:HMS Cordelia (1914)

The C-class cruisers were intended to escort the fleet and defend it against enemy destroyers attempting to close within torpedo range.Friedman, pp. 38, 42 Ordered in July–August 1913 as part of the 1913–14 Naval Programme,Friedman, p. 42 the Carolines were enlarged and improved versions of the preceding {{sclass|Arethusa|cruiser|||1913}}s. The ships were {{convert|446|ft|m|1}} long overall, with a beam of {{convert|41|ft|6|in|m|1}} and a mean draught of {{convert|16|ft|m|1}}. Cordelia displaced {{convert|4175|LT|t|lk=on}} at normal load and {{convert|4676|LT|t}} at deep load. She had a metacentric height of {{cvt|1.33|ft}} at light load and {{cvt|2.78|ft}} at deep load.

The Carolines were powered by four direct-drive Parsons steam turbines, each driving one propeller shaft using steam generated by eight Yarrow boilers. The turbines produced a total of {{convert|40000|shp|lk=on}} which gave them a speed of {{convert|28.5|kn|lk=in}}. The ships carried enough fuel oil to give them a range of {{convert|3680|nmi|lk=in}} at {{convert|18|kn}}.Raven & Roberts, p. 403 The ship had a crew of 301 officers and ratings.

The main armament of the Carolines consisted of two BL six-inch (152 mm) Mk XII guns that were mounted on the centreline in the stern, with one gun superfiring over the rearmost gun. Her secondary armament consisted of eight QF 4 inch naval gun Mk IV, XII, XXII in single pivot mounts; four on each side, one pair forward of the bridge, another pair abaft it on the forecastle deck and the other two pairs one deck lower amidships. For anti-aircraft defence, the ships were fitted with one QF 6-pounder Hotchkiss gun.Raven & Roberts, p. 402 They also mounted a pair of twin-tube rotating mounts for British 21-inch torpedo torpedoes, one on each broadside. The Carolines were protected by a waterline belt amidships that ranged in thickness from {{convert|1|-|3|in}} and a {{convert|1|in|adj=on}} deck. The walls of their conning tower were six inches thick.

In August 1915, her six-pounder anti-aircraft (AA) gun was replaced by an Ordnance QF 3-pounder Vickers AA gun. In September–October 1917 the ship's armament was extensively revised. Her forward pair of 4-inch guns were replaced by another six-inch gun, her aftmost four-inch guns were replaced by another pair of 21-inch torpedo mounts and a QF four-inch Mk V gun replaced her three-pounder AA gun. In addition, her pole foremast was replaced by a tripod mast that was fitted with a gunnery director, her conning tower was replaced by a lighter one with thinner armour ({{convert|0.75|in|mm}}) and a flying-off platform installed over the forecastle. This was removed between April and August 1918 when an additional six-inch gun was added abaft the funnels in lieu of her forward main-deck four-inch guns. Cordelia{{'}}s last four-inch guns, including the Mk V AA gun, were replaced in 1919 by a pair of QF 3-inch 20 cwt"Cwt" is the abbreviation for hundredweight, 20 cwt referring to the weight of the gun. AA guns abaft the bridge, where the four-inch guns had originally been located. Sometime between 1919 and 1923, the ship received a pair of QF 2 pounder naval gun#QF 2-pounder Mark II guns on single mounts. All of these changes adversely affected the ship's stability and the additional 21-inch torpedo tubes and the aft control position were removed by the end of 1921.Raven & Roberts, pp. 46, 48–50

Cordelia, the third ship of her name in the Royal Navy, was laid down by Pembroke Dockyard in Pembroke Dock, Wales,Colledge, p. 96 on 21 July 1913. She was launched on 23 February 1914, and completed in January 1915.Preston, p. 56 Commissioned into service in the Royal Navy that same month, Cordelia was assigned to the 1st Light Cruiser Squadron (LCS) of the Grand Fleet.Preston, p. 57

In early August 1914, Cordelia and the rest of her squadron were among the ships dispatched to hunt for the German commerce raider {{SMS|Meteor|1914|6}}, which was trying to return to Germany. Although the squadron did not find her, the German ship was forced to scuttle herself by other British cruisers on 9 August to avoid being captured.Corbett, pp. 122–126

During the Battle of Jutland on 31 May-1 June 1916, the 1st LCS was assigned to screen Vice-Admiral David Beatty's battlecruisers and were the first British ships to spot and engage the ships of the German High Seas Fleet on the afternoon of 31 May. Cordelia fired four rounds from her main armament at the light cruiser {{SMS|Elbing||2}}, but they fell short of the target. The ship was not heavily engaged during the battle and only fired a total of a dozen rounds from her six-inch guns and three from her four-inch guns. So far as is known, she did not hit anything, nor was she damaged herself.Campbell, pp. 31–32, 360 By October 1917, she had been transferred to the 4th Light Cruiser Squadron.{{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/navylistoct1917grea|website=National Library of Scotland|publisher=Admiralty|date=October 1917|access-date=30 March 2016|page=10}}

