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HMS ''Warspite'' was a , the sixth warship of the Royal Navy to carry the name. Her thirty-year career covered both world wars and took her across the Atlantic, Indian, Arctic and Pacific Oceans. She was involved in several major engagements, including battles in the North Sea and Mediterranean, earning her the most battle honours ever awarded to an individual ship in the Royal Navy and the most awarded for actions during the Second World War. For this and other reasons ''Warspite'' gained the nickname the ''"Grand Old Lady"'' after a comment made by Admiral Sir Andrew Cunningham in 1943 while she was his flagship. When she was launched in 1913 the use of oil as fuel and untried 15-inch guns were revolutionary concepts in the naval arms race between Britain and Germany, a considerable risk for Winston Churchill, then First Lord of the Admiralty, and Admiral John Fisher who had advocated the design. However, the new "fast battleships" proved to be an outstanding success during the First World War. ''Warspite'' was refitted twice between the wars, but advances in technology and the cumulative effects of battle damage relegated her to the role of shore bombardment towards the end of the Second World War. Decommissioned in 1945, she ran aground under tow in 1947 on rocks near Prussia Cove, Cornwall, and was eventually broken up nearby. == Design and description== The s were the last warships designed by Sir Philip Watts, the Director of Naval Construction and the naval architect responsible for .〔Konstam, 2009, p. 8.〕 ''Warspite'' and her sisters were conceived primarily as a response to intelligence reports that the Germans were planning a new class of battleship carrying 14-inch guns.〔 The ''Queen Elizabeth''-class ships were designed to form a fast squadron for the fleet that was intended to operate against the leading ships of the opposing battleline. This required maximum offensive power and a speed several knots faster than any other battleship to allow them to defeat any type of ship.〔Burt 1986, p. 251〕〔Parkes 1990, pp. 560–61〕 Watts approached Elswick Ordnance Company and was assured that they could produce 15-inch guns for the 1912 Programme battleships. With the support of Winston Churchill and, indirectly, Jacky Fisher, Watts also switched to oil-fired engines,〔Ballantyne, 2013, p. 21.〕 a radical change which significantly improved speed without loss of protection, leading to the class being considered "fast battleships".〔Konstam, 2009, p. 9.〕 Watts produced three designs and the Admiralty selected Plan RIII *, a battleship with only four turrets (as opposed to the five carried on the preceding ), but which could still fire a heavier broadside. The space saving also allowed more boilers and, with oil fuel, gave them a 3-knot speed advantage over the ''Iron Duke''.〔Konstam, 2009, p. 10.〕 ''Warspite'' was laid down in October 1912 at Devonport Dockyard and launched on the River Tamar a year later.〔 ''Warspite'' had a length overall of , a beam of and a deep draught of . She had a normal displacement of and displaced at deep load. She was powered by two sets of Brown-Curtis steam turbines, each driving two shafts, using steam from 24 Yarrow boilers. The turbines were rated at and intended to reach a maximum speed of . ''Warspite'' had a range of at a cruising speed of . Her crew numbered 1,262 officers and enlisted men in 1920, while serving as a flagship.〔Burt 1986, pp. 255, 257–58, 261〕 The ''Queen Elizabeth'' class was equipped with eight breech-loading (BL) guns in four twin gun turrets, in two superfiring pairs fore and aft of the superstructure, designated 'A', 'B', 'X', and 'Y' from front to rear. Twelve of the fourteen guns were mounted in casemates along the broadside of the vessel amidships; the remaining pair were mounted on the forecastle deck near the aft funnel and were protected by gun shields. Their anti-aircraft (AA) armament consisted of two quick-firing (QF) 〔"Cwt" is the abbreviation for hundredweight, 20 cwt referring to the weight of the gun.〕 guns. The ships were fitted with four submerged torpedo tubes, two on each broadside.〔Burt 1986, pp. 252–53, 256–57〕 ''Warspite'' was completed with two fire-control directors fitted with rangefinders. One was mounted above the conning tower, protected by an armoured hood, and the other was in the spotting top above the tripod foremast. Each turret was also fitted with a 15-foot rangefinder. The main armament could be controlled by 'B' turret as well. The secondary armament was primarily controlled by directors mounted on each side of the compass platform on the foremast once they were fitted in July 1917.〔Raven & Roberts, 1976, p. 20–21, 30〕 The waterline belt of the ''Queen Elizabeth'' class consisted of Krupp cemented armour (KC) that was thick over the ships' vitals. The gun turrets were protected by of KC armour and were supported by barbettes thick. The ships had multiple armoured decks that ranged from in thickness. The main conning tower was protected by 13 inches of armour. After the Battle of Jutland, 1 inch of high-tensile steel was added to the main deck over the magazines and additional anti-flash equipment was added in the magazines.〔Raven & Roberts, 1976, pp. 21, 26〕 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「HMS Warspite (03)」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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