Editing HMS Duke of Edinburgh (section)

== Construction and career ==
[[File:HMS Duke of Edinburgh 1909.jpg|thumb|left|''Duke of Edinburgh'' in New York in 1909]]
''Duke of Edinburgh'' was ordered under the 1902/1903 naval construction programme as the lead ship of her [[ship class|class]]. She was [[Keel laying|laid down]] on 11 February 1903 at [[Pembroke Dock|Pembroke Royal Dockyard]] in Wales. She was [[Ship naming and launching|launched]] on 14 June 1904 and completed on 20 January 1906<ref>Chesneau and Kolesnik, p. 72</ref> at a cost of £1,193,414.<ref name=p2/> The ship was named after [[Alfred, Duke of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha|Alfred, Duke of Edinburgh]], one of [[Queen Victoria]]'s sons.<ref name=s8>Silverstone, p. 228</ref>

The ship was assigned to the 5th Cruiser Squadron from 1906 to 1908 and was then transferred to the 1st Cruiser Squadron of the Channel Fleet. When the Royal Navy's cruiser squadrons were reorganized in 1909, ''Duke of Edinburgh'' rejoined the 5th Cruiser Squadron of the [[Atlantic Fleet (United Kingdom)|Atlantic Fleet]].<ref name=p4>Parkes, p. 444</ref> On 13 August 1910 ''Duke of Edinburgh'' ran aground on [[Atherfield Ledge]], [[Isle of Wight]]. She was successfully refloated, but in the resulting [[Court-martial]] to investigate the incident, the ship's Captain and Navigating Officer were severely reprimanded and the latter dismissed from the ship.<ref>{{cite magazine|title=Naval Matters—Past and Prospective: Portsmouth Dockyard |journal=The Marine Engineer and Naval Architect |volume=33|date=October 1910|page=98}}</ref> She helped to rescue the survivors of the [[SS Delhi|SS ''Delhi'']] which ran aground off the coast of Morocco in December 1911.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1911/12/14/104885851.pdf|title=Three Princesses Nearly Drowned|date=14 December 1911|work=New York Times|access-date=4 February 2011}}</ref> From 1913 to 1914 she served with the 1st Cruiser Squadron of the Mediterranean Fleet.<ref name=p4/>

When the British began to prepare for war in July 1914, the ship was refitting at [[Malta]]. Her refit was cut short and she joined the rest of her squadron in the southern approaches to the Adriatic.<ref>Corbett, I, pp. 33, 35</ref> She was involved in the pursuit of the German battlecruiser ''Goeben'' and light cruiser ''Breslau'' at the outbreak of World War I, but was ordered not to engage them.<ref name="Conways II p13">Preston, p. 13</ref> On 10 August ''Duke of Edinburgh'' and her [[sister ship]] {{HMS|Black Prince|1904|6}} were ordered to the Red Sea to protect troop convoys arriving from India. While on that duty the ship captured the German merchantman ''Altair'' of 3,200 tons [[Gross register tonnage|GRT]] on 15 August.<ref>Corbett, I, pp. 83, 87–88</ref> While escorting a troop convoy from India to France in November 1914, ''Duke of Edinburgh'' provided cover to three battalions of [[infantry]] that seized the Turkish fort at [[Cheikh Saïd]] at the entrance to the Red Sea. The ship then landed a demolition party, which blew the fort up on 10 November; she then rejoined the convoy.<ref>Corbett, I, pp. 377–379</ref>

''Duke of Edinburgh'' rejoined the 1st Cruiser Squadron, which had been transferred to the Grand Fleet in the meantime, in December 1914. In March 1916 the ship had her main deck 6-inch guns removed and the openings plated over. Six of the guns were remounted on the upper deck, three on each side, between the [[wing turret]]s, protected by [[gun shield]]s.<ref name="Conways II p13"/> At the [[Battle of Jutland]] on 31 May 1916, the 1st Cruiser Squadron was in front of the Grand Fleet, on the right side. At 5:47&nbsp;p.m.<ref group=Note>The times used in this article are in [[Coordinated Universal Time|UTC]], which is one hour behind [[Central European Time|CET]], which is often used in German works.</ref> The two leading ships of the squadron, the [[flagship]], {{HMS|Defence|1907|6}}, and {{HMS|Warrior|1905|6}}, spotted the German [[II Scouting Group]] and opened fire. Their shells felt short and the two ships turned to port in pursuit, cutting in front of the battlecruiser {{HMS|Lion|1910|6}}, which was forced to turn away to avoid a collision. ''Duke of Edinburgh'' could not follow the first two ships and turned to port (northeast).<ref name=m7>Marder, pp. 97–98</ref> The ship spotted the disabled German light cruiser {{SMS|Wiesbaden}} at 6:08 and fired twenty rounds at her. By about 6:30 she had steamed to a position off the starboard bow of {{HMS|King George V|1911|6}}, the leading ship of the [[2nd Battle Squadron (United Kingdom)|2nd Battle Squadron]], where her [[funnel (ship)|funnel]] smoke obscured the German ships from the foremost dreadnoughts of the 2nd Battle Squadron.<ref>Campbell, pp. 122, 150, 152</ref> A torpedo attack by German destroyers on Admiral [[David Beatty, 1st Earl Beatty|Beatty]]'s [[battlecruiser]]s, failed, but forced ''Duke of Edinburgh'' to evade one torpedo at 6:47. The ship reported a submarine sighting at 7:01, although no German submarines were operating in the area. She fired at another false submarine contact between 7:45 and 8:15.<ref>Campbell, pp. 161, 164, 250</ref>

After the battle, ''Duke of Edinburgh'' was attached to the 2nd Cruiser Squadron and remained at sea until 2 June, searching for disabled ships. She arrived in [[Scapa Flow]] on the afternoon of 3 June.<ref>Newbolt, IV, p. 1</ref> On the evening of 18 August 1916, the Grand Fleet, including ''Duke of Edinburgh'', put to sea in response to a deciphered message that the High Seas Fleet, minus the II Battle Squadron, would be leaving harbour that night. The Germans planned to bombard the port of [[Sunderland, Tyne and Wear|Sunderland]] on 19 August, with extensive reconnaissance provided by airships and submarines. The Germans broke off their planned attack to pursue a lone British battle squadron reported by an airship, which was in fact the [[Harwich Force]] under Commodore [[Reginald Tyrwhitt|Tyrwhitt]]. Realising their mistake, the Germans then set course for home. After Jutland the 2nd Cruiser Squadron, now including ''Duke of Edinburgh'', was ordered to reinforce the patrols north of the [[Shetland Islands]] against German [[blockade runner]]s and [[Commerce raiding|commerce raiders]].<ref>Newbolt, IV, pp. 36, 192</ref> The ship's foremast was converted to a tripod to support the weight of a [[Fire-control system#Naval fire control|fire-control director]] in May 1917, but when the director was actually fitted is not known. Two more 6-inch guns were added in embrasures on the forecastle deck during that same refit.<ref name="Conways II p13"/> She was transferred to the [[North America and West Indies Station]] in August 1917 for convoy escort duties,<ref>Newbolt, V, p. 135</ref> where she remained for the duration of the war. Upon her return, ''Duke of Edinburgh'' was stationed in the [[Humber]],<ref name="Conways II p13"/> before she was sold for scrap on 12 April 1920 and [[ship breaking|broken up]] at [[Blyth, Northumberland|Blyth]] in Northumberland.<ref name=s8/>