HMS King George V (1911)

The first HMS King George V was a King George V class of 1911 dreadnought, with a displacement of 23,400 tonnes and an armament of ten 13.5 inch guns in twin gun turrets and a secondary armament of sixteen 4 inch guns and had a crew complement of 870, though this increased substantially by 1916 to 1,110, and had a length of 597 feet.

She took part in the Battle of Jutland, being the lead ship of the 1st Division of the 2nd Battle Squadron. Her sister-ships were HMS Centurion (1911), HMS Audacious (1912) and HMS Ajax (1912). HMS Audacious was sunk by a mine off the northern coast of Ireland; the rest survived World War I and were all decommissioned by 1924. King George V herself was decommissioned in 1919, used as a training ship between 1923–26 and scrapped in 1926.

Design and construction
The 1910 construction programme for the Royal Navy included four super-dreadnought battleships as a follow-on to the four Orion-class battleships that had been ordered the previous year. The new ships were originally to be of the same design as the Orions, but trials of the battlecruiser HMS Lion had shown that the location of the foremast between the two funnels, as standard in British battleships and battlecruisers, resulted in the fire-control platforms on the foremast being affected by smoke, and the foremast was moved before the fore funnel. The King George V class were ended up slightly larger than the Orions, allowing a little more deck armour to be carried.

While the layout of the main armament of ten 13.5 in (343 mm) guns in five twin turrets on the ship's centreline, (with two turrets forward, two aft and one amidships) the guns were modified to fire a heavier shell (1400 lb rather than 1250 lb) giving improved ballistics. Secondary gun armament consisted of the same sixteen 4 in (102 mm) guns in casemates as carried in the Orions, although their arrangement was changed, with more guns concentrated forward. Four 3-pounder (47 mm) guns and five machine guns completed the ship's gun armament, while the torpedo armament, with two submerged tubes on the broadside and one at the ship's stern, was the same as the Orions.

King George V was laid down at Portsmouth Royal Dockyard on 16 January 1911, and launched on 9 October 1911. The ship reached a maximum speed of 22.13 kn on trials, before completing in November 1912.

King George V, like Centurion was completed with a simple pole foremast, but when a director was fitted to the foremast to improve aiming of the ship's main armament, King George V's foremast was fitted with stiffening flanges to help take the extra weight of the director, eventually being fitted with a tripod mast in 1918. Two 4-inch anti-aircraft guns were mounted on the ship's quarterdeck in 1915, while four 4-in guns mounted in casemates low down in the bow of the ship, which were unusable in a heavy sea, were removed.

Career
On commissioning in November 1912, King George V entered service with the 2nd Battle Squadron, becoming the flagship of the Home Fleet.

1914 Kiel Regatta
George V and a squadron of British ships were invited to attend the Kiel regatta in 1914 just before World War I. The visit was described by a German officer, Georg von Hase, who was assigned as aide to Vice Admiral Warrender and lived on board during the visit. He described the admiral's quarters, which included a large office, capacious bedroom, bathroom and dressing room. The dining room for the admiral's mess, where the visitors were entertained, occupied the entire width of the ship. A separate drawing room accompanied it. A second smaller suite was available, which Hase temporarily enjoyed before the arrival on board of the British ambassador to Germany, Edward Goschen. Thereafter he had to make do with a cabin on a lower deck, which was still roomy compared to German naval ships, but uncomfortable and hot. Cabins were not equipped with steam heating, as on German ships, but instead most had fireplaces. Each cabin had a large leather club chair and mahogany furniture. There was a separate wardroom for the officers, consisting of a dining room and separate lounge furnished with club chairs and leather sofas.

Hase described life for an English sailor, which might typically involve a tour of duty of two years on board ship, followed by a six-month period ashore in which the crew might have leave. Sporting competitions were arranged in Kiel between English and German teams. Hase noted that the Germans won most of the events, except for football. He described the English sailors as noticeably small, that 70 men from George V were under 17, while he considered that there was also a disproportionate number of older men. Comparing notes with the Gunnery Officer, Commander Brownrigg, he noted that whereas gunnery posts were considered the most prestigious on British ships, the torpedo division was the preferred appointment for German officers. Brownrigg discussed successful practice firings at ranges of 15 km, which seemed an enormous range to Hase. A few years later in World War I both sides strove to engage at even greater ranges.

Kaiser Wilhelm II visited the ship on an inspection tour, signing the visitors book which already contained the names of many famous people. An 'at home' was held on board to which all the notables of Kiel were invited, with Admiral Warrender's wife acting as hostess.

First World War
On the outbreak of the First World War, the 2nd Battle Squadron became part of the Grand Fleet, with King George V serving as flagship for the squadron. In November 1914, King George V was found to suffer from problems with her condensers. This forced the ship to be withdrawn from operations while her port condenser was retubed, which took until 12 December, with her starboard condenser being retubed in January. The 2nd Battle Squadron, including King George V sailed from Scapa Flow on 15 December in an attempt to combat German warships that were bombarding towns on the East coast of England. When German battlecruisers and cruisers under the command of Franz von Hipper attacked Scarborough, Hartlepool and Whitby on 16 December, the 2nd Battle Squadron and the 1st Battlecruiser Squadron was deployed to try and intercept the German force, unaware that the German entire High Seas Fleet had been deployed to support Hipper's ships. While the 2nd Battle Squadron came to within 10 miles of the much larger High Seas Fleet, no engagement occurred.

At the Battle of Jutland, the 2nd Battle Squadron was divided into two divisions, with Vice Admiral Martyn Jerram, in command of the 1st Division, flying his flag aboard King George V, while Captain Frederick Field served as the ship's captain. King George V was lightly engaged during the battle, firing nine 13.5 in rounds at the German battlecruiser SMS Derfflinger, which missed. King George V was undamaged in the battle.

Post war
King George V entered the Reserve Fleet at Devonport in 1919. In 1923, the ship became a gunnery training ship, serving in that role until 1926. King George V was then sold for scrap as required by the provisions of the Washington Naval Treaty.