Editing St Vincent-class battleship (section)

==Careers==
Upon commissioning, all three ships were assigned to the 1st [[Division (naval)|Division]] of the Home Fleet and ''St Vincent'' became the flagship of the division's [[second-in-command]]. In July, they were present when [[King George V]] visited the fleet in [[Torbay]] and participated in his [[Fleet Review, Royal Navy#George V|Coronation Fleet Review]] at [[Spithead]] on 24 June 1911. Less than a year later, the 1st Division was renamed the [[1st Battle Squadron (United Kingdom)|1st Battle Squadron]] (BS) on 1 May 1912. ''Collingwood'' became the squadron flagship on 22 June and reverted to a [[private ship]] again two years later. Each of the sisters underwent a lengthy refit before the First World War began in mid-1914.<ref name=b87>[[#Burt|Burt (1986)]], pp. 86, 88.</ref>

[[File:First battle squadron in the North Sea (April 1915).jpg|thumb|upright=2|The 1st Battle Squadron at sea, April 1915]]
Between 17 and 20 July 1914, the sisters took part in a test [[mobilisation]] and fleet review. Arriving in [[Isle of Portland|Portland]] afterwards, they were ordered to proceed with the rest of the Home Fleet to [[Scapa Flow]] two days later<ref name=b87/> to safeguard the fleet from a possible surprise attack by the [[Imperial German Navy]]. After the British declaration of war on Germany on 4 August, the Home Fleet was reorganised as the [[Grand Fleet]] and placed under the command of Admiral [[John Jellicoe, 1st Earl Jellicoe|John Jellicoe]].<ref>[[#Massie|Massie]] (2003), pp. 19, 69.</ref> According to pre-war doctrine, the role of the Grand Fleet was to fight a decisive battle against the German High Seas Fleet, but German reluctance to commit their battleships against the superior British force led to indecisive operations. The Grand Fleet spent its time training in the North Sea, punctuated by the occasional mission to intercept a German raid or major fleet [[sortie]].<ref>[[#Halpern|Halpern]] (1995), p. 27.</ref> In April 1916, ''Vanguard'' was transferred to the [[4th Battle Squadron (United Kingdom)|4th Battle Squadron]] while her sisters remained in the 1st Battle Squadron.<ref name=b86/>

===Battle of Jutland===
[[File:Map of the Battle of Jutland, 1916.svg|thumb|upright=1.7|Maps showing the manoeuvres of the British (blue) and German (red) fleets on 31 May&nbsp;– 1 June 1916|alt=The British fleet sailed from northern Britain to the east while the Germans sailed from Germany in the south; the opposing fleets met off the Danish coast]]
In an attempt to lure out and destroy a portion of the Grand Fleet, the German [[High Seas Fleet]] departed the [[Jade Bight]] early on the morning of 31 May 1916 in support of [[Rear Admiral]] [[Franz von Hipper]]'s battlecruisers, which were to act as bait. The British code breakers of [[Room 40]] at the Admiralty had [[Signals intelligence|decoded]] German radio traffic containing plans of the operation and the Admiralty ordered the Grand Fleet to sortie the night before the Germans, to cut off and destroy the High Seas Fleet.<ref>[[#Tarr|Tarrant]] (1999), pp. 54–55, 57–58.</ref>

The Grand Fleet rendezvoused with the [[2nd Battle Squadron (United Kingdom)|2nd Battle Squadron]], coming from [[Cromarty]], [[Scotland]], on the morning of 31 May and Jellicoe organised the main body of the Grand Fleet in parallel columns of four-ship divisions. The two divisions of the 2nd BS were on his left (east), the 4th BS was in the centre and the 1st BS on the right. ''Vanguard'' and ''St Vincent'' were the rear ships of their divisions while ''Collingwood'' was the second ship in its division. When Jellicoe ordered the Grand Fleet to deploy to the left and form [[line astern]] in anticipation of encountering the High Seas Fleet, this naturally placed the 4th and 1st Battle Squadrons in the centre and rear of the line of battle, respectively, which meant that the sisters were in the rear of the Grand Fleet once it was deployed.<ref>[[#Corbett|Corbett]], p. 431 and frontispiece map.</ref> This limited their ability to engage the German ships in the poor visibility. All three ships fired at the crippled [[light cruiser]] {{SMS|Wiesbaden}}, possibly scoring some hits, but only ''St Vincent'' and ''Collingwood'' were able to engage any of the German capital ships. The former hit the battlecruiser {{SMS|Moltke}} twice, inflicting only minor damage, while ''Collingwood'' hit the battlecruiser {{SMS|Derfflinger}} once, also with little effect. ''Vanguard'' and ''Collingwood'' also fired at German [[destroyer]]s, but failed to achieve any hits. None of the sisters fired more than 98 rounds from their main guns during the battle.<ref>[[#Campbell|Campbell]], pp. 157, 205, 208, 212, 214, 229–230, 232–234, 349.</ref>

