HMS battleship Rodney  

HMS Rodney and her sister Nelson were the only battleships laid down for the Royal Navy between the signing of the Washington Treaty in 1922 and the rearmament programme which started in 1937. As such they were the most modern capital ships in commission at the outbreak of World War If, for the new King George V did not complete until August 1940.

Rodney and Nelson must surely be the oddest pair of battleships ever laid down, for they were the only class specifical'y built as a reduced edition of an earlier design, simply to meet a treaty requirement. No factors of cost, docking, or even a rival ship could legitimately claim to have had any major influence on their design. and they were from first to last a compromise.

The story of the 'Cherry Tree' class, so termed because they were 'cut down by Washington' began in 1921. Great Britain realised somewhat slowly that her position as the premier naval power had been seriously challenged by her erstwhile allies, the United States and Japan, neither of whom had been deflected from their purpose by such commitments as a ruinously expensive land campaign. In short, the Royal Navy found that its battle fleet would shortly be reduced to second-class status by the completion of American and Japanese capital ships armed with 16-inch guns, and di~placing up to .47,000 tons (the largest British ship in service displaced about 30,000 tons and had only 15-inch ~ns).

In order to keep level with its two rivals, and to profit by recent wartime experience, the Royal Navy ordered four capital ships armed with 16-inch guns and displacing 48,000 tons. These were known as the 'G.3' design, and were to be built under the 1921-22 Programme. The background to the Washington Disarmament Conference and the subsequent treaty is too involved to be dealt with here, but it will suffice to say that the leading naval powers agreed to limit guh-calibre to 16 inches and, displacement to 35,000 tons for battleships.

After a series of arguments, counter-arguments and compromises, the British' answer to American and Japanese new construction was agreed upon as the 'O.3' design, and two keels were laid at the end of December 1922. By remarkable expedients the 48,000 tons of the 'G.3' design had been reduced to less than 34,000 tons, without sacrificing either armament or thickness of armour. The main reductions had been achieved by halving the boiler-power, which reduced the length of hull. By a bold concentration of the main armament forward in a group of three turrets the length of hull and armour belt was further reduced, and other internal economies of weight combined to bring the displacement comfortably within the T-reaty limits.

The chief disadvantage was a tactical one, for the new battleships were slow, inclined to handle awkwardly, and had difficult arcs of fire for one-third of their main armament. This last point was lightly dismissed by naval spokesmen, who glibly claimed that 'a British battleship of such strength ought never to present her stern to an enemy'. Still, when all is considered, Sir Eustace Tennyson d'Eyncourt and his Staff produced two of the toughest battleships to serve in World War II; the chief complaint about them was that they ruined the reputation of British battleships for good looks, and always presented an ungainly profile.

Nelson was always considered a lucky ship, whereas Rodney never enjoyed the reputation of being successful. Yet, after years of being 'Rodney last' and enduring jibes from Other ships of the Home Fleet, she was the one privileged to be in at the sinking of the Bismarck. She hit the German battleship with her  third salvo, which landed on the forecastle and put 'A' turret out of action. She also claimed a hit with her port 24.5-inch torpedo, the only time one battleship ever torpedoed another .

The drawing shows H.M.S. Rodney as completed in 1928. Note the massive 175 cwt. Byers anchors, one bower and one sheet anchor to starboard, but only . a single bower anchor to port. The Rodney and Nelson were unique among British battleships in having their submerged torpedo-tubes angled on either bow, and of course the 24.5-inch torpedo was not issued for service in any other ships.
The loading hatch for the torpedoes can be seen immediately abaft the breakwater, with the loading gantry further aft.

The triple 16-inch turrets were the only ones of their kind ever installed in a British ship, and were numbered 'A', 'B' and 'X', contrary to previous practice.
The 16-inch Mark I pattern gun fired a 2,461 Ib. shell 35,000 yards at 40ш elevation, with a muzzle velocity of 2,953 feet per second. The rate of fire was one round per gun per minute.

The most interesting feature of all is the row of plates above the waterline.
These are vent plates to buoyancy spaces. In wa~ime these internal spaces could be flooded with 2,600 tons of water to form additional protection against torpedoes. In the event of a hit in the buoyancy space, the adjacent vent plates were designed to brow out and release the pressure. The sinkage was calculated at 1 foot 9 inches and the loss of speed about a third of a knot.

Rodney was subsequently fitted with an aircraft catapult on 'X' turret, but at the time of her completion she had only four Carley rafts stowed on the roof.
She and her sister were the only vessels fitted with the 4.7-inch anti-aircraft gun, and these weapons were fitted with enclosed shields during World War II.
Additional light A.A. weapons were fitted in large numbers from 1940 onwards.

The 6-inch guns aft were grouped in similar manner to the main armament forward, again with the intention of reducing the length of hull to be covered by armour. Despite the clumsy appearance of the sho~ funnel placed so far aft, this logical grouping of guns and after control positions lent Rodney and Nelson a measure of balance which made the silhouette look quite purposeful.

From 1928 to 1938 Rodney served with the Atlantic Fleet, (renamed the Home Fleet in 1932). In 1938 she had a major refit, which included the addition of armour at the lower end of the belt- A fear which had always troubled the D.N.C's department was that a diving shell would penetrate beneath the shallow belt, and the opportunity was taken to remedy this deficiency. In July 1938 she returned to the Home Fleet, and saw action in the Norwegian campaign, during which she was hit by a large bomb. After the Bismarck action in May 1941 she sailed to Boston for a major refit, and then escorted the 'Halberd' convoy to Malta.

From 1942 Rodney played an important part in shore-bombardment, and saw action during the 'Torch', 'Husky' and 'Avalanche' landings. Then came Normandy, when she was the most modern of the seven battleships allocated to provide continuous fire-support for the troops ashore. By now the Rodney was showing signs of strain, for she had not had a major refit since 1941, but she was detailed to escort two large Russian convoys; by the time her much-delayed refit was finally put in hand she had steamed 156,000 miles without overhaul, and the War was over. She went into reserve until sold in February 1948.