The Royal Arthur-class battlecruisers were a unique single-ship class built for the Royal Australian Navy immediately prior to World War I. The design was considered for construction during the 1909 Imperial Conference on Defence, but was ultimately rejected in favor of the more conventional Queensland-class. Agitation by the Navy League of Australia and national newspapers, fueled by the "Navy Scare" of 1909, lead to a massive popular subscription which eventually provided enough funds for the construction of an additional battlecruiser. Completed in 1913 and attached to the 1st Battlecruiser Squadron at the outbreak of war, HMAS Royal Arthur fought in the 1914 Battle of Heligoland Bight, but was under refit in January 1915 when the Battle of Dogger Bank took place. On the afternoon of 31 May 1916, during the first phase of the Battle of Jutland, HMAS Royal Arthur was hit by two shells from the German battlecruiser SMS Kronprinzessin Cecilie, resulting in a flash fire that reached the magazines and destroyed the ship.
Advertisement
115
pages
Royal Arthur-class battlecruiser
Advertisement