HMS Glorious is a Croiseur Cuirassé of the Royal Navy (marine Britannique) during the First World War, entirely renovated and modified in Porte-avions of February 1924 at March 1930 for the needs for Royal Navy, and which was bombarded and run by the German battleships Scharnhorst and Gneisenau during the evacuation of the Norway, the June 8th 1940.
First World War
The HMS Glorious was a man-of-war of the royal navy, designed for remote missions, like “light cruiser armoured” during the First World War. On the same design as its Sistership HMS Courageous , and its derivative HMS Furious , these ships were, on the idea of the admiral Lord Fisher, conceived to support British operations out of not very deep water and the Baltic.
The HMS Glorious was built on the shipyard Harland & Wolf, close to Belfast (Northern Ireland). Classified light armoured cruiser, it was however equipped with Canon S of 15 inches, but was only slightly armoured. Its skittle posed on May 1st 1915, the HMS Glorious is launched the April 20th 1916, its completed work the October 14th 1916, the ship was commissioned in January 1917. Its construction cost on the whole: 2119065 £ .
Its machines were similar to those of a cruiser of the time, the HMS Champion , i.e. made up of two whole of rods connected to four axes. In 1917, the HMS Glorious carried out tests, successfully, on the open sea and at full speed (23 nodes), of launching of torpedes, which, at the time, was an exploit and was not possible that by Sous-marin S of last generation, because of the pressure of little controlled water.
Its secondary armament was of a new type and composed of three guns of 4 inches, designed to provide a fast shooting against the Torpilleur S enemies. The chargers of these guns in fact badly were designed, and singularly decreased their effectiveness. Because of its light design and another defects, the HMS Glorious remained in repair more time than the average, and gained there the nickname of Uproarious (“the laughing one”, “désopilant it”).
The HMS Glorious becomes Ship-admiral 3rd Light Cruiser Squadron , and later of the 1st Light Cruiser Squadron . The November 17th 1917, with the HMS Courageous and the HMS Repulse , it engaged, without suffering any damage, the German forces in bay of Heligoland in the North Sea.
In 1918, short platforms of takeoff for planes were assembled on the two turrets of 15 inches. The November 21st 1918, it will be present at the signature of rendering of the German fleet.
In 1919, it will be attached to the artillery school with Devonport like Navire-école of artillery, and later, it will be the flagship of the fleet of reserve.
Transformation
When the Traité of Washington was signed in 1922, the HMS Glorious was not operational any more, and a decision was made to transform it into Porte-avions. The combination of a large hull and a sufficiently important speed for the time, added to missed original design, will make of him an ideal candidate for this transformation. The work of conversion of the ship starts in 1924, and will be completed during the start-up the March 10th 1930. Work will start on the building sites of Rosyth, but after its closing in 1929, the ship will be transferred on the shipyard from Devonport for completion, this transformation will cost: 2137374 £.
At the time of its transformation in the aircraft carrier, the HMS Glorious was equipped with two bridges: a principal bridge, and a secondary bridge located in front of the ship. During the recasting of 1935 - 1936, this bridge secondary will be replaced by a turret of anti-aircraft guns. Two Catapult S able to launch planes weighing more than 4,5 tons will be installed on the principal bridge.
The aircraft carrier had hangars on two levels, of 550 feet length and 24 feet (7,3 m) top each one, to place 48 planes there. Initially, it transported Fairey Flycatcher, Blackburn Ripon, of Fairey Swordfish and reconnaissance aircraft Fairey IIID, then Fairey Swordfish and Gloster Gladiator. The HMS Glorious could be differentiated from its twin ship, the HMS Courageous , by the larger round-off of its flight deck to the poop, this last having also a tripod mast instead of a simple mast.
It is to be noticed that the HMS Glorious , after transformation into Porte-avions (heavier), reached with the tests an high speed with the Croiseur under the same normal conditions of load, undoubtedly thanks to the modifications and with installations of the boilers.
April 1st 1931, it entered in collision with the Paquebot French Florida , with 60 miles of Gibraltar, severely damaging the hull of the steamer and causing 30 dead (including 1 only sailor of the HMS Glorious ). It collected the passengers on his board and towed the Florida with Málaga.
The turrets of 15 inches which were withdrawn from the HMS Glorious following its recasting, were installed later on HMS '' Vanguard '' (turrets front has and B).
Second world war
At the beginning of the Second world war, the HMS Glorious will sail with the Mediterranean fleet, but in October 1939, it will be sent, via the Suez Canal, in the Indian Ocean to take part in research and the hunting of the German battleship of pocket Graf Spee .
At the time of the invasion of Norway in April 1940, the HMS Glorious was recalled and the April 23rd, it will arrive in Great Britain with HMS '' Ark Royal '', and will set out again the following day for Norwegian water.
April 27th, it will turn over to Great Britain to restock itself while carburizing, and on May 1st, will go again to Norway to tackle the German positions. At the time of this voyage return, it transported of Gloster Gladiators to Norway to operate since a cold lake, but these apparatuses were quickly destroyed by the Germans.
The May 28th, it fights with Bardufoss in the north of the Norway, without naval escort for lack of Destroyer available, with only the assistance of a squadron of RAF, for the cover of the evacuation of the allied troops. The June 2nd, it will cover the evacuation of the allied troops of Narvik (Comté of Nordland), and of Norway starting from the June 5th (Opération Alphabet).
The June 8th, the HMS Glorious , under the command of the captain Guy D' Oyly-Hughes (specialist in the submarines) with only ten months of experiment in operations of aircraft carrier, embarked on its board ten Gloster Gladiator and eight Hawker Hurricane, coming from the 46e and 246e squadron from the RAF. It was the first landing of modern planes not provided with hooks of landing.
The HMS Glorious left a large convoy to sail independently to go back to the United Kingdom. At the time of its return towards Scapa Flow, whereas they were in Norwegian water, the aircraft carrier and its two escort ships, the destroyers HMS Acasta and Burning HMS , were intercepted by the armoured cruisers German Scharnhorst and Gneisenau . The three buildings will be run in less than 70 minutes, with roughly 170 marine miles (315 kilometers) in the west of Harstad, with: 1519 men. There will be only 45 survivors.
The Scharnhorst , very damaged by a torpedo of HMS Acasta German , and two other buildings touched by many shells of 120 will be constrained, with the Gneisenau , to leave the places to withdraw itself at the German base of Trondheim (Norway), which will allow the convoy evacuation allied troops to have the free passage of any opposition later in the course of the day.
Others
In 1997, the television channel Chanel 4 (the U.K.) off turned documentary in the series “ Secret History ” named The Tragedy HMS Glorious and interviewed one of the pilots surviving of the RAF.
Notes & references
| Random links: | Saint-Symphorien-on-Couze | Yvon Bertin | Garevina | Lake Nettilling | Burn (figure) |