HMS Louis, Suvla wreck

[Eceabat]

Hi Pals,

I’m hoping that someone with knowledge of matters maritime far greater than mine could help with a technical query regarding the Laforey (L) class destroyer HMS Louis, which ran aground at Suvla Bay on 31 October 1915, later breaking her back a few days later and becoming a complete loss.

What I am trying to find out is what was the configuration of the Louis’ boilers and turbines. The Louis was fitted with Brown Curtis steam turbines and four Yarrow boilers and the question is were the boilers set out in a single line one behind the other down the centre line of the hull fore and aft or were they set out in pairs, with two sets of boilers one behind the other?

There is a wreck in about 20 metres of water off West Beach at Suvla, lying some distance from where the Louis grounded and I and some others are trying to determine if it is the Louis or some other vessel.

Any advice from nautical pals would be very much appreciated.

Cheers

Bill

[michaeldr]

Bill,

Sorry, no info re the boilers, however for general interest see HMS Louis here http://www.warshipsww2.eu/shipsplus.php?la...1&id=503255

Very best of luck on this fascinating quest

Michael

[michaeldr]

Again, I regret not much help re the boilers, but of general interest re the Louis

From the Naval OH – "At the end of October the weather had broken, with a south-westerly gale, which in the early hours of November 1, besides doing much other damage, had driven the destroyer Louis ashore in Suvla Bay. For several days it prevented all attempts to salve her, and she became a total loss."

[ionia]

Hi Pals,

I’m hoping that someone with knowledge of matters maritime far greater than mine could help with a technical query regarding the Laforey (L) class destroyer HMS Louis, which ran aground at Suvla Bay on 31 October 1915, later breaking her back a few days later and becoming a complete loss.

What I am trying to find out is what was the configuration of the Louis’ boilers and turbines. The Louis was fitted with Brown Curtis steam turbines and four Yarrow boilers and the question is were the boilers set out in a single line one behind the other down the centre line of the hull fore and aft or were they set out in pairs, with two sets of boilers one behind the other?

There is a wreck in about 20 metres of water off West Beach at Suvla, lying some distance from where the Louis grounded and I and some others are trying to determine if it is the Louis or some other vessel.

Any advice from nautical pals would be very much appreciated.

Cheers

Bill

Not much help,but, at a guess, the boilers were in line. The four boiler version of the L Class has two boiler rooms of about equal length and the three boiler version also has two boiler rooms but has one about one half the length of the other.

[Eceabat]

Hi Ionia and Michael,

thanks for the replies.

Ionia, well your info could be very helpful regarding the two boiler room set up in both the three and four boiler versions in the L class.

It looks like our wreck has four boilers but the issue is that the damn thing is well away from where all charts suggest the Louis should be. Contemporary photos show the wreck in two pieces late in the campaign, but we still have to settle whether the Louis could have slipped backwards off the rocks she was on, and moved backwards a couple of hundred metres while underwater. I have checked and the Louis was a destroyer, not a submarine.

Hopefully, we will be getting a side scanner over the wreck and the rest of the area in a day or two. It might give us more ideas, especially if we can find the missing third of the ship, assuming it is the Louis.

Michael, thanks for the link and the chart, I have seen the one you posted, which is good and does roughly mark where the Louis should be, it just is the litle begger does not seem to be where the chart says it should be.

Cheers

Bill

[michaeldr]

Bill,

Best of luck with the side-scanner; please let us know how you get on

Just by way of crossing Ts and dotting Is,

on the plan above, the vessel at right angles to the bow of the Fieramosca is described in the Naval OH as a "wrecked dredger used for (a) boat pier"

There are further details on the Louis (and on the Pina, Fieramosca & the dredger) to be seen here http://www.naval-history.net/WW1NavyBritishBVLSaRN1510.htm

Usefully, the notes on the Louis include the PRO file refs

Good luck

Michael

[sotonmate]

Bill

Just a thought - might the 1914 Jane's Fighting Ships have the propulsion details ?

Sotonmate

[ionia]

Bill

Just a thought - might the 1914 Jane's Fighting Ships have the propulsion details ?

Sotonmate

Nothing in JFS 1914.

[Eceabat]

Hi all,

we are almost certain it is the Louis, what from the size of the wreck, the boiler configuration (thanks for that Ionia) and from the finding of what appears to be the mounting on a remaining part of the deck for a gun. As the Louis was the only warship lost in the area, even though the wreck has moved from where the vessel originally grounded I think we are good on that one.

There is nothing but a few plates to be found of the Fieramosca, while so far nothing at all has been found of the Pina, indicating both were broken up or salvaged post war.

Thanks again for all of the assistance and advice, much appreciated.

Cheers

Bill

[michaeldr]

Bill,

just came across this photograph by Ernest Brooks RNVR showing the stranded HMS Louis

It gives some idea of her position [vis a vis rocks] & I may be wrong, but she seems further out than is implied by the earlier map and perhaps closer to where you chaps have recently found her

best regards

Michael

[michaeldr]

Bill,

While the plan below may not be of any further help with the wreck of HMS Louis, it may nevertheless be of interest as a supplement to the one given earlier in post # 3 above. It represents the scheme for the docking of craft at the evacuation and is from an article in The Naval Review, Vol. IV, 1916 [pages 322/323]

Good luck with your snorkelling

Michael

[bluedog]

Bill

Savas Karakas sent me this last night

http://au.tv.yahoo.com/sunday-night/video/-/watch/22116305

Peter