===Subsequent activity===
After the battle, ''St Vincent'' and ''Collingwood'' joined ''Vanguard'' in the 4th BS.<ref name=b87/> 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 communication failures and mistakes prevented Jellicoe from intercepting the German fleet before it returned to port. Two light cruisers were sunk by German [[U-boat]]s during the operation, prompting Jellicoe to decide not to risk the major units of the fleet to German submarines and [[naval mine|mines]] south of 55° 30' North. 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.<ref>[[#Halpern|Halpern]] (1995), pp. 330–332.</ref> The Admiralty order meant that the Grand Fleet spent far less time at sea. In late February 1917, the 4th BS conducted tactical exercises for a few days.<ref name=b20>[[#Brady|Brady]] (2014), p. 20.</ref> In January 1918, ''Collingwood'' and some of the older dreadnoughts cruised off the coast of Norway for several days, possibly to provide distant cover for a convoy to Norway.<ref>[[#Brady|Brady]] (2014), pp. 21–22.</ref> Along with the rest of the Grand Fleet, she sortied on the afternoon of 23 April when 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 to be caught and no shots were fired.<ref>[[#Massie|Massie]] (2003), p. 748.</ref> ''St Vincent'' was under repair at [[Invergordon]], Scotland, and could not sortie, but was present at [[Rosyth]] when the German fleet surrendered on 21 November; ''Collingwood'' was refitting in Invergordon.<ref name=b86/><ref>[[#Brady|Brady]] (2014), p. 23.</ref>

====''Vanguard'' explosion====
[[File:Collingwood at Rosyth, 1917.jpg|thumb|''Collingwood'' entering Rosyth, 25 August 1917]]
In the evening of 9 July 1917, ''Vanguard''{{'}}s magazines exploded while she was anchored in the northern part of Scapa Flow; she sank almost instantly, with only three survivors, one of whom died soon afterwards; 842 men aboard were lost.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Saunders |first1=Jonathan |title=Vanguard's Casualties + Survivors |url=http://www.gwpda.org/naval/vancaslt.htm|publisher=The World War I Document Archive |access-date=29 January 2017}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.scapaflowwrecks.com/wrecks/vanguard/people.php |title=HMS Vanguard People: Scapa Flow Wrecks |publisher=Scapa Flow Historic Wreck Site|access-date=23 December 2016}}</ref> ''Collingwood''{{'}}s crew recovered the bodies of three men killed in the explosion.<ref name=b20/> The [[Board of Inquiry]] concluded that a fire of unknown origin began in a 4-inch magazine and spread to one or both of the nearby 12-inch magazines, which detonated and sank the ship.<ref>[[#Burt|Burt]] (1986), pp. 84, 86.</ref>

===Postwar years===
In March 1919, ''St Vincent'' was reduced to reserve and became a gunnery training ship at [[HMNB Portsmouth|Portsmouth]]. She then became flagship of the [[Reserve Fleet (United Kingdom)|Reserve Fleet]] in June and was relieved as gunnery training ship in December, when she was transferred to Rosyth. There she remained until listed for disposal in March 1921; she was sold for scrap on 1 December 1921 and demolished.<ref name=b86/>

In January 1919, ''Collingwood'' was transferred to Devonport and assigned to the Reserve Fleet. Upon the dissolution of the Grand Fleet on 18 March, the Reserve Fleet was renamed the Third Fleet and ''Collingwood'' became its flagship. She became a [[Ship's tender|tender]] to [[HMS Vivid (shore establishment 1890)|HMS ''Vivid'']] on 1 October and served as a gunnery and [[wireless telegraphy]] training ship until early August 1920, when the ship returned to the reserve. ''Collingwood'' served as a [[Boy seaman|boys']] training ship on 22 September 1921 until she was [[Ship decommissioning|paid off]] on 31 March 1922. ''Collingwood'' was sold for scrap on 12 December and was broken up.<ref>[[#Brady|Brady]] (2014), p. 24.</ref>

Much of ''Vanguard''{{'}}s wreck was salvaged before it was declared a war grave in 1984. The amidships portion of the ship is almost completely gone and 'P' and 'Q' turrets are some {{convert|40|m}} away, presumably blown there by the magazine explosions. The bow and stern areas are almost intact as has been revealed by a survey authorised by the [[Ministry of Defence (United Kingdom)|Ministry of Defence]] in 2016 in preparation for the centenary commemoration planned for 2017.<ref name="RNex">{{cite web |title=New Light is Shed on Disastrous Royal Navy Explosion in Scapa Flow |date=20 January 2017 |url=http://navaltoday.com/2017/01/20/new-light-is-shed-on-disastrous-royal-navy-explosion-in-scapa-flow/ |publisher=Naval Today |access-date=29 January 2017}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=Scapa Flow Divers Reveal New Images of HMS Vanguard Wreck |url=http://www.express.co.uk/news/world/756218/hms-vanguard-warship-scapa-flow-ministry-of-defence |access-date=29 January 2017 |publisher=Express Newspapers |date=19 January 2017|language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Canmore |desc=HMS Vanguard: Scapa Flow, Orkney |num=103004 |access-date=29 January 2017 }}</ref> The wreck was named a controlled site in 2002 and cannot be dived upon, except with permission from the Ministry.<ref>{{cite web |title=The Protection of Military Remains Act 1986 (Designation of Vessels and Controlled Sites) Order 2002 |url=http://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2002/1761/article/3/made |publisher=The National Archives|access-date=29 January 2017|language=en}}</ref>