View source for HMS Cornwall (1902)

{{Short description|Royal Navy armoured cruiser}}
{{other ships|HMS Cornwall}}
{{good article}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=February 2018}}
{{Use British English|date=February 2018}}
{|{{Infobox ship begin}}
{{Infobox ship image
|Ship image=HMS Cornwall.jpg
|Ship caption=''Cornwall'' at anchor
}}
{{Infobox ship career
|Hide header=
|Ship name=''Cornwall''
|Ship country=United Kingdom
|Ship flag={{shipboxflag|United Kingdom|naval}}
|Ship ordered=
|Ship namesake=[[Cornwall]]
|Ship builder=[[HM Dockyard, Pembroke]]
|Ship laid down=11 March 1901
|Ship launched=29 October 1902
|Ship christened = by [[Henry Eliot, 5th Earl of St Germans|Emily Harriet, Countess of St Germans]]
|Ship completed=1 December 1904
|Ship commissioned=
|Ship recommissioned=
|Ship decommissioned=
|Ship in service=
|Ship out of service=
|Ship fate=Sold for [[ship breaking|scrap]], 7 July 1920
}}
{{Infobox ship characteristics
|Hide header=
|Header caption=
|Ship class={{sclass|Monmouth|cruiser|0}} [[armoured cruiser]]
|Ship displacement={{convert|9800|LT|t|lk=on}} (normal)
|Ship length={{convert|463|ft|6|in|m|1|abbr=on}} ([[Length overall|o/a]])
|Ship beam={{convert|66|ft|m|1|abbr=on}}
|Ship draught={{convert|25|ft|m|1|abbr=on}}
|Ship power=*31 [[water-tube boiler]]s
*{{cvt|22000|ihp|lk=on}}
|Ship propulsion=2 × shafts; 2 × [[triple-expansion steam engine]]s
|Ship speed={{convert|23|kn|lk=in}}
|Ship range=
|Ship complement=678
|Ship armament=*2 × twin, 10 × single [[BL 6-inch Mk VII naval gun|{{cvt|6|in|0}} guns]]
*10 × single [[QF 12 pounder 12 cwt naval gun|12-pdr ({{cvt|3|in}}) guns]]
*3 × single [[QF 3-pounder Hotchkiss|3-pdr ({{cvt|47|mm|order=flip}})]] guns
*2 × [[British 18 inch torpedo|18 in (450&nbsp;mm)]] [[torpedo tube]]s
|Ship armour=*[[Belt armor|Belt]]: {{convert|2|-|4|in|mm|abbr=on|0}}
*[[Deck (ship)|Deck]]s: {{convert|0.75|-|2|in|mm|abbr=on}}
*[[Barbette]]s: {{convert|4|in|mm|abbr=on|0}}
*[[Gun turret|Turrets]]: {{convert|4|in|mm|abbr=on|0}}
*[[Conning tower]]: {{convert|10|in|mm|abbr=on|0}}
}}
|}

'''HMS ''Cornwall'''''   was one of 10 {{sclass|Monmouth|cruiser|0}} [[armoured cruiser]]s built for the [[Royal Navy]] in the first decade of the 20th century. She was assigned to the [[2nd Cruiser Squadron (United Kingdom)|2nd Cruiser Squadron]] of the [[Channel Fleet]] on completion in 1903. The ship was refitted in 1907 in preparation for service as a [[training ship]] for [[naval cadet|cadets]] with the [[4th Cruiser Squadron (United Kingdom)|4th Cruiser Squadron]] on the [[North America and West Indies Station]] beginning in 1908. In 1909 she toured the Mediterranean and the Baltic, where she entertained the Kaiser who visited on his yacht the [[SMY Hohenzollern#SMY Hohenzollern II|Hohenzollern]] at [[Kiel]] on 24 June.<ref name="Purser diary 1909">{{cite journal |last1=Purser |title=Purser's diary, Royal Navy Armoured Cruiser HMS ''Cornwall'', under Captain (later Admiral Sir) William Reginald Blinker Hall (1870-1943), future Director of Naval Intelligence |date=1909 |url=https://www.richardfordmanuscripts.co.uk/catalogue/11591 |access-date=26 April 2019 |quote=Manuscript diary of the purser of the Royal Navy Armoured Cruiser HMS ''Cornwall'', describing Mediterranean and Baltic tours of duty (while Captain W. R. Hall was spying for Britain)}}</ref> ''Cornwall'' [[Ship grounding|ran aground]] in 1911 while trying to free another cruiser, but was successfully [[Marine salvage|refloated]] and repaired.

