HMS Tiger

## Badge

Launched in 1913, the Tiger was the oldest serving warship in the Royal Navy at the beginning of WW2. Initially kept as a gunnery training ship, the needed demand for ships led to her being heavily refitted in the british fleet overhaul of 1934, alongside the QE-class battleships.

## Inter-war Period

Refit in 1934 to the tune of 2.5 million pounds, the admiralty was practically left with a brand new ship.

With a brand new, signature squared off superstructure, new engines, and refitted 14in guns from the KGV-class. The Tiger was a new ship from bow to stern.

While initially her 13.5 in guns were bored out, the KGV guns had been designed to work in 13.5in cradles for testing purposes. This essentially allowed the guns to be dropped directly into the cradles.

Additionally, much of her original machinery was heavily overhauled. Her original coal fired boilers were replaced with new oil fired boilers.

Her armor plating was substantially upgraded and refit her speed was increased to an impressive 30 knots.

## WW2

At the immediate outbreak of war, Tiger was immediately sent to drydock to be refit with the new guns in September of 1939, while the rest of the Royal Navy’s battlecruiser fleet (I.e. the Renown, and Repulse) underwent refitment. It was argued that the HMS Hood should have been refitted instead of her during 1939, and left the Tiger with her original bored out 14 in guns.

However, with the substantial amount of money needed to refit Hood, and the fact that 14in guns was a comparatively simple upgrade, she was refitted instead.

Leaving drydock in early-1940, she was transferred to the Mediterranean to help hunt down Nazi cruisers alongside the still 1933-spec Hood.

### **Evacuation of Dunkirk**

In May 1940, she was dispatched to serve in her first action since WW1, serving as the only capital ship supporting the evacuation of Dunkirk.

Primarily helping to provide AA cover, and protect the famed 'little boats' the Tiger came under heavy luftwaffe pressure.

On May 21st, 1940, while patrolling the outer perimeter of the Dunkirk beaches, she came under attack from a squadron of Luftwaffe dive bomber Ju 87 Stuka attacked the Tiger, dropping several 250kg bombs.

Overall, she took 4 direct bomb hits, with 3 more falling very close to her. The 4 bomb hits heavily damaged the super structure of the Tiger- effectively disabling much of her AA emplacements. One bomb managed to penetrate and disable the A turret, while another destroyed her seaplane, catapult, and crane.

Heavily damaged, she was relieved by HMS Barham.

Returning to Britain, she underwent a lengthy repair process, which included adding more pom-poms.

### **Mediterranean Service**

Tiger returned to service in early 1941, where she was deployed to the Mediterranean fleet alongside the HMS Renown, HMS Hood, and the newly commissioned HMS Resolute as apart of Force H.

Her first naval engagement came in mid 1941, against the *Marcantonio Colonna,* and Caio Duilio. Dispatched with HMS Renown, both British battle cruisers engaged the Italian battleships. The British managed to sink the Caio Duilio, and heavily damaged the Colonna.

However, the Renown was heavily damaged, with a fire ravaging her superstructure. The Tiger managed to avoid vast damage, but still required minor repairs from near misses. Renown would be later torpedoed and sunk by U-641, on her way to drydock.

### **Atlantic Service**

In early 1942, the Tiger was redispatched to the Atlantic, to track down German battleships, and German cruisers.

Her first victim was the training battleship Schleswig-Holstein, the ship that had fired the opening shots of WW2, and had also been present at the WW1 Battle of Jutland.

While Tiger had been heavily refit, the Holstein had not been refit since 1926. Engaging off the coast of Denmark, the Schleswig-Holstein was eventually sunk with heavy casualties. The Tiger on the other hand, emerged relatively unscathed. Due to both ships being present at Jutland, and the Holstein firing the opening shots of WW2, the Tiger was used by propaganda as settling an old debt with Germany.

Returning to England for a minor refit, she was just out of repairs when dispatched again alongside the HMS Hood and HMS Prince of Wales against the battleships Bismarck, Tirpitz, the battlecruiser Graf Spree, and the cruiser Prinz Eugen.

### **Battle of the Denmark Straight**

While the Germans originally tried to outmaneuver the trailing British, the fast battle cruisers successfully catching up to the German battleships at the Denmark strait, the Germans turned to engage.

Bismarck's 15in guns first focused the newer HMS Prince of Wales, but upon realizing the famed ‘Mighty Tiger’ was among the ships, she shifted her attention to the battle cruiser. The Moltke turned to engage, but with her much weaker 11in guns, could only provide sporadic damage.

On Bismarck's eighth salvo, she successfully pierced Tiger's weak deck armor, and penetrated her foremost magazine, blowing her to pieces.

Tiger’s explosion was so violent, it split the ship in two, and left only 300 survivors. After this, and heavily damaging the Prince of Wales, the 2 british ships turned tail.

Her explosion led to widespread fear of a chink in Royal Navy battle cruiser armor. Her explosion led to the HMS Hood undergoing an extensive rework of her superstructure and systems in late 1942.