1914 Inflexible was active in operations projecting British naval power in concert with elements of the 2nd Cruiser Squadron and inter-operating with allied navies including detachments from the French Navy and the Royal Australian Navy.
With the outbreak of World War I Inflexible was deployed first to the North Sea and subsequently detached to hunting squadrons tasked with countering German Imperial Navy raiders. She took part in the Battle of Heligoland Bight and later played a prominent role in the Battle of the Falkland Islands pursuing and engaging light and armored cruisers including ships of the Kaiserliche Marine such as SMS Scharnhorst-class units in actions influenced by the earlier Battle of Coronel. Following transfer to the Mediterranean Theatre she supported the Dardanelles Campaign and operations against Ottoman Empire coastal defenses, providing bombardment and covering troop landings at Gallipoli, cooperating with ships from the Royal Naval Division and escorts drawn from the Royal Canadian Navy. Later assigned to the Grand Fleet, Inflexible screened battle squadrons, conducted patrols in the North Sea and participated in fleet exercises with units from the Battle Cruiser Fleet and the Grand Fleet flagship formations under the command structure of Admiral Sir John Jellicoe.
After Armistice Inflexible was reduced to reserve as the Washington Naval Treaty negotiations and postwar budget constraints reshaped the Royal Navy order of battle. She was placed in commission and decommission cycles at Portsmouth and later sold for scrap in 1921, the sale overseen by shipbreakers who processed ex-naval tonnage alongside other disposed units such as HMS New Zealand (1911) and several pre-dreadnoughts. The disposal reflected interwar naval disarmament trends and the Royal Navy’s attempts to modernize within fiscal limits set by Parliament and the Ministry of Defence predecessors.
Inflexible’s wartime service included notable engagements and incidents that influenced contemporary and later naval thought, including lessons on armor distribution and magazine protection that informed postwar capital ship design debates involving figures like Sir Reginald Bacon and institutions such as the Admiralty Naval Staff. Her participation at the Battle of the Falkland Islands contributed to the restoration of British morale after Coronel, while her operations in the Dardanelles Campaign fed into wider analyses conducted by inquiries such as those later referenced by historians from the Imperial War Museum and academics at King’s College London and University of Oxford. Surviving plans, models, and artifacts related to Inflexible are preserved in collections at institutions including the National Maritime Museum and archives of shipbuilders like Armstrong Whitworth, underpinning studies in naval architecture and the evolution of the battlecruiser concept.
Category:Invincible-class battlecruisers Category:Ships built by Armstrong Whitworth