She captured a German merchant ship days after the beginning of [[World War I]] in August 1914 and was then sent to the Central Atlantic to search for German [[commerce raider]]s. Later that year, the ship was assigned to the squadron that destroyed the German [[East Asia Squadron]] at the [[Battle of the Falklands]], where she helped to sink a German [[light cruiser]]. ''Cornwall'' briefly blockaded a German cruiser in [[East Africa]] in early 1915 before she was sent to participate in the [[Naval operations in the Dardanelles Campaign|Dardanelles Campaign]] a month later. The ship was then transferred to the [[China Station]] late in the year and remained there until the end of 1916. She was then transferred to the North America Station that year for convoy escort duties and remained on that duty for the rest of the war. ''Cornwall'' became a training ship in 1919 before she was [[Ship decommissioning|paid off]] later that year. The ship was sold for [[ship breaking|scrap]] in 1920.

==Design and description==
[[File:Armoured cruiser HMS Cornwall - IWM Q 75310.jpg|thumb|''Cornwall'' during WWI]]
The ''Monmouth''s were intended to protect British merchant shipping from fast [[cruiser]]s like the French {{ship|French cruiser|Guichen|1897|2}}, {{ship|French protected cruiser|Châteaurenault||2}} or the {{sclass|Dupleix|cruiser|4}}. The ships were designed to [[Displacement (ship)|displace]] {{convert|9800|LT|t|lk=on}}. They had an [[length overall|overall length]] of {{convert|463|ft|6|in|m|1}}, a [[beam (nautical)|beam]] of {{convert|66|ft|m|1}} and a deep [[draft (ship)|draught]] of {{convert|25|ft|m|1}}. They were powered by two 4-cylinder [[triple-expansion steam engine]]s, each driving one shaft using steam provided by 31 [[Belleville boiler]]s. The engines produced a total of {{convert|22000|ihp|lk=on}} which was designed to give the ships a maximum speed of {{convert|23|kn|lk=in}}.<ref name=ck8>Roberts, p. 70</ref> She carried a maximum of {{convert|1600|LT|t}} of coal and her complement consisted of 678 officers and [[naval rating|ratings]].<ref name=f6>Friedman 2012, p. 336</ref>

The ''Monmouth''-class ships' main armament consisted of fourteen [[List of British ordnance terms#BL|breech-loading (BL)]] [[BL 6-inch Mk VII naval gun|{{convert|6|in|adj=on|0}} Mk VII guns]].<ref>Friedman 2011, p. 81</ref> Four of these guns were mounted in two twin-[[gun turret]]s, one each fore and aft of the [[superstructure]], and the others were positioned in [[Casemate#Single casemates (1889 onwards)|casemates]] [[amidships]]. Six of these were mounted on the [[main deck]] and were only usable in calm weather.<ref>Friedman 2012, pp. 251–252, 260–261</ref> Ten [[quick-firing gun|quick-firing (QF)]] [[QF 12-pounder 12 cwt naval gun|12-pounder ({{convert|3|in|adj=on}}) 12-cwt guns]]<ref group=Note>"Cwt" is the abbreviation for [[hundredweight]], 12 cwt referring to the weight of the gun.</ref> were fitted for defence against [[torpedo boat]]s.<ref name=f6/> ''Cornwall'' also carried three [[QF 3-pounder Hotchkiss|3-pounder {{convert|47|mm|abbr=on|order=flip}}]] [[Hotchkiss gun]]s and two submerged [[British 18 inch torpedo|18-inch (450&nbsp;mm)]] [[torpedo tube]]s.<ref name=ck8/>

Beginning in 1915, the main deck six-inch guns of the ''Monmouth''-class ships were moved to the upper deck and given [[gun shield]]s. Their casemates were plated over to improve [[seakeeping]]. The twelve-pounder guns displaced by the transfer were repositioned elsewhere. At some point in the war, a pair of three-pounder [[anti-aircraft gun]]s were installed on the upper deck.<ref>Friedman 2012, pp. 280, 286</ref>

