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The ''Indefatigable'' class were the second class built of British battlecruisers〔The ''Indefatigable''-class ships were formally known as armoured cruisers until 1911 when they were redesignated as battlecruisers by an Admiralty order of 24 November 1911. Unofficially a number of designations were used until then, including cruiser-battleship, dreadnought cruiser and battle-cruiser. See Roberts, pp. 24–25〕 which served in the Royal Navy and the Royal Australian Navy during World War I. The design represented a modest reworking of the preceding , featuring increased endurance and an improved cross-deck arc of fire for their midships wing turrets achieved by a lengthening of the hull. Like its predecessor, the design resembled the contemporary dreadnought of the Royal Navy, but sacrificed armour protection and one turret from the main battery for a speed advantage. Originally was the only ship of the class, but and were later built as part of a scheme to improve the defense of the Dominions by having each Dominion purchase a 'fleet unit' of one battlecruiser, three light cruisers and six destroyers. Only Australia fully acceded to the idea, forming the Royal Australian Navy, but New Zealand agreed to fund one battlecruiser. A modified ''Indefatigable'' design was chosen rather than the then building for the Royal Navy. They spent most of the war patrolling the North Sea, and participated in most of the battles there, although only ''New Zealand'' was in the United Kingdom when the war began. ''Indefatigable'' was in the Mediterranean where she pursued the German warships and as they fled towards Turkey and ''Australia'' was flagship of the Royal Australian Navy in Australian waters where she helped to secure the German Pacific colonies and searched, unsuccessfully, for the German East Asia Squadron before sailing for the United Kingdom in December 1914. ''New Zealand'' participated in a number of the early actions in the North Sea including the Battle of Heligoland Bight and the inconclusive Scarborough Raid. ''Australia'' was still under repair after a collision with ''New Zealand'' before the Battle of Jutland so only ''Indefatigable'' and ''New Zealand'' were present where the former was destroyed by a magazine explosion. Both ''Australia'' and ''New Zealand'' spent much uneventful time at sea after Jutland waiting for the next appearance of the High Seas Fleet, but that had been forbidden by the Kaiser. ''New Zealand'' conducted Admiral Jellicoe on his tour of India and the Dominions after the war while ''Australia'' returned home where she again became the flagship of the Royal Australian Navy. ''New Zealand'' was sold for scrap in 1922 while ''Australia'' only lasted two years more before being scuttled to comply with the terms of the Washington Naval Treaty. ==Background== ''Indefatigable'' was the successor to the ''Invincible''-class battlecruisers. A number of options for large cruisers were considered for the 1906 Naval Programme, including the X4 design of with armour and speed, but in the end this programme consisted only of three ships of the type. A number of options were considered for the 1907–08 programme, ranging from to , but in the end battleships were again favoured and no battlecruisers were ordered until the subsequent programme year.〔Roberts, pp. 28–29〕 At the time the final design of ''Indefatigable'' was approved, the Admiralty was already moving on, Fisher writing in September 1908 "I've got Sir Philip Watts into a new ''Indomitable'' that will make your mouth water when you see it", a design that was to eventually emerge as . In August 1909 the self-governing dominions met at the 1909 Imperial Conference, and in discussion of Imperial defense, the Admiralty proposed the creation of indigenous fleet units, each to consist of one ''Invincible''-class battlecruiser, three light cruisers of the ''Bristol'' class, and six destroyers. These were to be based in Australia, New Zealand, Canada and South Africa in attempt to secure the naval defence of the Dominions while the Royal Navy concentrated in home waters to meet the German threat. While the scheme was rejected by Canada and South Africa, Australia and New Zealand subscribed, each ordering a modified version of the ''Indefatigable'', rather than the originally proposed ''Invincible'' class.〔Lambert, pp. 64–67〕 ''Australia'' became a ship of the newly formed Royal Australian Navy, while ''New Zealand'' was retained in European waters as a wholly RN unit.〔Roberts, p. 29〕 Eventually, only one fleet unit was formed, the Australian squadron in 1913.〔 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「Indefatigable-class battlecruiser」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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