HMS Black Prince ( 1904 ) HMS Black Prince was a armoured cruiser built for the Royal Navy in the mid - 1900s . She was stationed in the Mediterranean when the First World War began and participated in the pursuit of the German battlecruiser and light cruiser . After the German ships reached Ottoman waters , the ship was sent to the Red Sea in mid - August to protect troop convoys arriving from India and to search for German merchant ships . After capturing two ships , " Black Prince " was transferred to the Grand Fleet in December 1914 and was sunk during the Battle of Jutland in May 1916 , with all hands killed . Design and description . Two armoured cruiser s of a new design , HMS " Duke of Edinburgh " and " Black Prince " , the latter named for Edward , the Black Prince , were ordered for the Royal Navy as part of the 1902 – 03 Naval Estimates . They were the first ships to be designed for the Royal Navy under the supervision of the new Director of Naval Construction , Sir Philip Watts . The new design was significantly larger than the previous " Monmouth " and " Devonshire " class cruisers , mounting a heavier main armament of six guns in single turrets . " Duke of Edinburgh " displaced as built and fully loaded . The ship had an overall length of , a beam of and a draught of . She was powered by four - cylinder triple - expansion steam engines , driving two shafts , which produced a total of and gave a maximum speed of . The engines were powered by 20 Babcock & Wilcox water - tube boilers and six cylindrical boilers . The ship carried a maximum of of coal and an additional of fuel oil that was sprayed on the coal to increase its burn rate . At full capacity , she could steam for at a speed of . The ship ' s complement was 789 officers and enlisted men . Her main armament consisted of six BL 9 . 2 - inch Mk X guns in single turret s , two on the centreline and two on each beam , giving a broadside of four 9 . 2 in guns . Her secondary armament of four BL 6 - inch Mark XI guns was arranged in single casemates . They were mounted amidships on the main deck and were only usable in calm weather . Twenty Vickers QF 3 - pounders were fitted , six on turret roofs and fourteen in the superstructure . The ship also mounted three submerged 18 - inch torpedo tube s . Operational history . " Black Prince " was laid down on 3 June 1903 at the Thames Ironworks and Shipbuilding Company ' s shipyard at Blackwall , London . She was launched on 8 November 1904 and completed on 17 March 1906 . When completed , " Black Prince " served with the 2nd Squadron until 1907 , the 1st Cruiser Squadron from 1907 – 1908 , the 5th Cruiser Squadron ( as part of the Atlantic Fleet ) from 1908 – 1912 and the Third from 1912 – 1913 . At the beginning of the First World War , the " Black Prince " was one of the four armoured cruisers serving in the 1st Cruiser Squadron of the Mediterranean Fleet , commanded by Rear - Admiral Ernest Charles Thomas Troubridge . She participated in the pursuit of " Goeben " and " Breslau " . Following the escape of the two German ships to neutral Turkey , " Black Prince " and " Duke of Edinburgh " were sent into the Red Sea to search for German merchant ships , with " Black Prince " capturing the German ocean liners " Südmark " and " Istria " . On 6 November , she was ordered to Gibraltar to join a squadron of French and British ships to search for German warships still at sea off the African coast . This was cancelled on 19 November after the location of the German East Asia Squadron was revealed by survivors of the Battle of Coronel . " Black Prince " joined the Grand Fleet in December 1914 and was assigned to the 1st Cruiser Squadron under Rear - Admiral Sir Robert Keith Arbuthnot . " Black Prince " was modified in March 1916 as a result of lessons learned at the Battle of Coronel , with the 6 - inch guns removed from their casemates and replaced by six 6 - inch guns mounted individually behind shields between the beam 9 . 2 - inch turrets . The ship participated in the Battle of Jutland , where she was sunk with heavy loss of life . The circumstances under which she sank were mysterious for some years after . As the British had lost contact and did not see the ship destroyed , they were unsure as to whether a submarine or surface ship was responsible for sinking the " Black Prince " . During the battle , the First Cruiser Squadron was deployed as part of a screening force several miles ahead of the main force of the Grand Fleet , but " Black Prince " lost contact with the rest of the Squadron as it came into contact with German forces , at about 17 : 42 . Soon after , two other members of the First Cruiser Squadron , HMS " Defence " and HMS " Warrior " were heavily engaged by German battleships and battlecruisers , with " Defence " blowing up and " Warrior " receiving heavy damage , which later caused her to sink . Loss . There were no positive sightings of " Black Prince " by the British fleet after that , although a wireless signal from her was received at 20 : 45 , reporting a submarine sighting . During the night of 31 May – 1 June , the British destroyer HMS " Spitfire " , badly damaged after colliding with the German battleship " Nassau " , sighted what appeared to be a German battlecruiser , with two widely - spaced funnels , described as being " . . . a mass of fire from foremast to mainmast , on deck and between decks . Flames were issuing out of her from every corner . " The mystery ship exploded at about midnight . It was later thought that the burning ship may have been " Black Prince " , with the two midships funnels having collapsed or been shot away . Recent historians , however , hold to the German account of the ship ' s sinking . " Black Prince " briefly engaged the German battleship " Rheinland " at about 23 : 35 GMT , scoring two hits with 6 - inch shells . Separated from the rest of the British fleet , the " Black Prince " approached the German lines at approximately midnight . She turned away from the German battleships , but it was too late . The German battleship fixed the " Black Prince " in her searchlights and opened fire . Up to five other German ships , including battleships , , and , joined in the bombardment , with return fire from " Black Prince " being ineffective . Most of the German ships were between 750 and 1500 yards of the " Black Prince " — effectively point blank range for contemporary naval gunnery . " Black Prince " was hit by at least twelve heavy shells and several smaller ones , sinking within 15 minutes . There were no survivors from " Black Prince " ' s crew , all 857 being killed . The wreck was briefly surveyed by nautical archaeologist Innes McCartney in 2000 and 2001 . It was discovered that the stern of the wreck is upside - down and bow section lies on its starboard side . The wrecksite is designated as a " protected place " under the Protection of Military Remains Act 1986 . Popular culture . In the first episode of Series 4 of the SBS - TV ( Australia ) series " Who Do You Think You Are ? " , Australian writer - actor - comedian Shaun Micallef discovered that his great - grandfather Giovanni ( John ) Micallef , a steward on the " Black Prince " , was among those killed .