The ship's [[waterline]] [[Belt armor|armour belt]] was {{convert|4|in|0|spell=in}} thick [[amidships]] and {{convert|2|in|adj=on|0|spell=in}} forward. The armour of the gun turrets, their [[barbette]]s and the casemates was four inches thick. The protective [[deck (ship)|deck]] armour ranged in thickness from {{convert|0.75|-|2|in|mm|0}} and the [[conning tower]] was protected by {{convert|10|in|0|spell=in}} of armour.<ref>McBride, p. 21</ref>

==Construction and service==
''Cornwall'', named to commemorate the [[Cornwall|English county]],<ref name=s1>Silverstone, p. 224</ref> was [[Keel laying|laid down]] at [[Pembroke Royal Dockyard]], Wales, on 11 March 1901,<ref>{{Cite newspaper The Times |title=Naval & Military Intelligence |date=15 March 1901 |page=4 |issue=36403}}</ref> and [[Ship naming and launching|launched]] on 29 October 1902, when she was christened by the [[Henry Eliot, 5th Earl of St Germans|Countess of St Germans]] (nominated for this by the local Lord-Lieutenant).<ref>{{Cite newspaper The Times |title=Naval & Military intelligence |date=30 October 1902 |page=10 |issue=36912| }}</ref>  She was completed on 1 December 1904<ref name=ck8/> and was initially assigned to the 2nd Cruiser Squadron of the Channel Fleet. In December 1906 the ship began a refit that lasted through 1907. She became a cadet training ship in January 1908 and was assigned to the 4th Cruiser Squadron on the [[North America and West Indies Station]]. On 6 August 1911 ''Cornwall'' ran aground on Pinnacle Rock, off [[Cape Sable Island]] in [[Nova Scotia]] while assisting the [[protected cruiser]] {{HMCS|Niobe}}, which had also run aground. Both cruisers were refloated and ''Cornwall'' was repaired at [[CFB Halifax|His Majesty's Canadian Dockyard, Halifax]].<ref name=gg2>Preston, p. 12</ref>

In December 1913, the ship was refitting in [[HMNB Devonport|Devonport]]<ref name=tr>Transcript</ref> and resumed her training duties after it was completed in January 1914.<ref>{{cite web|title=The Navy List|url=https://archive.org/details/navylistjan1914grea|website=National Library of Scotland|date=18 December 1913|publisher=[[His Majesty's Stationery Office]]|location=London|access-date=1 April 2016}}</ref> Over the next six months, she visited ports ranging from [[Malta]] to [[São Vicente, Cape Verde]] to [[Trondheim]], [[Norway]]. ''Cornwall'' participated in the July 1914 [[Fleet review (Commonwealth realms)|Fleet review]] at [[Spithead]] and was give a short refit at the end of the month.<ref name=tr/> Upon its completion, she was assigned to the [[5th Cruiser Squadron (United Kingdom)|5th Cruiser Squadron]] which was tasked with trade protection between [[the Azores]], the [[Canary Islands]] and [[Gibraltar]].<ref>Corbett, I, pp. 41–43</ref> En route to the latter,  ''Cornwall'' captured the German [[collier (ship)|collier]] {{SS|Syra}} on 5 August and was transferred to patrol the Brazilian coast in September<ref name=tr/> as part of the [[4th Cruiser Squadron (United Kingdom)|4th Cruiser Squadron]] under [[Vice-Admiral]] [[Christopher Craddock]].

After the German raider ''Cap Trafalgar'' was sunk, [[RMS Carmania (1905)|RMS Carmania]] was badly damaged, having lost nine men, but was able to rendezvous with ''Cornwall.'' ''Carmania'' was barely afloat when it made contact with ''Cornwall'' on 15 October. ''Carmania'' was escorted to [[Pernambuco|Permambuco]] in [[Brazil]] where the ship was repaired before being sent to Gibraltar for further repair.

