HMS Dublin (1912)

History
Name	HMS Dublin
Builder	William Beardmore and Company
Laid down	April 1911
Launched	30 April 1912
Commissioned	December 1912
Fate	Sold for scrapping July 1926
General characteristics
Displacement	5,400 tons
Length	457 ft (139.3 m) Overall
Beam	50 ft (15.2 m)
Draught	15 ft 9 in (4.80 m)
Propulsion	Parsons turbines Four screws Yarrow boilers 25,000 hp
Speed	25.5 knots (47 km/h)
Range	carried 750 tons (1240 tons maximum) coal 260 tons fuel oil
Complement	429-440
Armament	8 × BL 6-inch (152.4 mm) Mk XI guns 1 × QF 3 inch AA gun 4 × QF 3 pdr guns 4 × machine guns 2 × 21-inch (533 mm) torpedo tubes
Armour	2 inch deck on slopes 3 inch side amidships

For other ships with the same name, see HMS Dublin.

HMS Dublin, alongside Chatham and Southampton, was a Town class light cruiser of the Chatham subgroup, each costing an average £334,053. She was laid down on 11 April 1911 by Wm. Beardmore & Company in Dalmuir (near Glasgow) Scotland. HMS Dublin was launched on 30 April 1912 and completed in March 1913.

Pre-war career

She was initially assigned to the 1st Battle Squadron in 1913 and then to the 1st Light Cruiser Squadron in July 1913, operating in the Mediterranean. She was then reassigned to the 2nd Light Cruiser Squadron from September 1913 to the end of 1914.

Pursuit of the Goeben

Captain John Kelly pursued the German cruiser Goeben to Messina (off the north coast of Sicily) on 4 August 1914 just prior to the outbreak of the First World War. On 6 August after having completed coaling, Dublin left Malta at 14:00 to join Rear-Admiral Ernest Troubridge's squadron. At 20:30 she received orders to obtain the Goeben's course and sink her during the night, by torpedoes if possible. Observing at a distance, Kelly expected to engage around 03:30 but the Goeben had unexpectedly altered course to the north. The chase was lost as a daylight attack would be suicidal; Goeben’s largest guns could accurately fire explosive shells up to 15 miles away.

Gallipoli and torpedoing

In February 1915, Dublin was sent to the Dardanelles and subsequently assisted Implacable's landing assault upon Gallipoli, on 25 April 1915 at X Beach. She was then sent to Brindisi in May 1915. While taking part in a sweep off the Albanian coast, and whilst escorted by French and Italian destroyers, Dublin was hit and damaged by a torpedo from Austrian submarine U-IV on 9 June 1915. Dublin was able to get underway at 17 knots and to return to Brindisi but was out of action for several months and had to return to the UK for refit.

In home waters

Dublin served in the 2nd Light Cruiser Squadron alongside Southampton, Birmingham and Nottingham with the Grand fleet (Home) from 1916 to 1919. Now under Captain Albert Charles Scott 1872-1969, later Vice Admiral; HMS Dublin 1916-1918), she participated in the Battle of Jutland on 31 May 1916. During the subsequent night actions, Dublin fired 117 6-inch shells and along with Southampton, attacked and sank a destroyer. Both ships however sustained severe damage and three crew members were killed and 27 wounded when Dublin received five 5.9 shell inch hits from the SMS Elbing and eight 4.1-inch shell hits from Stuttgart (possibly also Frauenlob and Hamburg). Subsequent repairs to Dublin were not completed until 17 June.

On 3 May 1917 in the North Sea, Dublin with HMAS Sydney and four destroyers (Nepean, Obdurate, Pelican, Pylades), left Rosyth for a sweep between the mouths of the Forth and the Humber. At 10:25 Dublin observed the Zeppelin L43 about 17 miles away to the east, rapidly approaching a strange vessel; both cruisers promptly made for the enemy, opening fire on it at extreme range. At 10:54 Dublin saw the track of a torpedo passing ahead of her, at 11:12 a submarine was sighted, and at 11:15 another one was spotted, which fired two torpedoes at her. At 11:20 she sighted a third, which she engaged with her guns and on which she dropped a depth-charge. The Zeppelin made a direct attack: making for the stern of Dublin, and rising hastily as it flew, it endeavoured to obtain a position vertically above the cruiser in order to drop bombs on her - an attempt which was foiled by Dublin's hurried swerve to starboard.

Post-war career

Dublin was then commissioned for the 6th squadron at the Africa Station from January 1920 until 1924, though she served for a short time in April with the 3rd squadron in the Mediterranean until being sent to the Reserve at Nore in 1924. She was sold to J.J. King at Troon in July 1926 for scrapping, but Dublin ran aground on the way to the breakers. She was refloated in July 1927 and broken up later that year.

References

• Colledge, J. J.; Warlow, Ben (2006) [1969]. Ships of the Royal Navy: The Complete Record of all Fighting Ships of the Royal Navy (Rev. ed.). London: Chatham Publishing. ISBN 978-1-86176-281-8.
• Jane's Fighting Ships of World War One (1919), Jane's Publishing Company
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