HMS King George V was the lead ship of her class of four dreadnought battleships built for the Royal Navy in the early 1910s. She spent the bulk of her career assigned to the Home and Grand Fleets, often serving as a flagship. Aside from participating in the failed attempt to intercept the German ships that had bombarded Scarborough, Hartlepool and Whitby in late 1914, the Battle of Jutland in May 1916 and the inconclusive action of 19 August, her service during the First World War generally consisted of routine patrols and training in the North Sea.

After the war, King George V became flagship of the Home Fleet and then of the Reserve Fleet before she was assigned to the Mediterranean Fleet in late 1920. The ship evacuated refugees during the Great fire of Smyrna in September 1922 before returning home at the beginning of 1923. King George V was reduced to reserve and used as a training ship until late 1926 and was sold for scrap later in the year in accordance with the terms of the Washington Naval Treaty.

Design and description The King George V-class ships were designed as enlarged and improved versions of the preceding .Burt, pp. 169–70 King George V had an overall length of , a beam of and a draught of . She displaced at normal load and at deep load; by 1918, the ship's deep displacement had increased to . Her crew numbered 869 officers and ratings upon completion and 1,114 in 1916.Burt, p. 176

The ships of the King George V class were powered by two sets of Parsons direct-drive steam turbines, each driving two shafts, using steam provided by 18 Babcock & Wilcox boilers. The turbines were rated at and were intended to give the battleships a speed of .Parkes, p. 538 During her sea trials on 4 November 1912, King George V reached a maximum speed of from . She carried enough coal and fuel oil to give her a range of at a cruising speed of .Burt, pp. 176, 179

Armament and armour Like the Orion class, the King George Vs were equipped with 10 breech-loading (BL) Mark V guns in five hydraulically powered twin-gun turrets, all on the centreline. The turrets were designated 'A', 'B', 'Q', 'X' and 'Y', from front to rear. Their secondary armament consisted of 16 BL Mark VII guns. Eight of these were mounted in the forward superstructure, four in the aft superstructure, and four in casemates in the side of the hull abreast of the forward main gun turrets, all in single mounts. Four 3-pounder () saluting guns were also carried. The ships were equipped with three 21-inch (533 mm) submerged torpedo tubes, one on each broadside and another in the stern, for which 14 torpedoes were provided.Burt, pp. 175–76

The King George V-class ships were protected by a waterline armoured belt that extended between the end barbettes. Their decks ranged in thickness between and 4 inches with the thickest portions protecting the steering gear in the stern. The main battery turret faces were thick, and the turrets were supported by barbettes.

Modifications

A fire-control director was installed on the roof of the spotting top in 1914, before the start of the war in August; her original pole foremast was reinforced by flanged girders to stiffen it and allow it to bear the weight of the director.Brooks, p. 168; Burt, p. 170 By October 1914, a pair of anti-aircraft (AA) guns had been added.Friedman, p. 199 The torpedo nets were removed in 1915–1916. Approximately of additional deck armour was added after the Battle of Jutland and a medium-length rangefinder was added atop the conning tower. Around the same time, the ship was modified to use a kite balloon. By April 1917, the 4-inch guns had been removed from the hull casemates as they were frequently unusable in heavy seas. The casemates were plated over and some of the compartments were used for accommodations. That same year, the spotting top was enlarged and the foremast was fitted with full-sized tripod legs to handle the additional weight. Her stern torpedo tube was removed in 1917–1918 and flying-off platforms were fitted on the roofs of 'B' and 'Q' turrets during 1918.Burt, pp. 170, 179–80

Construction and career

King George V, named after the reigning King of Great Britain, George V,Silverstone, p. 247 was the first ship of her name to serve in the Royal Navy. The ship was initially going to be named Royal George, but was renamed in 1910.Colledge, p. 188 She was laid down at HM Dockyard, Portsmouth on 16 January 1911 and launched on 9 October.Preston, p. 30 She was completed just over a year later, in November 1912, at a cost of £1,961,096 and was commissioned on 16 November. King George V was assigned to the 2nd Battle Squadron, commanded by Vice-Admiral Sir George Warrender, and was the squadron flagship by 18 February 1913. She was later joined by her three sister ships and they represented the Royal Navy during the celebrations of the re-opening of the Kaiser Wilhelm Canal in Kiel, Germany, 23–30 June 1914, held in conjunction with Kiel Week.Burt, p. 186 Princess Irene of Hesse and by Rhine and her sons visited King George V on 24 June, followed by Kaiser Wilhelm II the next day. An "at home" was held on board on the 26th to which all the notables of Kiel were invited, with Admiral Warrender's wife, Maude, acting as hostess. On 29 June, Warrender hosted a lunch for many of the senior admirals of the Imperial German Navy, including Großadmiral (Grand Admiral) Alfred von Tirpitz, and Admirals Friedrich von Ingenohl and Carl von Coerper.von Hase, pp. 35, 40, 49, 58