The ship was later assigned to a new squadron intended to patrol the [[Río de la Plata|River Plate]] area and did not join Craddock's ships as they searched for the German [[East Asia Squadron]] off the [[Chile]]an coast.<ref>Corbett, I, pp. 263, 314, 318</ref> After Craddock's squadron was destroyed in the [[Battle of Coronel]] on 1 November, ''Cornwall'' then proceeded to the [[Falkland Islands]] with the squadron commanded by Vice-Admiral [[Doveton Sturdee]].<ref>Massie, pp. 244, 249</ref>

===Battle of the Falklands===
[[File:HMS Cornwall Esquimalt December 1914 E-38800.jpg|thumb|''Cornwall'', in [[Esquimalt Harbour]] repairing damage received during the Battle of the Falkland Islands]]
{{main|Battle of the Falklands}}
Upon arrival at [[Port Stanley]] on 7 December 1914, Sturdee gave permission for ''Cornwall'' to put out her fires to clean her boilers and repair one engine. He planned to recoal the entire squadron the following day from the two available colliers and to begin the search for the East Asia Squadron the day after. Vice-Admiral [[Maximilian von Spee]], commander of the German squadron, had other plans and intended to destroy the radio station at Port Stanley on the morning of 8 December. The appearance of two German ships at 07:30 caught Sturdee's ships by surprise although they were driven off by {{convert|12|in|adj=on|0}} shells fired by the [[predreadnought battleship]] {{HMS|Canopus|1897|2}} when they came within range around 09:20. This gave time for ''Cornwall'' to reassemble her engine and raise steam, although she had not even started to recoal. The squadron cleared the harbour by 10:30 and Sturdee ordered, "general chase". His two [[battlecruiser]]s were the fastest ships present and inexorably began to close on the German cruisers. They opened fire at 12:55 and began to straddle the light cruiser {{SMS|Leipzig|1905|2}}, the rear ship in the German formation. It was clear to Spee that his ships could not outrun the battlecruisers and that the only hope for any of his ships to survive was to scatter. So he turned his two armoured cruisers around to buy time by engaging the battlecruisers and ordered his three light cruisers to disperse at 13:20.<ref>Massie, pp. 258–265</ref>

In accordance with Sturdee's plans, ''Cornwall'', her [[sister ship]], {{HMS|Kent|1901|2}}, and the light cruiser {{HMS|Glasgow|1909|2}} immediately set off in pursuit while the battlecruisers and the slow armoured cruiser {{HMS|Carnarvon|1903|2}} dealt with the German armoured cruisers. At 14:45 ''Glasgow'', the fastest of the British cruisers, was close enough to ''Leipzig'' to open fire and the two ships exchanged [[salvo]]s and scoring the occasional hit. An hour later, the Germans scattered in different directions; ''Cornwall'' and ''Glasgow'' pursued ''Leipzig'' while ''Kent'' went after {{SMS|Nürnberg|1906|2}}. ''Cornwall'' closed on the German ship at full speed, trusting to her armour to keep out the {{convert|105|mm|1|adj=on}} shells, while the unarmoured ''Glasgow'' manoeuvered at a distance. The range from ''Cornwall'' was {{convert|7000|yd}} at 18:00 and her shells set ''Leipzig'' on fire. Five minutes later, the German ship had ceased firing and the British ships closed to {{convert|5000|yd}} to see if she would surrender. One last gun fired and ''Leipzig'' did not [[Striking the colors|strike her colours]] so the British fired several additional salvos at 19:25. The German captain had mustered his surviving crewmen on deck preparatory to abandoning ship, but the ship's flag could not be reached because it was surrounded by flames, and the British shells wrought havoc on the assembled crew. ''Leipzig'' fired two green flares at 20:12 and the British ships closed to within {{convert|500|yd}} and lowered boats to rescue the Germans at 20:45. Their ship [[capsized]] at 21:32 but only a total of 18 men were rescued in the darkness. ''Leipzig'' had hit ''Cornwall'' 18 times, but she did not lose a single man.<ref>Massie, pp. 267, 275–277</ref> The British ship rescued one officer and three ratings from ''Leipzig''. ''Cornwall'' spent much of the rest of the month searching for the German ships that had not yet been captured or destroyed before departing for home on 3 January 1915.<ref name=tr/>

