HMS Chatham (1911)

HMS "Chatham" was a Town-class light cruiser of the Royal Navy launched on 9 November 1911 from Chatham Dockyard. She was the lead ship of the "Chatham" subgroup.

She was initially assigned to the 2nd Light Cruiser Squadron in the Mediterranean, where she participated in the pursuit of the German ships "Goeben" and "Breslau", but in 1914 was detached to operated in the Red Sea. In November that year "Chatham" was involved in operations against the German commerce raider SMS "Königsberg". In May 1915 she returned to the Mediterranean to operate in the Dardanelles to support the allied landings at Gallipoli. She oversaw the landings at Suvla Bay, where she was the flagship of Rear-Admiral John de Robeck who commanded the landing fleet. In 1916 she returned to home waters and joined the 3rd Light Cruiser Squadron of the Grand Fleet. On 26 May 1916, "Chatham" struck a mine and had to be repaired.

After the war, "Chatham" was lent to the Royal New Zealand Navy in 1920, and was sold for scrapping on 13 July 1926 to Ward, of Pembroke Dock.

References

*Colledge
*Jane's Fighting Ships of World War One (1919), Jane's Publishing Company
* [http://www.worldwar1.co.uk/light-cruiser/hms-Chatham.html Ships of the Chatham group]