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HMS ''Repulse'' was a of the Royal Navy built during the First World War. Originally laid down as an improved version of the s, her construction was suspended on the outbreak of war because she would not be ready in a timely manner. Admiral Lord Fisher, upon becoming First Sea Lord, gained approval to restart her construction as a battlecruiser that could be built and enter service quickly. The Director of Naval Construction (DNC), Eustace Tennyson-D'Eyncourt, quickly produced an entirely new design to meet Admiral Lord Fisher's requirements and the builders agreed to deliver the ships in 15 months. They did not quite meet that ambitious goal, but the ship was delivered a few months after the Battle of Jutland in 1916. ''Repulse'', and her sister , were the world's fastest capital ships upon completion. ''Repulse'' participated in the Second Battle of Heligoland Bight in 1917; the only combat she saw during the war. She was reconstructed twice between the wars; the 1920s reconstruction increased her armour protection and made lesser improvements, while the 1930s reconstruction was much more thorough. ''Repulse'' accompanied the battlecruiser during the Special Service Squadron's round-the-world cruise in 1923–24 and protected international shipping during the Spanish Civil War in 1936–39. The ship spent the first months of the Second World War hunting for German raiders and blockade runners. She participated in the Norwegian Campaign of April–June 1940 and searched for the in 1941. ''Repulse'' escorted a troop convoy around the Cape of Good Hope from August to October 1941 and was transferred to East Indies Command. She was assigned in November to Force Z which was supposed to deter Japanese aggression against British possessions in the Far East. ''Repulse'' and her consort were eventually sunk by Japanese aircraft on 10 December 1941 when they attempted to intercept landings in British Malaya. ==Design and description== Admiral Lord Fisher first presented his requirements for the new ships to the Director of Naval Construction (DNC) on 18 December 1914, before the ships had even been approved. He wanted a long, high, flared bow, like that on the pre-dreadnought , but higher, four 15-inch guns in two twin turrets, an anti-torpedo boat armament of twenty guns mounted high up and protected by gun shields only, speed of 32 knots using oil fuel, and armour on the scale of the battlecruiser . Within a few days, however, Fisher increased the number of guns to six and added two torpedo tubes. Minor revisions in the initial estimate were made until 26 December and a preliminary design was completed on 30 December.〔Roberts, pp. 47–48〕 During the following week the DNC's department examined the material delivered for the two battleships and decided what could be used in the new design. The usable material was transferred to the builders who had received enough information from the DNC's department to lay the keels of both ships on 25 January 1915, well before the altered contracts were completed on 10 March!〔Roberts, pp. 45, 47〕 ''Repulse'' had an overall length of , a beam of , and a maximum draught of . She displaced at normal load and at deep load.〔 The Brown-Curtis direct-drive steam turbines were designed to produce , which would propel the ship at . However, during trials in 1916, ''Repulse''s turbines provided , allowing her to reach a speed of .〔Roberts, p. 81〕 The ship normally carried of fuel oil, but had a maximum capacity of . At full capacity, she could steam at a speed of for .〔Burt 1986, p. 297〕 The ship mounted six 42-calibre BL 15-inch Mk I guns in three twin hydraulically powered gun turrets, designated 'A', 'B', and 'Y' from front to rear.〔 Her secondary armament consisted of 17 BL 4-inch Mark IX guns, fitted in five triple and two single mounts. ''Repulse'' mounted a pair of QF 3-inch 20 cwt〔"cwt" is the abbreviation for hundredweight, 30 cwt referring to the weight of the gun.〕 anti-aircraft guns mounted on the shelter deck abreast the rear funnel.〔Raven and Roberts, p. 48〕 She mounted two submerged tubes for torpedoes, one on each side forward of 'A' barbette.〔Roberts, p. 83〕 ''Repulse''s waterline belt of Krupp cemented armour measured thick amidships. Her gun turrets were thick with roofs were thick. As designed the high-tensile-steel decks ranged from in thickness. After the Battle of Jutland in 1916, while the ship was still completing, an extra inch of high-tensile steel was added on the main deck over the magazines.〔Burt 1986, p. 294〕 ''Repulse'' was fitted with a shallow anti-torpedo bulge integral to the hull which was intended to explode the torpedo before it hit the hull proper and vent the underwater explosion to the surface rather than into the ship.〔Roberts, p. 111〕 Despite these additions, the ship was still felt to be too vulnerable to plunging fire and ''Repulse'' was refitted in Rosyth between 10 November 1916 and 29 January 1917 with additional horizontal armour, weighing approximately , added to the decks over the magazines and over the steering gear.〔 ''Repulse'' was the first capital ship fitted with a flying-off platform when an experimental one was fitted on 'B' turret in the autumn of 1917. Squadron Leader Frederick Rutland took off in a Sopwith Pup on 1 October. Another platform was built on 'Y' turret and Rutland successfully took off from it on 8 October. One fighter and a reconnaissance aircraft were normally carried.〔Raven and Roberts, p. 51〕 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「HMS Repulse (1916)」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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