page_title: Bellerophon-class battleship
section_title: Subsequent activity
hierarchical_section_title: Bellerophon-class battleship / Careers / Subsequent activity
caption_attribution_description: English: HMS Superb - flagship of the Commander-in-chief, Mediterranean, leading the British Fleet to Constantinople, November, 1918 image: A view of a Royal Navy fleet at sea, led by HMS Superb, sailing in coastal waters.
context_page_description: The Bellerophon-class battleship was a group of three dreadnought battleships that were built for the Royal Navy in the first decade of the 20th century. The sister ships spent most of their careers assigned to the Home and Grand Fleets. Aside from participating in the Battle of Jutland in May 1916, and the inconclusive Action of 19 August several months later, their service during the First World War generally consisted of routine patrols and training in the North Sea.
  In late 1918, Temeraire and Superb were transferred to the Mediterranean Fleet and supported Allied forces in the Mediterranean and the Black Sea after the war ended in November. The Bellerophons were deemed obsolete by this time and were reduced to reserve in 1919 and were then used as training ships. Superb was used for gunnery experiments in 1920 and then became a target ship in 1922 before being sold for scrap later that year. Bellerophon and Temeraire were sold in late 1921 and subsequently broken up.
context_section_description: The Grand Fleet sortied on 18 August to ambush the High Seas Fleet while it advanced into the southern North Sea, but a series of miscommunications and mistakes prevented Jellicoe from intercepting the German fleet before it returned to port. Two light cruisers were sunk by German U-boats during the operation, prompting Jellicoe to decide to not risk the major units of the fleet south of 55° 30' North due to the prevalence of German submarines and mines. The Admiralty concurred and stipulated that the Grand Fleet would not sortie unless the German fleet was attempting an invasion of Britain or there was a strong possibility it could be forced into an engagement under suitable conditions.
  During June–September 1917, Bellerophon served as the junior flagship of the 4th BS while the regular flagship was being refitted. The Grand Fleet sortied on the afternoon of 23 April 1918 after radio transmissions revealed that the High Seas Fleet was at sea after a failed attempt to intercept the regular British convoy to Norway. The Germans were too far ahead of the British, and no shots were fired. In October, Superb and Temeraire were transferred to the Mediterranean Fleet and Superb became the fleet flagship. The ship led an Allied squadron that entered the Ottoman capital, Constantinople, on 13 November, following the Armistice of Mudros. Bellerophon was present at Rosyth, Scotland, when the German fleet surrendered on 21 November and she became a gunnery training ship in March 1919 at the Nore as the class was obsolescent.
  Superb and Temeraire returned home the following month after supporting Allied operations in the Eastern Mediterranean and Black Sea and were placed into reserve. Later that year, Temeraire was converted into a cadet training ship and continued on that duty until early 1921 when she was paid off. In the meantime Superb relieved Bellerophon as a gunnery training ship in late 1919 and the latter was reduced to reserve. Superb was relieved in her turn at the end of 1919 and was paid off in early 1920. The ship was used for gunnery trials beginning at the end of the year and was used as a target ship during 1922 before being sold, the last of the sisters still in existence as Temeraire and Bellerophon had been sold for scrap in late 1921.
caption: A painting by Frank Henry Mason of Superb leading the Allied fleet through the Dardanelles to Constantinople in 1918
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