First World War

Between 17 and 20 July 1914, King George V 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 laterBurt, p. 188 to safeguard the fleet from a possible surprise attack by the Imperial German Navy.Massie, p. 19 In August 1914, following the outbreak of the First World War, the Home Fleet was reorganised as the Grand Fleet, and placed under the command of Admiral Sir John Jellicoe.Preston, p. 32 Repeated reports of submarines in Scapa Flow led Jellicoe to conclude that the defences there were inadequate and he ordered that the Grand Fleet be dispersed to other bases until the defences be reinforced. On 16 October the 2nd BS was sent to Loch na Keal on the western coast of Scotland. The squadron departed for gunnery practice off the northern coast of Ireland on the morning of 27 October and her sister struck a mine, laid a few days earlier by the German auxiliary minelayer . Thinking that the ship had been torpedoed by a submarine, the other dreadnoughts were ordered away from the area, while smaller ships rendered assistance. In late November 1914, King George V developed problems with her condensers, even though she had just returned from a refit. This forced the ship to be withdrawn from operations while her port condenser had its tubes replaced, which took until 12 December.Burt, p. 183; Goldrick, p. 156; Jellicoe, pp. 167–168, 173

Bombardment of Scarborough, Hartlepool, and Whitby

The Royal Navy's Room 40 had intercepted and decrypted German radio traffic containing plans for a German attack on Scarborough, Hartlepool and Whitby in mid-December using the four battlecruisers of Konteradmiral (Rear-Admiral) Franz von Hipper's I Scouting Group. The radio messages did not mention that the High Seas Fleet with fourteen dreadnoughts and eight pre-dreadnoughts would reinforce Hipper. The ships of both sides departed their bases on 15 December, with the British intending to ambush the German ships on their return voyage. They mustered the six dreadnoughts of the 2nd Battle Squadron, including King George V and her sisters and , and stood with the main body in support of Vice-Admiral David Beatty's four battlecruisers.Tarrant, pp. 28–30

The screening forces of each side blundered into each other during the early morning darkness of 16 December in heavy weather. The Germans got the better of the initial exchange of fire, severely damaging several British destroyers, but von Ingenohl, commander of the High Seas Fleet, ordered his ships to turn away, concerned about the possibility of a massed attack by British destroyers in the dawn's light. A series of miscommunications and mistakes by the British allowed Hipper's ships to avoid an engagement with Beatty's forces.Goldrick, pp. 200–214

1915–1916 Retubing of the ship's starboard condenser took from late December to 4 January 1915. Jellicoe's ships, including King George V, conducted gunnery drills on 10–13 January west of Orkney and the Shetland Islands. On the evening of 23 January, the bulk of the Grand Fleet sailed in support of Beatty's battlecruisers, but the fleet was too far away 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.Jellicoe, pp. 185, 190–191, 194–196, 206, 211–212

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 ShetlandJellicoe, pp. 217–219, 221–222 and more training off Shetland beginning on 11 July. The 2nd BS conducted gunnery practice in the Moray Firth on 2 August and then returned to Scapa Flow. 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, King George V participated in another fleet training operation west of Orkney during 2–5 November and repeated the exercise at the beginning of December.Jellicoe, pp. 228, 234–235, 243, 246, 250, 253, 257–258 Warrender was relieved by Vice-Admiral Sir Martyn Jerram on 16 December.

The Grand Fleet sortied in response to an attack by German ships on British light forces near Dogger Bank on 10 February 1916, but it was recalled two days later when it became clear that no German ships larger than a destroyer were involved. The fleet departed for a cruise in the North Sea on 26 February; Jellicoe had intended to use the Harwich Force to sweep the Heligoland Bight, but bad weather prevented operations in the southern North Sea. As a result, the operation was confined to the northern end of the sea. Another sweep began on 6 March, but had to be abandoned the following day as the weather grew too severe for the escorting destroyers. On the night of 25 March, King George V 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.Jellicoe, pp. 270–271, 275, 279–280, 284, 286 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.Jellicoe, pp. 286–290