Cordelia remained with the 4th LCS through at least 1 February 1919.{{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/navylistfeb1919grea|website=National Library of Scotland|publisher=Admiralty|date=1 February 1919|access-date=30 March 2016|page=10|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160401010101/https://archive.org/details/navylistfeb1919grea|archive-date=1 April 2016}} Later that month, she was reduced to reserve at Devonport.{{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/navylistmar1919grea|website=National Library of Scotland|publisher=Admiralty|date=1 March 1919|access-date=30 March 2016|page=19}} By 1 May 1919, however, she had been assigned to the Devonport Gunnery School,{{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/navylistmay1919grea|website=National Library of Scotland|publisher=Admiralty|date=1 May 1919|access-date=30 March 2016|page=19|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160401010101/https://archive.org/details/navylistmay1919grea|archive-date=1 April 2016}} and by 18 January 1920 she had recommissioned for service in the 2nd Light Cruiser Squadron in the Atlantic Fleet.{{cite web|title=The Navy List for February 1920|url=https://archive.org/details/navylistFeb1920grea|website=National Library of Scotland|publisher=Admiralty|date=18 January 1920|access-date=30 March 2016|page=701}} and remained there through 18 December 1920.{{cite web|title=The Navy List for January 1921|url=https://archive.org/details/navylistjan1921grea|website=National Library of Scotland|publisher=Admiralty|date=18 December 1920|access-date=30 March 2016|page=701}}

In 1921, Cordelia joined the light cruisers {{HMS|Caledon|D53|2}}, {{HMS|Castor|1915|2}}, and {{HMS|Curacoa|D41|2}} and the destroyers {{HMS|Vanquisher|D54|2}}, {{HMS|Vectis|D51|2}}, {{HMS|Venetia|D53|2}}, {{HMS|Viceroy|D91|2}}, {{HMS|Violent|D57|2}}, {{HMS|Viscount|D92|2}}, {{HMS|Winchelsea|D46|2}}, and {{HMS|Wolfhound|D56|2}} in a Baltic cruise, departing British waters on 1 September. The ships crossed the North Sea and transited the Kaiser Wilhelm Canal to enter the Baltic Sea, where they called at Danzig in the Free City of Danzig; Memel in the Klaipėda Region; Liepāja and Riga, Latvia; Tallinn, Estonia; Helsinki, Finland; Stockholm, Sweden; Copenhagen, Denmark; Gothenburg, Sweden; and Kristiania, Norway. The ships left Kristiania on 13 September, making for Invergordon.{{cite web|last1=Smith|first1=George|title=HMS VANQUISHER, BALTIC CRUISE 1921: Diary and Photographs|url=http://www.naval-history.net/WW1z06Baltic.htm|website=Naval-history.net}}

Cordelia patrolled off the coast of Ireland in 1922 during the Irish Civil War. In December 1922, she was decommissioned and placed in the Nore Reserve. She was sold for scrap in July 1923.

{{reflist|group=Note}}

{{reflist|30em}}

• {{Cite book|last=Campbell|first=N. J. M.|title=Jutland: An Analysis of the Fighting|publisher=Naval Institute Press|location=Annapolis, Maryland|year=1986|isbn=0-87021-324-5}}
• {{cite book |last1=Colledge |first1=J. J. |title=Ships of the Royal Navy: The Complete Record of all Fighting Ships of the Royal Navy from the 15th Century to the Present |date=2020 |publisher=Seaforth Publishing |location=Barnsley, UK |isbn=978-1-5267-9327-0 |edition=5th revised and updated|first2=Ben|last2=Warlow|first3=Steve|last3=Bush|name-list-style=amp}}
• {{cite book|last=Corbett|first=Julian|author-link=Julian Corbett|title=Naval Operations|edition=reprint of the 1940 second |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: Two World Wars and After|year=2010|publisher=Seaforth Publishing |location=Barnsley, UK|isbn=978-1-59114-078-8 |author-link=Norman Friedman}}
• {{cite book|last=Newbolt|first=Henry|title=Naval Operations|edition=reprint of the 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}}
• {{cite book|last=Newbolt|first=Henry|title=Naval Operations|edition=reprint of the 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 |name-list-style=amp |chapter=Great Britain and Empire Forces|first1=Antony|last1=Preston|author-link=Antony Preston|pages=1–104}}
• {{cite book|last1=Raven|first1=Alan|last2=Roberts|first2=John|title=British Cruisers of World War Two|publisher=Naval Institute Press |location=Annapolis, Maryland|year=1980|isbn=0-87021-922-7|name-list-style=amp}}

{{Commons category|HMS Cordelia (1914)}}

• [http://www.worldwar1.co.uk/light-cruiser/hms-Caroline.html Ships of the Caroline class]
• [https://www.jutlandcrewlists.org/cordelia Battle of Jutland Crew Lists Project - HMS Cordelia Crew List]

{{C class cruiser}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cordelia}}

Category:C-class cruisers

Category:Ships built in Pembroke Dock

Category:1914 ships

Category:World War I cruisers of the United Kingdom