HMS Indomitable
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HMS Indomitable

1907 Invincible-class battlecruiser


Service Entry
1907
Commissioning Date
June 25, 1908
Manufacturer
Fairfield Shipbuilding and Engineering Company
Operator
Royal Navy
Vessel Type
battlecruiser, Invincible-class battlecruiser

* This information from Wikidata is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License

HMS Indomitable was an Invincible-class battlecruiser constructed for the Royal Navy, reflecting significant advancements over earlier armored cruisers. Built by Fairfield Shipbuilding & Engineering at Govan, she was laid down in March 1906, launched in March 1907, and commissioned in June 1908. Her overall length was 567 feet (172.8 meters), with a beam of approximately 78.75 feet (24 meters) and a deep load draft of 30 feet (9.1 meters). She displaced around 17,250 long tons (17,530 metric tons) at normal load, increasing to about 20,420 long tons (20,750 metric tons) at deep load, making her nearly 3,000 tons larger than her predecessors. Indomitable was powered by two paired Parsons direct-drive turbines, designed to produce 41,000 shaft horsepower but reaching nearly 48,000 shp during trials, enabling her to exceed her intended speed of 25 knots, achieving approximately 26.1 knots during tests. Her steam plant included 31 Babcock & Wilcox water-tube boilers, with a maximum coal bunkerage of over 3,000 tons and additional fuel oil for increased range, allowing her to steam over 3,000 nautical miles at 10 knots. Her armament comprised eight 12-inch (305 mm) Mk X guns in four twin turrets, and initially sixteen 4-inch (102 mm) secondary guns, later reduced and rearmed with twelve 4-inch BL MK VII guns by 1917. She also carried a modest anti-aircraft armament, including a 3-inch AA gun, a 3-pounder Hotchkiss gun, and a 4-inch AA gun added in 1917. Her torpedo armament consisted of five 18-inch submerged tubes, with fourteen torpedoes carried. Protection was provided by a waterline belt up to 6 inches thick amidships, with 7-inch armor on turrets and barbettes, and decks ranging from 1 to 2 inches thick. Additional armor was added after the Battle of Jutland to improve her vulnerability to plunging fire. Indomitable's service included early actions in the Mediterranean, pursuit of German ships, and participation in the Gallipoli attack in 1915. She played a notable role in the Battle of Dogger Bank in 1915, sinking the German armored cruiser Blücher and towing the damaged HMS Lion. During the Battle of Jutland in 1916, she damaged enemy battlecruisers Seydlitz and Derfflinger but was tragically sunk in just 90 seconds after a catastrophic magazine explosion, with most of her crew lost. Deemed obsolete after the war, she was sold for scrap in 1921, marking the end of her significant and active naval career.

This description has been generated using GPT-4.1-NANO based on the Vessel's wikidata information and then modified by ShipIndex.org staff.

Ships

49 ship citations (1 free) in 24 resources

Indomitable Subscribe to view
Indomitable (1907) Subscribe to view
Indomitable (1908) Subscribe to view
Indomitable (battle cruiser) Subscribe to view
Indomitable (battlecrsr, built 1908, at Glasgow; tonnage: 17250 nl) Subscribe to view
Indomitable (British ship) Subscribe to view
Indomitable (British ship): at Bizerta Subscribe to view
Indomitable (British ship): in Adriatic Subscribe to view
Indomitable (British ship): ordered to Gibraltar Subscribe to view
Indomitable (British ship): patrols west of Sicily Subscribe to view
Indomitable (British ship): seeks Goeben 9-11 Aug. Subscribe to view
Indomitable (British ship): shadows Goeben 4 Aug. Subscribe to view
Indomitable (British ship): speed and armament Subscribe to view
Indomitable (British ship): watches Dardanelles Subscribe to view
Indomitable (British warship) Subscribe to view
Indomitable (British): Battle of Dogger Bank Subscribe to view
Indomitable (Great Britain 1907) Subscribe to view
Indomitable (Great Britain) Subscribe to view
Indomitable (Lowestoft, 1908, Steam; ON: 127622) Subscribe to view
Indomitable (Naval, Steel, Screw Steamer, built 1908) Subscribe to view
Indomitable, battlecruiser (1907) Subscribe to view
Indomitable, British battle cruiser Subscribe to view
Indomitable, British Battle Cruiser (Capt. Kennedy), blockades Dardanelles Subscribe to view
Indomitable, British Battle Cruiser (Capt. Kennedy), bombards Dardanelles Subscribe to view
Indomitable, British Battle Cruiser (Capt. Kennedy), coals at Bizerta Subscribe to view
Indomitable, British Battle Cruiser (Capt. Kennedy), ordered to Gibraltar Subscribe to view
Indomitable, British Battle Cruiser (Capt. Kennedy), ordered to join Ad. Milne Subscribe to view
Indomitable, British Battle Cruiser (Capt. Kennedy), refits Subscribe to view
Indomitable, British Battle Cruiser (Capt. Kennedy), reinforces Ad. Troubridge Subscribe to view
Indomitable, British Battle Cruiser (Capt. Kennedy), sights Goeben and Breslau Subscribe to view
Indomitable, British Battleship Cruiser (Capt. F. W. Kennedy), at Dogger Bank Subscribe to view
Indomitable, British Battleship Cruiser (Capt. F. W. Kennedy), attacked by German Submarine Subscribe to view
Indomitable, British Battleship Cruiser (Capt. F. W. Kennedy), in B. Cruiser Squadron Subscribe to view
Indomitable, H.M.S. (1907) Subscribe to view
Indomitable, HMS Subscribe to view
Indomitable, HMS (1907) Subscribe to view
Indomitable, HMS (1907)
Book Ships of the World: An Historical Encyclopedia Illustration
Author Lincoln P. Paine
Published Houghton Mifflin, Boston,
ISBN 0585109486, 9780585109480, 0395715563, 9780395715567
Pages 66, 212, 267, 305
Indomitable: and Jutland battle Subscribe to view
Indomitable: joins Grand Fleet Subscribe to view
Indomitable: takes Lion in tow Subscribe to view