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H.M. Frigate/Cruisers Cressey Class Just click on any Highlight and follow the "Prompts" H.M. Frigate/Cruisers Cressey Class HMS
Unicorn/Cressey
HMS Unicorn/Cressey was designed as one of the last of the successful Leda class frigates, 150 feet long in the hull and armed with 46 guns. Unicorn's keel was laid in February 1822 in the Royal Dockyard at Chatham, and she was launched on 30th March 1824. As this was during a period of settled peace, she was roofed over immediately and laid up in reserve, and so she remained. From 1857 to 1862 she was lent to the War Department for use as a powder hulk at Woolwich, and on her return was laid up again at Sheerness. By then the sailing warship had been well and truly outclassed by steam power, but Unicorn's protected existence meant that her hull was in excellent condition and she was selected for conversion to a Drill Ship for the Royal Naval Reserve at Dundee in November 1873. When the then First Lord of the Admiralty, Earl Stanhope, was asked to select a name for a new aircraft carrier he is reputed to have picked the name UNICORN, not realising that the name was already in use. To avoid embarrassment, the Frigate's name was changed to UNICORN II in 1939, and in 1941 she became HMS CRESSEY. During both World Wars she played an important part as the Area Headquarters of the Senior Naval Officer, Dundee.
In 1959, after the aircraft carrier had been scrapped, the
Frigate was renamed HMS UNICORN by Mrs. Keay, widow of Captain W. F. Keay
who had commanded UNICORN throughout the war.
CONSTRUCTION Type: Armoured Cruiser Hull material: Steel with ca. 3" wood doubled copper sheeted "Three before breakfast" HMS Cressey was the Royal Navy's first armoured cruiser. Unlike previous protected cruisers she had an armoured belt, made possible by the introduction of face hardened Krupp armour which allowed reasonable protection for an acceptable weight of armour. They were also the first British warships to serve overseas that were not copper sheathed but instead painted with anti-fouling paints, this saving £40,000 and over 500 tons in displacement. Early on September 22nd 1914 the German submarine U9 under the command of Commander Otto Weddigen sighted the cruisers, HMS Cressey, HMS Aboukir and HMS Hogue steaming NNE at 10 knots without zigzagging. Although the patrols were supposed to maintain 12-13 knots and zigzag, the old cruisers were unable to maintain that speed and the zigzagging order was widely ignored as there had been no submarines sighted in the area during the war. German naval submarine U9 maneuvered to attack and at about 6.25 AM fired a single torpedo at HMS Aboukir, which stuck her on her port side. HMS Aboukir rapidly suffered heavy flooding and despite counter flooding developed a 20 degree list and lost engine power. It was soon clear that she was a lost cause and Captain Drummond ordered her to be abandoned As HMS Aboukir rolled over and sank, half an hour after being attacked, U9 fired two torpedoes at HMS Hogue that hit her amidships and rapidly flooded her engine room. Captain Nicholson of HMS Hogue had stopped the ship to lower boats to rescue the crew of HMS Aboukir, thinking that as he was the other side of HMS Aboukir from U9 he would be safe. Unfortunately U9 had maneuvered around HMS Aboukir and attacked HMS Hogue from a range of only 300 yards. The firing of two torpedoes affected the trim of U9 which broke the surface briefly and was fired on by HMS Hogue without effect. It only took HMS Hogue ten minutes to sink as U9 headed for HMS Cressey. HMS Cressey, under Captain Johnson, had also stopped to lower boats but got underway on sighting a periscope. At about 07.20 however U9 fired two torpedoes, one of which missed but the other hit HMS Cressey on her starboard side. The damage to HMS Cressey was not fatal but U9 turned round and fired her last torpedo which hit HMS Cressey sinking her within fifteen minutes. Survivors were picked up by several nearby merchant ships including the Dutch Flora and Titan and the British trawlers JGC and Corainder before the Harwich force of light cruisers and destroyers arrived. Flora returned to Holland with 286 rescued crew who were quickly returned to Britain even though the neutral Dutch should have interned them. In all 837 men were rescued but 1459 died. The wreck of HMS Cressey is located at : 52º 15.21' N, 03º 40,83'E. The position orientation on the sandy seabed of HMS Cressey is: Bow W. upside down under an angle of 30-40 deg.
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