Natal was ordered as part of the 1903–04 naval construction programme as the second of four armoured cruisers. She was
laid down on 6 January 1904 at
Barrow-in-Furness by
Vickers, Sons & Maxim. She was christened on 30 September 1905 by
Louisa Cavendish, Duchess of Devonshire and completed on 5 March 1907 at the cost of
£1,218,244. Her name was assigned because the funds required to build her came largely or completely from the inhabitants of
Colony of Natal. Like her
sister ships, she joined the 5th Cruiser Squadron in 1907, and was later transferred to the 2nd Cruiser Squadron in 1909.
Captain William Reginald Hall assumed command after the premature death of Captain F. C. A. Ogilvy in December 1909 and remained in command until June 1911. She escorted the
ocean liner in 1911–1912 while the latter ship served as the
royal yacht for the newly crowned King George V's trip to India to attend the
Delhi Durbar.
Natal also had the duty of carrying the body of the U.S. Ambassador to Great Britain,
Whitelaw Reid, back to
New York in December 1912. After completing this mission, her crew gave her the nickname of
Sea Hearse. On 5 June 1913, while under the command of
Captain John Green,
Natal collided in
fog with a
fishing vessel. A court of inquiry convened to investigate the collision concluded that
Natal′s speed of when she struck the fishing vessel was excessive for the foggy conditions, but the
Admiralty declined to endorse this finding.
World War I At the outbreak of war, she joined the
Grand Fleet and in January 1915 was refitted at
Cromarty.
Sinking On 30 December 1915,
Natal was lying in the
Cromarty Firth with her squadron, under the command of Captain Eric Back. The captain was hosting a film party aboard and had invited the wives and children of his officers, one civilian friend and his family, and nurses from the nearby hospital ship
Drina to attend. A total of seven women, one civilian male, and three children were in attendance that afternoon. Shortly after 15:25, and without warning, a series of violent explosions tore through the rear part of the ship. She capsized five minutes later. Some thought that she had been torpedoed by a German
U-boat or detonated a submarine-laid
mine, but examination of the wreckage revealed that the explosions were internal. The divers sent to investigate the ship reported that the explosions began in either the rear 9.2-inch shellroom or the 3-pounder and
small arms magazine. The Admiralty court-martial into the causes of her loss concluded that it was caused by an internal ammunition explosion, possibly due to faulty
cordite. The Admiralty issued a revised list of the dead and missing that totaled 390 in January 1916, but did not list the women and children on board that day. Losses are listed from 390 to 421. With her hull still visible at low water, it was Royal Navy practice on entering and leaving Cromarty right up to
World War II for every warship to sound "Still", and for officers and men to come to attention as they passed the wreck. After numerous attempts, much of the ship was salvaged. The remainder was blown up in the 1970s to level the wreck so that it would not be a hazard to navigation. ==Legacy==