Hercules, named after the
mythic demigod Hercules, was the fifth ship of her name to serve in the Royal Navy. The ship was ordered on 1 June 1909 and
laid down at
Palmers at their
shipyard in
Jarrow on 30 July. She was
launched on 10 May 1910 and completed in August 1911 at the cost of
£1,661,240, including her armament.
World War I Between 17 and 20 July 1914,
Hercules took part in a test
mobilisation and fleet review as part of the British response to the
July Crisis. Arriving in
Portland on 25 July, she was ordered to proceed with the rest of the Home Fleet to
Scapa Flow four days later to safeguard the fleet from a possible surprise attack by the
Imperial German Navy. In August 1914, following the outbreak of World War I, the Home Fleet was reorganised as the
Grand Fleet, and placed under the command of Jellicoe. Most of it was briefly based (22 October to 3 November) at
Lough Swilly, Ireland, while the defences at Scapa were strengthened. On the evening of 22 November 1914, the Grand Fleet conducted a fruitless sweep in the southern half of the
North Sea;
Hercules stood with the main body in support of Vice-Admiral
David Beatty's
1st Battlecruiser Squadron. The fleet was back in port in Scapa Flow by 27 November. The 1st Battle Squadron cruised north-west of the
Shetland Islands and conducted gunnery practice on 8–12 December. Four days later, the Grand Fleet
sortied during the German
raid on Scarborough, Hartlepool and Whitby, but failed to make contact with the
High Seas Fleet.
Hercules and the rest of the Grand Fleet conducted another sweep of the North Sea on 25–27 December. Jellicoe's ships, including
Hercules, conducted gunnery drills on 10–13 January 1915 west of
Orkney and Shetlands. On the evening of 23 January, the bulk of the Grand Fleet sailed in support of Beatty's
battlecruisers, but
Hercules and the rest of the fleet did not participate in the ensuing
Battle of Dogger Bank the following day. On 7–10 March, the Grand Fleet conducted a sweep in the northern North Sea, during which it conducted training manoeuvres. Another such cruise took place on 16–19 March. On 11 April, the Grand Fleet conducted a patrol in the central North Sea and returned to port on 14 April; another patrol in the area took place on 17–19 April, followed by gunnery drills off Shetland on 20–21 April. The Grand Fleet conducted sweeps into the central North Sea on 17–19 May and 29–31 May without encountering any German vessels. During 11–14 June, the fleet conducted gunnery practice and battle exercises west of Shetland and more training off Shetland beginning on 11 July. On 2–5 September, the fleet went on another cruise in the northern end of the North Sea and conducted gunnery drills. Throughout the rest of the month, the Grand Fleet conducted numerous training exercises. The ship, together with the majority of the Grand Fleet, conducted another sweep into the North Sea from 13 to 15 October. Almost three weeks later,
Hercules participated in another fleet training operation west of Orkney during 2–5 November. On 19 March 1916 the ship completed repairs to her turbines, which had kept her at Scapa for nearly six weeks. On the night of 25 March,
Hercules and the rest of the fleet sailed from Scapa Flow to support Beatty's battlecruisers and other light forces raiding the German
Zeppelin base at
Tondern. By the time the Grand Fleet approached the area on 26 March, the British and German forces had already disengaged and a strong gale threatened the light craft, so the fleet was ordered to return to base. On 21 April, the Grand Fleet conducted a demonstration off
Horns Reef to distract the Germans while the
Imperial Russian Navy relaid its defensive
minefields in the
Baltic Sea. The fleet returned to Scapa Flow on 24 April and refuelled before proceeding south in response to intelligence reports that the Germans were about to launch a
raid on Lowestoft, but only arrived in the area after the Germans had withdrawn. On 2–4 May, the fleet conducted another demonstration off Horns Reef to keep German attention focused on the North Sea.
Battle of Jutland In an attempt to lure out and destroy a portion of the Grand Fleet, the High Seas Fleet, composed of 16 dreadnoughts, 6
pre-dreadnoughts, and supporting ships, departed the
Jade Bight early on the morning of 31 May. The fleet sailed in concert with Rear Admiral
Franz von Hipper's five battlecruisers. The Royal Navy's
Room 40 had
intercepted and decrypted German radio traffic containing plans of the operation. In response the Admiralty ordered the Grand Fleet, totalling some 28 dreadnoughts and 9 battlecruisers, to sortie the night before to cut off and destroy the High Seas Fleet. On 31 May,
Hercules, now under the command of
Captain Lewis Clinton-Baker, was the twenty-third ship (or second from the rear) from the head of the
battle line after deployment as part of the 6th Division of the 1st BS. Shortly afterward, she fired at the crippled
light cruiser around 18:20.
Hercules engaged a German dreadnought beginning at 18:25 with seven or eight
salvos of her own. The poor visibility greatly hampered her return fire and was a problem for the entire battle. At 19:12, the ship opened fire at the battlecruiser , and probably scored two hits. One of her
high-explosive (HE) shells penetrated through the upper superstructure and caused minor splinter damage. The second HE shell burst on hitting the upper hull armour, which dished in the armour plates and caused moderate flooding. About five to ten minutes later, she engaged several German
destroyer flotillas with a few salvos from her main armament without result.
Hercules was then forced to turn away to avoid several torpedoes, one of which was believed to have passed very close. , flagship of the division, was hit by a torpedo and forced to reduce speed, which caused the division to fall behind the main body of the Grand Fleet. They did not rejoin until the afternoon of 1 June, as the fleet was headed for home.
Hercules received no damage and fired a total of 98 twelve-inch shells (82 HE, 4
armour-piercing, capped, and 12
common pointed, capped) and 15 shells from her four-inch guns during the battle.
Subsequent activity After the battle, the ship was transferred to the
4th BS and became the flagship of its commander, Vice-Admiral Sir
Doveton Sturdee. During this foray,
Hercules carried out the first test of a towed
kite balloon (without observers). On 24 April 1918,
Hercules were ordered north to
Orkney to support the dreadnought and the
2nd Cruiser Squadron when the High Seas Fleet sortied north for the last time to intercept a convoy to Norway. They enforced strict wireless silence during the operation, which prevented Room 40 cryptanalysts from warning the new commander of the Grand Fleet, Admiral Beatty. The British only learned of the operation after an accident aboard the battlecruiser forced her to break radio silence to inform the German commander of her condition. The British ships were not able to reach the High Seas Fleet before it turned back for Germany. The ship was present at
Rosyth, Scotland, when the German fleet surrendered on 21 November. On 3 December, she was detached to take the Allied Naval Armistice Commission to
Kiel, Germany, returning to Rosyth on 20 December.
Hercules was reduced to reserve in February 1919 at Rosyth and listed for disposal in October 1921. On 8 November, she was sold to the
Slough Trading Co. and was resold to a German company in September 1922. The ship departed Rosyth, under tow, for Kiel in October and was subsequently broken up. ==Museum holdings==