Great War>Ships

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Muavenet-I Millye 1st July 1914 HMS Goliath   HMS Goliath HMS Goliath (1900 - 1915) was built at Portsmouth Dockyard, laid down on 4th January 1897, launched on 3rd March 1898, Commissioned in March 1900 and Sunk by torpedo in May 1915. A member of the Canopus class of pre dreadnought battleships designed by Sir William White for use in the Far East and entered service between 1899 and 1902. The lead ship was HMS Albion, which was followed by Canopus, Glory, Goliath, Ocean and Vengeance. The class had primary armament consisting of four 12 inch (305 mm) 35 calibre long guns and six 6-inch (152 mm) 40 calibre long guns. The introduction of HMS Dreadnought in 1906 rendered the class, and all other pre-dreadnought battleships, obsolete only a few years after the last-of-class entered service in 1902. The class saw service across the globe: in home waters, on the China Station, in the Mediterranean Fleet, in the Atlantic, in Africa, at Archangel, and in the Mediterranean where HMS Goliath and HMS Ocean were sunk during the Dardanelles campaign. The four surviving ships were reduced to subsidiary duties late in World War I and were scrapped in the early 1920s. List of Ships in Canopus Class HMS Albion HMS Canopus HMS Glory HMS Goliath HMS Ocean HMS Vengeance General characteristics The Canopus-class battleships were designed for use in the Far East to counter the expanding Japanese navy and were required to be able to pass through the Suez Canal. They were designed to be smaller, lighter and faster than their predecessors, the Majestic-class battleships, although at 421.5 ft (128.5 m) they were slightly longer. Armour The armoured belt, situated at the waterline of the vessel, was 6 inches (152 mm) thick. To save weight the Canopus class carried less armour than the Majestics, but a change from Harvey armour in the Majestics to Krupp armour in the Canopus class meant that the protective capability of the armour was maintained. Part of their armour scheme included the use of a special 1 in (25 mm) armoured deck over the armour belt to defend against plunging fire by the howitzers that France had reportedly planned to install on its ships, although this report proved to be false. Armament Like the Majestics, the Canopus class ships had four 12-inch (305 mm) guns mounted in twin turrets fore and aft. The final ship, Vengeance, had an improved mounting that allowed loading at any elevation; her turret gunhouses differed from those of her sisters in being Krupp-armoured and flat-sided (Krupp armour plates were difficult to form into curves). The ships mounted twelve 6-inch (152 mm) guns in armoured casemates as well having some smaller guns and four submerged 18-inch (450 mm) torpedo tubes. Propulsion The Canopuses were the first British battleships with water-tube boilers, which generated more power for their weight when compared with the cylindrical boilers used in previous ships. The new boilers led to the adoption of fore-and-aft funnels, rather than the side-by-side funnel arrangement used in many previous British battleships. The Canopus-class ships proved to be good steamers, consuming 10 short tons (9.1 t) of coal per hour at full speed.[7] At 18 kn (33 km/h; 21 mph) they were fast for battleships of their time, a full 2 kn (2.3 mph) faster than the Majestics. The Canopuses were able to reach 4,500 mi (7,200 km) at 10 kn (19 km/h; 12 mph) with a full load of coal. First World War Service When the First World War broke out in August 1914, Goliath returned to full commission and was assigned to the 8th Battle Squadron, Channel Fleet, operating out of Devonport. She was sent to Loch Ewe as guard ship to defend the Grand Fleet anchorage and then covered the landing of the Plymouth Marine Battalion at Ostend, Belgium on 25 August 1914. Goliath transferred to the East Indies Station on 20 September to support cruisers on convoy duty in the Middle East, escorting an Indian convoy to the Persian Gulf and German East Africa until October. She then took part in the blockade of the German light cruiser SMS Königsberg in the Rufiji River until November, during which crew member Commander Henry Peel Ritchie won the Victoria Cross. She bombarded Dar es Salaam on 28 November and 30 November. Goliath underwent a refit at Simonstown, South Africa, from December 1914, February 1915. When it was completed, she went back into service as flagship for Vice Admiral King Hall and resumed operations against Königsberg at the Rufiji River until March 1915. Dardanelles campaign On 25 March 1915, Goliath was ordered to the Çanakkale Strait(Dardanelles) to participate in the campaign there. She transferred her flag to second-class cruiser Hyacinth and departed for the Çanakkale Strait (Dardanelles) on 1 April. Commanded by Captain Thomas Lawrie Shelford, Goliath was part of the Allied fleet supporting the landing at X and Y Beaches. During the landing at Cape Mehmetçik (Cape Helles) on 25 April, she sustained some damage from the gunfire of Ottoman Turkish forts and shore batteries, and supported Allied troops ashore during the First Battle of Alçıtepe that day. She covered the evacuation on 26 April. She was damaged by Turkish guns again on 2 May. Loss. Since the Turkish Army had no long range cannons, battleships with large calibre armament like Goliath were able to remain out of range and had caused excessive casualties on the Turkish side. Though it seemed impossible, the Turkish General Staff decided to sink Goliath. On the night of 12,13 May, Goliath was anchored in Morto Bay off Cape Mehmetçik (Cape Helles), along with Cornwallis and a screen of five destroyers, in foggy conditions. Around 0100 on 13 May, the Turkish torpedo boat destroyer Muâvenet-i Millîye eluded the destroyers Beagle and Bulldog and three others and closed on the battleships. Muâvenet-i Millîye fired two torpedoes which struck Goliath almost simultaneously abreast her fore turret and abeam the fore funnel, causing a massive explosion. Goliath began to capsize almost immediately, and was lying on her beam ends when a third torpedo struck near her after turret. She then rolled over completely and began to sink by the bows, taking 570 of the 700-strong crew to the bottom, including her commanding officer, Captain Thomas Lawrie Shelford. Although sighted and fired on after the first torpedo hit, Muâvenet-i Millîye escaped unscathed. Goliath was the fourth Allied pre-dreadnought battleship to be sunk in the Dardanelles; after her loss the flagship Queen Elizabeth was sent back to England. For sinking Goliath, Turkish Captain of Muâvenet-i Millîye Ahmet Saffet Bey was promoted to rank of Commander (Major) and awarded the Gold Medal and the German consultant, Kapitänleutnant Rudolph Firle was also awarded the Gold Medal by Ottoman Sultan (Rudolph Firle was also awarded the Iron Cross 1st Class by the German General Staff because he was a German national). If you can provide any additional information, please add it here. Want to know more about Muavenet-I Millye? There are:0 items tagged Muavenet-I Millye available in our Library   These include information on officers, regimental histories, letters, diary entries, personal accounts and information about actions during the Great War. Those known to have served on Muavenet-I Millye during the Great War 1914-1918.