King George V (1939)

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john sefton
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Joined: Sun Mar 22, 2009 1:59 pm

King George V (1939)

Post by john sefton » Fri Jan 21, 2011 8:47 pm

The second HMS King George V (pennant number 41) was the lead ship of the five British King George V-class battleships of the Royal Navy (RN). Laid down in 1937 and commissioned in 1940, King George V operated during World War II as part of the British Home Fleet and the British Pacific Fleet, along with transporting Winston Churchill to the Tehran Conference.
Following the end of the war, King George V spent three years as flagship of the British Home Fleet, before she was placed into reserve in 1949. The battleship was scrapped in Dalmuir 8 years laterFollowing the tradition of naming the first battleship constructed in the reign of a new monarch after the current monarch, she was planned to be named King George VI (after George VI). However the King instructed the Admiralty to name the ship in honour of his father, George V. King George V was built by Vickers-Armstrong at Walker's Naval Yard, Newcastle upon Tyne and laid down on 1 January 1937, launched on 21 February 1939, and commissioned on 11 December 1940King George V (KG5) began convoy escort duties in February 1941. The ship also took part in an unsuccessful search for the German warships Scharnhorst and Gneisenau during the Kriegsmarine Operation Berlin.
The ship was made the flagship of the Home Fleet under the command of Admiral Sir John Tovey after the destruction of HMS Hood, and was involved in the chase and the sinking of Hood's opponent, the German battleship Bismarck. On 27 May 1941, she fired 339 x 14 inch and 660 x 5.25 inch shells at Bismarck.[1] King George's shellfire, along with shellfire from HMS Rodney, helped damage the Bismarck's superstructure and disable its main armament. At 10:39 that morning, Bismarck sank. While escorting convoy PQ-15 to Murmansk on 1 May 1942, King George V collided with the destroyer HMS Punjabi, resulting in the sinking of the latter ship with 49 crew, and bow damage to the battleship.
In the Mediterranean, King George V covered the Operation Husky landings at Sicily, as well as transporting the Prime Minister, Winston Churchill, back to Britain from the Tehran Conference.
From 1944 until the surrender of Japan, King George V served with the British Pacific Fleet. In July 1945 she took part in two bombardments of Japanese coastal cities and was present off Japan during the official surrender ceremony in September.
She was recommissioned as flagship of the Home Fleet in 1946. Just three years later, King George V was decommissioned into the Reserve Fleet and subsequently scrapped at Dalmuir in 1957
Displacement: 42,200 tons (1941)
Length: 745 ft (227 m)
Beam: 103 ft (31 m)
Draught: 32.6 ft (9.9 m)
Propulsion: 8 Admiralty three-drum small-tube boilers with superheaters
4 Parsons single-reduction geared turbines
4 three-bladed propellers, 14 ft 6 in diameter (4.42 m)
125,000 shp
Speed: 28.0 knots (1941 trials)
Range: 5400+ nm at 18 knots (11.9 tons/hour fuel burn)
Complement: 1,314 to 1,631
Armament: 10 × BL 14-inch (360 mm) Mk VII guns
16 × QF 5.25-inch (133 mm) Mk I guns
64 × 2 pounder "pom-pom" (40 mm)
Armour: Main belt: 14.7 in (374 mm)
lower belt: 5.4 in (137 mm)
deck: up to 5.38 in (136 mm)
main turrets: 12.75 in (324 mm)
barbettes: 12.75 in (324 mm)
Aircraft carried: 4 Supermarine Walrus seaplanes, 1 double-ended catapult
Notes: Pennant number 41

Wikipedia

Gibraltar SG338 St Vincent SG1518 Congo SG?
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SG338
SG338
SG1518
SG1518

aukepalmhof
Posts: 7771
Joined: Thu Apr 02, 2009 1:28 am

Re: King George V (1939)

Post by aukepalmhof » Sun Nov 24, 2013 8:52 pm

Great Britain 2013 1st class stamp
Gibraltar 1974 MS sg?, scott?
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