Newport Class Battleships.
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Algarve was all set to lay down its next class of battleship in 1905 when the
Dreadnought made the new Algarvian design obsolete. The design had been two
twin, and six single 12" guns, with triple expansion engines. The design had to
be recast. News out of Italy described the triple turret that was going to be
fitted to the Dante Alighieri, while the news out of America was the South
Carolina with its superfiring turrets. Bringing all of these new technologies
together in one ship gave a nicely balanced design. Unfortunately for the first
two ships a new bow design (the Axe) was also trialled, but proved a failure in
service, the bows of both ships being rebuilt in 1913-14.
Eventually six ships were laid down in 1906, 1907, and the last pair in 1908. By
the time the last pair were completed in 1912-13, the gun size had increased to
13.5" in the UK, and 14" in the US. This was one of the largest single classes
of battleship ever built. In 1914 the six ships made up Battle squadrons two and
three with three ships each. First War service saw the two squadrons sent across
to South Africa (accompanying the First Battle squadron) at which stage they
split, one squadron going to join the Grand Fleet at Scapa Flow and the other
squadron to Malta to join the Mediterranean Fleet and to assist in bottling up
the Austro-Hungarian Fleet in the Adriatic Sea.
The First Battle Squadron joined Admiral Beatty and his battlecruisers (see ARS
Jupiter once I have drawn it next) while the Second Battle squadron joined
Admiral Jellicoe and the Grand Fleet. 2BS took part in all the major Grand Fleet
actions making a name for themselves with accurate and hard hitting gunnery. At
Jutland they fired on elements of the High Seas Fleet, but only for long enough
to see the HSF disappearing back into the mist. None of the three ships took any
damage and returned to Algarve in 1919.
3rdBS, had a much more active war in the Mediterranean, from relieving Italian
ships on the Taranto Barrage, to exchanging fire with the Goeben when Goeben
attacked Mudros in 1917. Heavily involved in the Gallipoli campaign, Southport
received damage from two mines and had to be patched up at Alexandria before
returning to the main Algarvian Fleet repair base at Harbourton. Southport did
not return to the Mediterranean after it was repaired. The Braga received three
torpedo hits from the U32 in 1917 and sank.
The remaining five ships with the Jupiter class formed the 1st and 2nd Battle
squadrons through the Interwar years. Southport was removed from active service
in 1924, it had never recovered from the two mine explosions. Southports hull
was warped and was not worth spending more money on. The ship was scrapped after
acting as an accommodation ship, in 1934. The remaining four ships grew old
gracefully during the 1920's and early 1930's. Algarve like the French and
Italians were allowed to replace their older BB's when those ships reached 20
years of age. Newport and Portsmouth were removed from service in 1934, and the
Penzance and Estoril in 1936.
Displacement: 23,000 tons standard, 25,500 tons full load.
Dimensions: 592 x 90 x 26 feet
Machinery: 4 shaft, turbines, 34,000shp
Speed: 22 knots
Endurance: 7000 miles at 10 knots
Armour: 12" belt, 2" deck, 12/8/5" turrets.
Armament:
12 x 12" (4x3)
12 x 6" (12x1)
10 x 4" (10x1)
Crew: 860
ARS Newport (1911)
ARS Southport (1911)
ARS Portsmouth (1912)
ARS Estoril (1912)
ARS Braga (1913)
ARS Penzance (1913)
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