===Subsequent service===
[[File:HMS Cornwall at the Royal Naval Dockyard in Bermuda circa 1918.jpg|thumb|HMS Cornwall at the [[Royal Naval Dockyard, Bermuda|Royal Naval Dockyard]] in Bermuda circa 1918]]
She arrived at Devonport on 11 February 1915 and spent the next month and a half refitting there and in [[Avonmouth]] before departing for South Africa on 23 March. The ship arrived at [[Kibondo District|Kibondo Island]] off the [[German East Africa]]n coast on 27 April to [[blockade]] the light cruiser {{SMS|Königsberg|1905|2}} in the [[Rufiji River]].<ref name=tr/> Several weeks later ''Cornwall'' was called north to reinforce the British forces involved in the [[Dardanelles Campaign]] on 10 May.<ref>Corbett, II, p. 405; III, pp. 8, 64</ref> By the end of the year, she was en route to the China Station.<ref name=tr/><ref>{{cite web|title=Supplement to the Monthly Navy List Showing the Organisation of the Fleet, Flag Officer's Commands, &c.|url=https://archive.org/details/navylistjan1916grea|website=National Library of Scotland|publisher=Admiralty|date=January 1916|access-date=1 April 2016|page=21}}</ref> The ship arrived at Singapore on 17 February 1916 and began a lengthy refit that lasted until 6 May. She then patrolled the area of the [[Dutch East Indies]] until returning to Singapore for the next several months. ''Cornwall'' departed for [[French Indochina]] on 21 July and the [[List of Governors-General of French Indochina|Governor-General of French Indochina]] visited the ship on 26 July while she was docked at [[Saigon]]. After her return to Singapore, she was inspected by the Commander-in-Chief of the [[China Station]], Vice-Admiral [[William Lowther Grant|William Grant]], on 21 August. ''Cornwall'' resumed patrolling in the East Indies shortly afterwards and continued until Grant hoisted his flag aboard the ship on 22 October as he and his staff was ferried to [[Hong Kong]]. Upon arrival five days later, Grant lowered his flag as he transferred ashore. The ship patrolled off the Chinese coast for most of November and returned to Singapore on 11 December. ''Cornwall'' departed the city on 20 December bound for South Africa.<ref name=tr/> On 16 January 1917, the ship was escorting a convoy of six [[troopship]]s when she narrowly missed encountering the German commerce raider {{SMS|Wolf|1916|6}} off [[Saldanha Bay]].<ref>Newbolt, IV, p. 210</ref>

A few days after arriving in [[Freetown]], [[Sierra Leone]], on 29 January, ''Cornwall'' dismounted four of her 12-pounder guns; two of the guns were transferred to troopships in her convoy. She led the convoy back to sea on 2 February, bound for Devonport where they arrived on 17 February. The ship then sailed to [[Liverpool]] to begin a lengthy refit and was [[Ship decommissioning|paid off]] there on 7 March. She recommissioned on 4 August and spent the next two weeks preparing to go back to sea. ''Cornwall'' departed Liverpool on 17 August and escorted at least one troopship to [[Halifax Regional Municipality|Halifax]], Nova Scotia, arriving there a week later.<ref name=tr/> She was now assigned to the North Atlantic and West Indies Station<ref>Newbolt, V, p. 135</ref> and began escorting convoys between North America and Britain on 19 September. ''Cornwall'' continued in this role for the next year and escorted her last convoy when she arrived in [[Bermuda]] on 18 October 1918. She departed the island on 14 December and arrived at Devonport eight days later. The ship resumed her prewar role as a cadet training ship on 25 January 1919. Vice-Admiral [[Morgan Singer]], [[Commander-in-Chief, America and West Indies Station|Commander-in-Chief, America and West Indies]], inspected the ship on 9 May while she was berthed in Bermuda. ''Cornwall'' returned to Devonport on 31 July and was paid off on 21 August.<ref name=tr/> The ship was sold for scrap on 7 June 1920.<ref name=gg2/> In 1922, [[Mount Cornwall]] in the [[Canadian Rockies]] was named in tribute to the ship.

