Old Photograph HMS Argyll Armoured Cruiser Built In Greenock By Glasgow Scotland

Old photograph of HMS Argyll armoured cruiser built in Greenock near Glasgow, Scotland. Argyll, named to commemorate the Scottish county of that name, was laid down at Scotts Shipbuilding and Engineering at their Greenock shipyard on 25 March 1902 and was launched on 3 March 1904. In 1912 she was assigned to the 3rd Cruiser Squadron of the Second Fleet. The squadron was assigned to the Grand Fleet in mid 1914 as the Navy mobilized for war. It spent much of its time with the Grand Fleet reinforcing the patrols near the Shetland and Faeroe Islands and the Norwegian coast where Argyll captured a German merchantman on 6 August. Two years later, she ran aground on the Bell Rock near Dundee on 28 October 1915 at night during a storm. During the war, lighthouses were ordered to switch their lights off for fear of assisting German U-boats in their operations, and the light was only turned on by special permission. En route Argyll sent a signal requesting the light to be turned on, but the lighthouse did not have a radio and could only contacted by boat or visual signals. Attempts to notify the lighthouse failed, but the ship was not notified of the failure and proceeded in the expectation of using the light. Soon afterwards, she ran aground, suffering extensive damage to much of the hull and starting a fire. Two destroyers, Hornet and Jackal, were sent and rescued her entire crew without serious injury. The Navy salvaged all of the valuable items on board, including her guns, and she was demolished by the salvage team. In 1970 her two propellers were recovered by divers and sold for scrap. She remains a diveable wreck.



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