HMS COCHRANE was laid down on 24 March 1904 and launched on 28 May 1905 at Fairfield Shipbuilding and Engineering, Govan, Scotland. She was commissioned with a nucleus crew on 18 February 1907. She joined the Nore Division of the Home Fleet on 6 March 1907 and shortly afterwards was brought into to full commission for service with the 5th Cruiser Squadron. On 1 April 1909 she recommissioned for service with the 2nd Cruiser Squadron with which she remained until September 1917. She escorted the Royal Yacht Medina in 1911–12. HMS COCHRANE, accompanied by her sister HMS Achilles and three other armoured cruisers were sent to reinforce the defences of the Shetland Islands on 2 August 1914, days before the start of the First World War. She, and her squadron, were assigned to the Grand Fleet for most of the First World War. She took part in the Battle of Jutland on 31 May–1 June 1916, along with the cruisers Minotaur, Shannon, and Hampshire under the command of Rear-Admiral Heath. However, the ship remained unengaged throughout the battle, and did not fire her 9.2 or 7.5-inch guns at all during the battle.
HMS COCHRANE was transferred to the North America and West Indies station in November 1917, but rejoined the 2nd Cruiser Squadron early in 1918. She was based in Murmansk between March and September 1918 during the Allied intervention in the Russian Civil War. She ferried Soviet troops to Pechenga on 3 May to forestall an attempt by White Finns to seize the town. On 14 November 1918 she was stranded in the Mersey Estuary, while under the control of the pilot, and later broke in two, becoming a total loss. The wreck had been broken up in-situ by June 1919.
Class and type: Duke of Edinburgh-class armoured cruiser
Name: HMS COCHRANE
Builder: Fairfield Shipbuilding and Engineering, Govan, Glasgow, Scotland.
Laid down: 24 March 1904
Launched: 28 May 1905
Completed: 18 February 1907
Fate: Stranded on the River Mersey 14 November 1918, wreck broken up
General characteristics
Displacement: 13,550 long tons (13,770 t) (load)
14,500 long tons (14,700 t) (deep)
Length: 505 feet 4 inches (154.0 m)
Beam: 73 feet 6 inches (22.4 m)
Draught: 27 feet 6 inches (8.4 m) (max at load)
Installed power: 23,650 indicated horsepower (17,640 kW)
Propulsion: 2 shafts, 4 cylinder triple expansion steam engines
19 Yarrow water-tube boilers and 6 cylindrical boilers
Speed: 23 knots (43 km/h; 26 mph)
Complement: 712
Armament: 6 x 1 - BL 9.2-inch (234 mm) Mk X guns
4 x 1 - BL 7.5-inch (191 mm) Mk II or Mk V guns
26 x 1 - Vickers QF 3 pounder guns
3 x 1 - submerged 18 in (460 mm) torpedo tubes
Armour: Belt: 3–6 in (76–150 mm)
Decks: .75–1.5 in (19–38 mm)
Barbettes: 3–6 in (76–150 mm)
Turrets: 4.5–7.5 in (110–190 mm)
Conning tower: 10 in (250 mm)
Bulkheads: 2–6 in (51–150 mm)
Delandre label
Sources and links: Wikipedia.
http://www.clydesite.co.uk/clydebuilt/v ... asp?id=282
Peter Crichton
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