==Notes==
{{reflist|group=Note}}

==Footnotes==
{{Reflist|30em}}

== Bibliography ==
* {{cite book|last=Corbett|first=Julian|authorlink=Julian Corbett|title=Naval Operations to the Battle of the Falklands|edition=2nd|year=1997|orig-year= 1938|series=History of the Great War: Based on Official Documents|volume=I|publisher=Imperial War Museum and Battery Press|location=London and Nashville, Tennessee|isbn=0-89839-256-X}}
*{{cite book|last=Corbett|first=Julian|title=Naval Operations|orig-year= 1929 second|series=History of the Great War: Based on Official Documents|volume=II|year=1997|publisher=Imperial War Museum in association with the Battery Press|location=London and Nashville, Tennessee|isbn=1-870423-74-7}}
*{{cite book|last=Corbett|first=Julian|title=Naval Operations|edition=Second|orig-year=1940|series=History of the Great War: Based on Official Documents|volume=III|year=1997|publisher=Imperial War Museum in association with the Battery Press|location=London and Nashville, Tennessee|isbn=1-870423-50-X}}
*{{cite book|last=Friedman|first=Norman|title=British Cruisers of the Victorian Era|year=2012|publisher=Seaforth|location=Barnsley, UK|isbn=978-1-59114-068-9 |author-link=Norman Friedman}}
* {{cite book|last=Friedman|first=Norman|title=Naval Weapons of World War One: Guns, Torpedoes, Mines and ASW Weapons of All Nations; An Illustrated Directory|publisher= Seaforth Publishing |location=Barnsley, UK |year=2011 |isbn=978-1-84832-100-7}}
* {{cite book|title=Castles of Steel: Britain, Germany, and the Winning of the Great War at Sea |last=Massie |first=Robert K. |author-link=Robert K. Massie|publisher=Random House|year=2003|location= New York |isbn=0-679-45671-6|ref=Massie|title-link=Castles of Steel: Britain, Germany, and the Winning of the Great War at Sea}}
*{{cite journal|last=McBride|first=Keith|year=1988|title=The First County Class Cruisers of the Royal Navy, Part I: The ''Monmouth''s|journal=Warship|publisher=Conway Maritime Press|location=London|volume=46|issue=April|pages=19–26|issn=0142-6222}}
* {{cite book|last=Newbolt|first=Henry|title=Naval Operations|orig-year=1928|series=History of the Great War Based on Official Documents|volume=IV|year=1996|publisher=Battery Press|location=Nashville, Tennessee|isbn=0-89839-253-5|author-link=Henry Newbolt}}
* {{cite book|last=Newbolt|first=Henry|title=Naval Operations|orig-year=1931|series=History of the Great War Based on Official Documents|volume=V|year=1996|publisher=Battery Press|location=Nashville, Tennessee|isbn=0-89839-255-1}}
*{{cite book|editor1-last=Gray|editor1-first=Randal|title=Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships 1906–1921 |year=1985 |location=Annapolis, Maryland|publisher=Naval Institute Press |isbn=0-85177-245-5 |chapter=Great Britain and Empire Forces|first1=Antony|last1=Preston|author-link=Antony Preston|pages=1–104}}
*{{cite book|title=Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships 1860-1905|editor1-last=Chesneau|editor1-first=Roger|editor2-last=Kolesnik|editor2-first=Eugene M.|publisher=Conway Maritime Press|chapter=Great Britain and Empire Forces|author-last=Roberts|author-first=John|location=Greenwich, UK|date=1979|isbn=0-8317-0302-4|name-list-style=amp|url-access=registration |url=https://archive.org/details/conwaysallworlds0000unse_l2e2|pages=1–113}}
* {{cite book|last=Silverstone|first=Paul H.|title=Directory of the World's Capital Ships|year=1984|publisher=Hippocrene Books|location=New York|isbn=0-88254-979-0}}
*{{cite web|url=http://www.naval-history.net/OWShips-WW1-05Cornwall1.htm|title=Transcript: HMS ''Cornwall'' – December 1913 to August 1919, Central Atlantic, Mediterranean, South Atlantic, Battle of the Falklands, East Indies Station, China Station, North Atlantic Convoys, North America & West Indies Station|work=Royal Navy Log Books of the World War 1 Era|publisher=Naval-History.net|access-date=1 April 2016}}

==External links==
{{Commons category|HMS Cornwall (ship, 1902)}}
*[http://www.battleships-cruisers.co.uk/monmouth_class.htm Monmouth class on battleships-cruisers.co.uk]

{{Monmouth class cruiser}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cornwall (1902)}}
[[Category:Monmouth-class cruisers]]
[[Category:Ships built in Pembroke Dock]]
[[Category:1902 ships]]
[[Category:World War I cruisers of the United Kingdom]]