HMS Southampton was a light cruiser built for the Royal Navy in the 1910s. She was a member of the Chatham sub-class of the Town class. The ship survived the First World War and was sold for scrap in 1926.
The Chatham sub-class were slightly larger and improved versions of the preceding Weymouth sub-class.[1] They were 457feet long overall, with a beam of 49feet and a draught of 16feet. Displacement was 5400LT normal[2] and 6000LT at full load. Twelve Yarrow boilers fed Southamptons Parsons steam turbines, driving two propeller shafts, that were rated at 25000shp for a design speed of . The ship reached during her sea trials from 25720shp.[3] The boilers used both fuel oil and coal, with 1200LT of coal and 260LT tons of oil carried, which gave a range of 4460nmi at .
The main armament of the Chathams was eight BL 6-inch Mk XI naval guns. Two of these guns were mounted on the centreline fore and aft of the superstructure and two more were mounted on the forecastle deck abreast the bridge. The remaining four guns amidships were raised to the extended forecastle deck, which meant that they could be worked in all weathers. All these guns were fitted with gun shields. Four Vickers 3-pounder (47 mm) saluting guns were also fitted. Their armament was completed by two submerged 21-inch (533 mm) torpedo tubes.[4]
Southampton was laid down on 6 April 1911 by John Brown & Company at their Clydebank shipyard and launched on 16 May 1912. Upon completion in November, the ship was assigned to the 1st Battle Squadron and she became flagship of the 1st Light Cruiser Squadron in July 1913.
The ship had an extremely active wartime career. Southampton participated in the Battle of Heligoland Bight, and later in the Battle of Dogger Bank in early 1915. In May 1916, Southampton fought in the Battle of Jutland as flagship of 2nd Light Cruiser Squadron where she torpedoed the German light cruiser, which subsequently sank. In 1917, she was transferred to the 8th Light Cruiser Squadron with whom she remained for the rest of the war.[5]
Southampton was sold for scrapping on 13 July 1926 to Thos. W. Ward, of Pembroke Dock.[6]
. Julian Corbett . Naval Operations to the Battle of the Falklands . 2nd, reprint of the 1938 . History of the Great War: Based on Official Documents . I . Imperial War Museum and Battery Press . London and Nashville, Tennessee . 0-89839-256-X.
. Julian Corbett . Naval Operations . reprint of the 1929 second . History of the Great War: Based on Official Documents . II . 1997 . Imperial War Museum in association with the Battery Press . London and Nashville, Tennessee . 1-870423-74-7.