HMS Blanche (1909)

HMS Blanche was a Blonde class scout cruiser of the Royal Navy. She was laid down in December 1909 at Pembroke Dockyard, launched on 25 November 1909 and completed in November 1910.

Design
Like her sister ship, HMS Blonde, she was essentially a development of the earlier Boadicea class with more 4 inch guns and, for the first time on a cruiser, the potent 21 inch torpedo. They were originally designed to operate with destroyer flotillas, and Blanche began her service career with the First Destroyer Flotilla (1911-1912), but was not really fast enough for this role – by 1912 the majority of destroyers could make 27 kn.

Career
In August 1914 she joined the Grand Fleet, and was attached to the Third Battle Squadron at Rosyth. In December 1914 she was away from the squadron, and was allocated to the force dispatched to deal with the German fleet that bombarded the Yorkshire Coast on 16 December. She was found to be too light to operate in the North Sea in winter, and was forced to turn back after she was disabled by heavy seas off the east coast of Scotland. In February 1916 Blanche was one of three ships dispatched to guard the Norwegian coast during the hunt for the German raider SMS Greif, although she did not come into contact with the German ship before she was sunk.

Blanche was present at the Battle of Jutland whilst attached to the Fourth Battle Squadron. She did not see action though, as the four attached light cruisers were sent to the rear to keep them out of danger. In March 1917 Blanche was converted into a minelayer in March 1917 and laid 1,238 mines on 16 sorties. During this later part of her career, she was commanded by Reginald Drax, later to become an Admiral. Outdated and surplus to requirements after the war, Blanche was sold for scrap on 27 July 1921 and broken up by Fryer, of Sunderland.