HMS Boadicea (1908)

HMS "Boadicea" was the lead ship of the "Boadicea" class scout cruisers which served with the Royal Navy. She was built at Pembroke Dockyard, being laid down in June 1907, launched on 14 May 1908 and commissioned in June 1909.

Design

Designed to provide destroyer flotillas with a command ship capable of outclassing enemy destroyers with her six four inch (102 mm) guns, she proved too slow in service from the start of her career. Her twenty five knots was barely capable of matching the speeds of the River class destroyers she led in the 1st Flotilla in 1909 but proved inadequate to match the convert|26|kn|km/h of the "Beagle" class destroyers which took over in 1910 and the "Acheron" class, which could reach convert|32|kn|km/h.

Career

She joined the Grand Fleet in Scapa Flow at the start of hostilities in the First World War and was attached to the Second Battle Squadron. Further shortcomings were exposed as she proved unable to take the rough conditions in the North Sea, losing her bridge on 15 December 1914, with several men drowned. She then had to return to port while her Squadron chased German raiders off the Yorkshire coast in December 1914.

"Boadicea" was rearmed in 1916, with four additional convert|4|in|mm|sing=on guns and a convert|3|in|mm|sing=on anti-aircraft gun, which was upgraded to a convert|4|in|mm|sing=on weapon before the end of the war. "Boadicea" was at the Battle of Jutland but took no part in the fighting, being judged too light in armour and firepower to engage the enemy. She actually spotted the German fleet the night after the battle but her report was not passed to Admiral Jellicoe for fear of giving away the position of the British Fleet.

She was converted to mine laying duties in December 1917 and completed three missions in that role, laying 184 mines. She operated in Dartmouth harbour from January 1921, until being sold for scrap on 13 July 1926 to be broken up at Alloa, Rosyth.

References

*Colledge
*Jane's Fighting Ships of World War One (1919), Jane's Publishing Company
* Gray, Randal (ed), "Conway's All The Worlds Fighting Ships, 1906-1921", (Conway Maritime Press, London, 1985), ISBN 0-85177-245-5
* [http://www.worldwar1.co.uk/light-cruiser/hms-Boadicea.html Boadicea class in World War I]
* [http://www.historyofwar.org/articles/weapons_HMS_Boadicea .html History of HMS Boadicea ]