|
Admiral of the Fleet Sir Thomas Matthew Charles Symonds, GCB (15 July 1813 – 14 November 1894) was a Royal Navy officer. He was commanding officer of which participated in the bombardment of Sevastopol during the Crimean War. Symonds became Admiral Superintendent at Devonport Dockyard and then Commander-in-Chief, Channel Squadron. In that capacity he invented the scalene triangle naval formation, replacing the older isosceles triangle naval formation, and earned himself a reputation as a tactician. He also carried out an investigation into the design of the turret ships HMS ''Monarch'' and HMS ''Captain'' and concluded that the turret ships were "formidable" and would, by superior armament, destroy any opposing broadside ships. He went on to be Commander-in-Chief, Plymouth. Symonds led an active retirement, writing letters and pamphlets to ''The Times'' arguing in favour of changes to ship design and a stronger navy. He also wrote an open letter to the British press regarding the naval armour tests by the United States Navy at Annapolis arguing that the compound-armour used in the design of the British Trafalgar-class battleships was defective. He then issued a nine-column, eleven-point statement as a Christmas supplement to all the service papers entitled "The Truly Perilous State of Great Britain Should War Occur between France and Ourselves". ==Early career== Born the son of Rear Admiral William Symonds and Elizabeth Saunders Symonds (née Luscombe), Symonds joined the Royal Navy on 25 April 1825.〔(【引用サイトリンク】title=Thomas Symonds )〕 After passing his examinations, he was promoted to lieutenant on 5 November 1832.〔Heathcote, p. 240〕 He was appointed to the sixth-rate at Portsmouth in April 1833 and then transferred to the fourth-rate in the Mediterranean Fleet in September 1833.〔 He transferred again to the first-rate in July 1834 and to the sixth-rate on the East Indies Station in December 1834.〔 Symonds was promoted to commander on 21 October 1837, just before returning home, and then became commanding officer of the sloop on the North America and West Indies Station in August 1838.〔 He was promoted to captain on 22 February 1841, benefiting from his father's Whig friends in the Admiralty repaying favours for services they had received from his father in the past.〔 He became commanding officer of the sixth-rate in the Mediterranean Fleet in May 1846 and then commanding officer of the fourth-rate , which he commissioned and then delivered to the Mediterranean Fleet, in January 1850.〔Heathcote, p. 241〕 Symonds was deployed to the Black Sea in HMS ''Arethusa'' in 1854, early of the Crimean War, and participated in the bombardment of Sevastopol in October 1854.〔 He was appointed a Companion of the Order of the Bath on 5 July 1855 and was awarded the Order of the Medjidie, third class on 3 April 1858. He went on to be commanding officer of the first-rate HMS ''Conqueror'', in the Channel Squadon, in November 1855.〔(【引用サイトリンク】title=Thomas Symonds )〕 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「Thomas Symonds (Royal Navy officer)」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
|