COURAGEOUS CLASS (2 ships)
COURAGEOUS (5th February, 1916)
GLORIOUS (20th
April, 1916) (Late Cruisers)
Displacement: 22,500 tons (about 26,500 tons full load)
Complement: 1215
Length: (p.p.) 735 ft, (o.a.) 786.3
ft
Beam: 81 ft (outside bulged)
Draught: 22.6 ft (mean), 26 ft (max.)
Aircraft: about 45
Guns:
16 - 4.7 inch HA and LA
4 - 3 pdr
50 smaller
Armour:
3" belt (amidships)
2" belt (forward)
2" (H.T.) fore bulkhead
3" - 1" (H.T.) after bulkhead
1.5" side over belt
1" upper deck
1.5" lower (stern, flat)
3" lower (stern, over rudder)
2" lower (on slopes)
Torpedo protection (H.T.): Modified bulges 25 ft deep
0.75" inner screen to boiler and engine room vents
Machinery: Parsons geared turbines. 4 shafts. Designed H.P.:
90,000 = about 31 kts. Boilers: 18 Yarrow (small tube) Fuel:
(oil only): normal 750 tons; max. 3250 tons.
COURAGEOUS - Torpedoed by German
submarine, September 17, 1939.
GLORIOUS - Sunk in action with
German battleships Scharnhorst and Gneisenau, off North Norway,
June 8, 1940. |
Armour notes: General scheme of armouring on Cruiser
lines, the 3" belt being built up of 2" plating on
1" shell plating. Decks round magazines thickened during
completion.
Engineering notes: General arrangement of machinery as
in Cruiser Champion. 4-shaft geared turbines and double helical
gearing. Have done 32 kts in service.
General notes: Emergency War Programme ships. Original
cruiser design formulated by Lord Fisher in 1915, with a view
to Baltic operations - hence the shallow draught. The lines are
remarkably fine. On trials, Courageous met heavy weather
and was driven into a head sea, straining her hull forward. Doubling
plates were added here, and subsequent trials showed the defect
had been overcome. Glorious strengthened in the same way
a year later as a precautionary measure. No figures are available
as to cost, but they are said to have run to three millions apiece.
Furious, of slightly modified design, was converted while building
into an Aircraft Carrier. Courageous amd Glorious taken in hand
for similar conversion Devonport (June, 1924 and Feb., 1924 respectively).
Work on Glorious was started at Rosyth, but on that yard being
closed she was towed to Devonport for completion. Courageous
completed March, 1928, her conversion having cost £2,025,800.
Glorious completed January 1930. |
