HMS Superb

by Ray Agius

Original - Sold

Price

Not Specified

Dimensions

24.000 x 18.000 inches

Title

HMS Superb

Artist

Ray Agius

Medium

Painting - Watercolour On Cold-pressed 300 Gsm Watercolour Paper

Description

HMS Superb
Watercolour
24" X 18"

The advent of HMS Dreadnought produced a significant pause in the battleship building programmes of France, Germany and The United States of America, caused by the realisation that new ships would have to match her capabilities.
In order to capitalise on this pause the succeeding class of ships, the Bellerophon-class battleships were built to a design only marginally modified from that of Dreadnought.
The same main armament was retained, in the same distribution; the same machinery was installed. There were minor design improvements; the tripod foremast was placed forward of the forefunnel, to reduce the likelihood of the topmast spotting position being smoked out; and the mainmast became a full-size tripod, unlike the diminutive mainmast carried by Dreadnought. As this mast was placed forward of the after funnel, however, the spotting position it carried was itself likely to be rendered unusable by funnel exhaust.
History
Having been ordered on 26 December 1906 and laid down on 6 February 1907 she was only completed in May 1909.
Her building was significantly delayed by labour disputes in the dockyard. She was commissioned at Portsmouth on 29 May 1909 into the first division of the Grand Fleet. She undertook normal peacetime exercises with other units of the fleet, and on 24 June 1911 was present at the Coronation fleet review.
On 1 May the first division became the First Battle Squadron. She continued routine peacetime activity until 29 July 1914 when the Grand Fleet relocated to its war base at Scapa Flow. On 10 November 1915 Superb was transferred to the Fourth Battle Squadron, which changed her place in the command structure but not her geographical location.
At the Battle of Jutland on 31 May 1916 Superb was the flagship of the fourth battle squadron, flying the flag of Rear-Admiral Alexander Ludovic Duff. She received no hits and sustained no casualties. She saw no other active service during the First World War; routine exercises continued until 1918. In October 1918 she was sent to reinforce the British Eastern Mediterranean Squadron, and in November, as the flagship of Vice-Admiral Gough-Calthorpe, led a combined Franco-British force through the Dardanelles to Constantinople (now Istanbul) after the signing by Turkey of the armistice at the conclusion of the war.
In April 1919 she was relieved and sailed for England, and on 26 April 1919 was reduced to reserve status at Sheerness. In May 1922 she was used as a gunnery target, and later in the year as a target for aerial attack. In December 1922 she was sold to Stanlee Shipbreaking Company of Dover, and was towed to Dover where she was broken up. Her ship's bell is exhibited at Melford Hall, a National Trust property in Suffolk.

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June 28th, 2015

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