Construction and service HMS Carnarvon
the drydocked carnarvon (at upper left) british submarines h5, h6, h7, h8, h9, , h10 in 1915
carnarvon, named commemorate welsh county, laid down william beardmore & company @ dalmuir shipyard on 1 october 1902 , launched on 7 october 1903. completed on 29 may 1905 , assigned 3rd cruiser squadron of mediterranean fleet. transferred 2nd cruiser squadron of atlantic fleet in june 1907 , assigned reserve third fleet @ devonport in april 1909. ship transferred second fleet @ devonport in march 1912 , subsequently became flagship of 5th cruiser squadron until start of world war i. participated in fleet manoeuvres in july–august 1913 in july 1914. on 31 july, few days before war declared on germany, encountered german light cruiser strassburg in english channel returning home , 2 ships saluted each other.
when war began on 5 august, carnarvon, flagship of rear admiral archibald stoddart, in gibraltar. sent cape verde , captured german merchant ship ss professor woermann on 23 august 1914. escorted prize freetown, sierra leone disposal , resumed patrolling. moved brazilian coast in october , proceeded falkland islands squadron commanded vice-admiral doveton sturdee.
battle of falklands
upon arrival @ port stanley on 7 december, sturdee informed captains planned recoal entire squadron following day 2 available colliers , begin search east asia squadron, believed running home around tip of south america, day after. vice-admiral maximilian von spee, commander of german squadron, had other plans , intended destroy radio station @ port stanley on morning of 8 december. appearance of 2 german ships @ 07:30 caught sturdee s ships surprise, germans driven off 12-inch (300 mm) shells fired predreadnought battleship canopus when came within range around 09:20. carnarvon completed recoaling @ 08:00 , squadron cleared harbour 10:30. sturdee ordered general chase @ time, carnarvon manage 18 knots (33 km/h; 21 mph) , fell behind other british ships. 2 battlecruisers fastest ships present , inexorably began close on german cruisers, opening fire @ 12:55 straddled light cruiser leipzig, rear ship in german formation. clear spee ships not outrun battlecruisers , hope of ships survive scatter. turned 2 armoured cruisers around buy time engaging battlecruisers , ordered 3 light cruisers disperse @ 13:20. carnarvon, 10 nautical miles (19 km; 12 mi) behind, had no hope of catching scattering german ships , continued trail battlecruisers.
carnarvon came within range of german armoured cruisers , opened fire shortly before scharnhorst rolled on , capsized @ 16:17. engaged gneisenau until sturdee ordered cease fire @ 17:50. german captain had started scuttle ship 10 minutes earlier when clear situation hopeless , ship sank @ 18:00. carnarvon rescued 20 survivors gneisenau, wreckage visible when later steamed through area scharnhorst had sunk.
after battle participated in hunt light cruiser dresden had escaped during battle , investigated anchorages in argentina, chile , island of south georgia before proceeding north brazil in february. struck coral reef off abrolhos archipelago on 22 february 1915 , had beached avoid sinking. ship received temporary repairs @ rio de janeiro following month. carnarvon received permanent repairs in montreal, canada, may july after escorted several british h-class submarines halifax united kingdom en route devonport. returned halifax based rest of year. assigned north america , west indies station, resumed duties protecting british shipping rest of war. in 1919, began serving cadet training ship, remaining in role until listed sale in march 1921. carnarvon sold scrap on 8 november 1921 , subsequently broken in germany.
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