THUNDERER

Fleet

Royal Navy

Ship Type

Battleship

Nickname

–

Ship Class

Orion

Grouping

2nd Battle Squadron

Command

Grand Fleet

Builder's Yard

Thames Ironworks and shipbuilding Company

Budget Year

1909

Construction Notes

Cost £1,892,800. By £1,000 the most expensive ship of the 1909 Super dreadnought building programme. The last vessel to be constructed by the Thames Ironworks and shipbuilding Company who declared bankruptcy after she was completed

Date Laid Down

13.04.1910

Launch Date

01.02.1911

Completed date

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Commission date

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Year laid down

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Year launched

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Year completed

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Commission Year

1912 (May)

Pennant No

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Photo Details

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Related stories

Part of the 1909 shipbuilding programme compromise - Orions part of 4 ship 1910 prograamme with four more in 1911 ("We want eight and we won't wait")

Sister ships

Monarch, Thunder, Conquerer

Eventual Fate

Turned into a cadet ship and sold for scrap

Jutland result

At 18:30 while deploying Thunderer did not open fire. She was at the rear of 3 ships. At 19:15 sighted enemy ships between Iron Duke and Royal Oak. When she opened fire, she actually fired over the Iron Duke. At 22:40 Moltke managed to get past the four Orions without being challenged or fired upon.Only fired 37 rounds of CPC. No secondary gunnery was used.

Ready for action after dock repairs

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Commander

Captain James A. Fergusson

Noteable Officers

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Crew complement

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Officers

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Ratings

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Killed

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Wounded

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Prisoners

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Displacement full Load (tons)

25,870

Artefacts Data

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Ship's Model

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Length (ft)

581'

Length (mtrs)

177

Beam (ft)

88'

Beam (mtrs)

27

Draught (ft)

24'

Draught (mtrs)

7.3

Max. Speed (knots)

20.79

Range (miles)

11,700 km at 10 kts

Range (kilometres)

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Fuel

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Propulsion

4 Parsons team turbine engines heating 18 Babcock and Wilcox boilers driving 4 shafts. Rated at 27,000 shp.

Armour Main Belt

12" waterline belt

Deck Armour

4 armoured decks - upper and main 1.5" and lower 2.5"

Turret Armour IN CM

11" on face

Conning Tower Armour

11" fore and tapering to 3"

Barbette Armour

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Weight of armour

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Armour / Displacement Ratio

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Watertight compartments

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General Notes

Single tripod to only carry a small extension mast to use for the radio antennae.

Fire Control Table

Dreyer Mk 111

Fire Control - Clock

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Primary Gun calibre

BL 13.5" Mk V guns (342.9 mm)

No. Primary Turrets

5

Guns (No.barrels)

10

Primary gun layout

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Rounds per main gun

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Effective broadside guns

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Primary shell Weight (inches or cm)

1,266.5 lbs (APC), 1,250 CPC and HE

Primary Broadside Weight

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Secondary Gun Calibre

BL 4" Mk VII guns

Guns (No.barrels) 2

16

Rounds per secondary

6

Other Armament

four Single 47 mm (1.9”) 3-pdr guns

Elevation (degrees)

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Gunnery Range (yards)

24,000 with 349 lb charge and 20 deg

Gunnery Range (metres)

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Rate of Fire (rds per minute)

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Shells expended Main

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Mines dropped

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Shells expended Secondary

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Torpedoes fired

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Gunnery Notes

First ship to carry Percy Scott's Director System. She scored top in the 1912 Firing trials. But the tripod was set behind the fore tunnel consequently very often blacking out view from the Conn as well as often making if difficult to work with the heat and fumes.The problem was only half solved with the fore tunnel taking steam from 6 boilers while the aft funnel took it from 12. Barrels wore out after 450 rounds.

Torpedo Type IN

21” ( 533 mm) Whitehead

No. tubes

3

Torpedo Type MM

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No. Mines

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Torpedo Notes

submerged

References & sources

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