HMS King George V 19411255 viewsKing George V, of the battleship class with the same name, was built by Vickers-Armstrong at Barrow-in-Furness and laid down on 1 January 1937, launched on 21 February 1937, and commissioned on 11 December 1940.
She was the flagship of the Home Fleet under the command of Admiral Sir John Tovey, and was involved in the chase for the German battleship Bismarck. On 27 May 1941, she and Rodney poured a large number of shells into to the hull of the ill-fated ship.
While escorting convoy PQ-15 to Murmansk on 1 May 1942, King George V collided with the destroyer HMS Punjabi, resulting in the sinking of the latter ship and minimal damage to the battleship.
In the Mediterranean, King George V covered the landings at Sicily, as well as having the honour of transporting Prime Minister Winston Churchill back to Britain from the Tehran Conference.
From 1944 to the surrender of Japan, King George V served with the British Pacific Fleet, and was present at Japan during the official surrender ceremony.
She was recommissioned as flagship of the Home Fleet in 1946. Just three years later, King George V decommissioned into the Reserve Fleet and subsequently scrapped at Dalmuir in 1957.
|
|
1912 HMS Iron Duke850 viewsHMS Iron Duke was a battleship of the Royal Navy, the lead ship of her class, named in honour of Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington. She served as the flagship of the Grand Fleet during World War I. She was the flagship of the Grand Fleet at the battle of Jutland. For the majority of the Great War she was based with the rest of the Grand Fleet at Scapa Flow.
Iron Duke was launched on 12 October 1912 at Portsmouth, England, the first of her class. After commissioning, she joined the Home Fleet as the flagship of Admiral Sir George Callaghan. Shortly before the beginning of hostilities, Callaghan was relieved by Admiral Sir John Jellicoe, who made Iron Duke the flagship of the newly organized Grand Fleet. Her only major combat service during World War I came in the battle of Jutland, 31 May 1916, where she served in the 2nd Battle Squadron. She later became the flagship of Admiral Sir David Beatty when he assumed command of the Grand Fleet in late 1916.
After the war, she was transferred to the Mediterranean Fleet, where she again served as flagship, this time for Admiral Sir John de Robeck. She served with the Mediterranean and Atlantic Fleets until she was paid off in 1929. In the remainder of the inter-war years she served as a training vessel. During World War II she was used as a base ship at Scapa Flow, where she was forced to beach during an air attack in 1939. She was refloated and saw continued service until the conclusion of hostilities. She was sold in 1946 as scrap, and broken up in Glasgow in 1948.
|
|
|
|
| 2 Navy pictures on 1 page(s) |
|
