HMS Vindictive

Model: 1/192 scale waterline model of HMS Vindictive, an Arrogant Class Protected Cruiser, showing the ship as she would have appeared prior to the raid on Zeebrugge, on 22/23 April 1918.

On the night of 22/23 April 1918, an attack was made by British forces on the German submarine bases at Zeebrugge and Ostend in order to block the entrance to the Bruges Canal and bar all passage to the Flanders flotilla of submarines. The general plan was simple. Supported by the fire of monitors, a cruiser was to assault the Mole at Zeebrugge on its outer side and divert the German fire from the block-ships, which were to dash in and be scuttled in the entrance to the Canal. A short viaduct joining the Mole to the shore was to be blown up, and Ostend was to be blocked simultaneously. HMS Vindictive was selected for use as the assault ship in the attack on Zeebrugge, and was to land the first wave of seamen storming parties and Royal Marines on the Mole. She was considerably modified for the task, being fitted with an 11in howitzer, two 7.5in howitzers, two large flame throwers, two pom-poms and six Lewis guns in the foretop, splinter mats, as well as retaining much of her original armament. A false flush deck was built from the forecastle to the quarter deck on the port side and three wide ramps were fitted, leading from the upper deck, to facilitate landing and rapid movement. In addition, fourteen narrow prows were fitted, hanging on the false deck, to bridge the gap between the ship and the Mole. The attacking force consisted of Vindictive, two ferry boats, the Iris and the Daffodil, three old cruisers, the Thetis, Intrepid and Iphigenia (to act as block-ships), the Submarine C3 which was used to destroy the Mole, and a supporting force of 13 destroyers, 18 coastal motor boats and 33 motor launches. During the actual attack, only two of the block-ships, Intrepid and Iphigenia, managed to partially blocked the canal, after which, the crews were rescued. However, the simultaneous raid on Ostend had failed, and Vindictive was subsequently sunk when she was used as a block-ship during the second abortive attempt to block the Ostend canal on 9 May 1918.

Model of the Royal Navy crusier HMS Vindictive, made for the Museum by Norman Ough in 1928. Scale 1:16 inch - 1'. (Original caption No 1): On the night of 22/23 April 1918, an attack was made by British forces on the German submarine bases at Zeebrugge and Ostend in order to block the entrance to the Bruges Canal and bar all passage to the Flanders flotilla of submarines. The general plan was simple. Supported by the fire of monitors, a cruiser was to assault the Mole at Zeebrugge on its outer side and divert the German fire from the block-ships, which were to dash in and be scuttled in the entrance to the Canal. A short viaduct joining the Mole to the shore was to be blown up, and Ostend was to be blocked simultaneously. HMS Vindictive was selected for use as the assault ship in the attack on Zeebrugge, and was to land the first wave of seamen storming parties and Royal Marines on the Mole. She was considerably modified for the task, being fitted with an 11in howitzer, two 7.5in howitzers, two large flame throwers, two pom-poms and six Lewis guns in the foretop, splinter mats, as well as retaining much of her original armament. A false flush deck was built from the forecastle to the quarter deck on the port side and three wide ramps were fitted, leading from the upper deck, to facilitate landing and rapid movement. In addition, fourteen narrow prows were fitted, hanging on the false deck, to bridge the gap between the ship and the Mole. The attacking force consisted of Vindictive, two ferry boats, the Iris and the Daffodil, three old cruisers, the Thetis, Intrepid and Iphigenia (to act as block-ships), the Submarine C3 which was used to destroy the Mole, and a supporting force of 13 destroyers, 18 coastal motor boats and 33 motor launches. During the actual attack, only two of the block-ships, Intrepid and Iphigenia, managed to partially blocked the canal, after which, the crews were rescued. However, the simultaneous raid on Ostend had failed, and Vindictive was subsequently sunk when she was used as a block-ship during the second abortive attempt to block the Ostend canal on 9 May 1918. (Original caption No 2): RAIDS ON ZEEBRUGGE AND OSTEND. On 23rd April, 1918, an attack was made by British forces on the German submarine bases at Zeebrugge and Ostend in order to block the entrance to the Bruges Canal and bar all passage to the Flanders flotilla of submarines. The general plan of attack was simple. Supported by the fire of monitors, a cruiser was to assault the Mole at Zeebrugge on its outer side and divert the German fire from block-ships, which were to dash in and be scuttled in the entrance to the Canal. A short viaduct joining the Mole to the shore was to be blown up. Ostend was to be blocked simultaneously. The attacking force consisted of the old cruiser VINDICTIVE, armed with ten 6-inch guns, one 11-inch and two 7-inch howitzers, Stokes' mortars, flame throwers, Lewis guns and pom-poms, was supported by two ferry boats, IRIS and DAFFODIL. Her task was to storm the Mole. The block-ships were the old cruisers THETIS, INTREPID and IPHIGENIA. Behind them were 13 destroyers, 18 coastal motor-boats and 33 motor launches. Submarine C.3 was to blow up the viaduct. Vice-Admiral Keyes was in command, with his flag in H.M.S. WARWICK. At Ostend the blocking attempt was to be made by two old cruisers, BRILLIANT and SIRIUS, supported by monitors, British and French destroyers with 18 motor-launches. The force started at 4.53 p.m. on 22nd April; the bombardment was to open at 11.20 p.m.; the smoke screen was to start at 11.40 p.m.; VINDICTIVE was to reach Zeebrugge Mole at midnight; the first block-ship was to pass the lighthouse at 12.25 a.m. Before darkness set in, Vice-Admiral Keyes made the signal, "St George for England" and the attacking force made for Zeebrugge. Twelve miles from Zeebrugge, the force took up its formation for attack. The night was overcast with a light wind from the northeast; the small craft dispersed, and soon a thick cloud of smoke began to roll down the coast, shrouding everything from sight. As VINDICTIVE neared the shore the wind shifted to the southward and the smoke screen drifted back. German search-lights picked her up and, under heavy fire, the storming party suffered heavily and lost both its leaders. The intention was to run alongside the Mole close to the battery, but a heavy tide carried the ship about 300 yards farther on. It was one minute past midnight when VINDICTIVE ran alongside the Mole. This was a critical moment, for the rush of the three-knot tide created a heavy swell which threw the ship off the Mole. DAFFODIL came up and, butting the ship against the Mole, enabled the storming party to land. They got ashore, but a mass of barbed wire lay between them and the battery where there was fierce fighting. At 12.50 a.m. DAFFODIL'S siren gave the order to retire. Meanwhile, the viaduct was destroyed by Submarine C.3 with 5 1/2 tons of amatol at 12.20 a.m. The storming party withdrew from the Mole in perfect order, bringing their wounded with them, DAFFODIL pulled VINDICTIVE'S bows off the Mole and IRIS came under a heavy fire. Meanwhile the block-ships raked by the shore batteries, passed into the harbour, THETIS fouled a net and ran agound, but INTREPID ran right into the canal. IPHIGENIA managed to make the entrance, drove into the gap between INTREPID and the eastern bank, and blew the charges. The crews were saved by the Motor Launches. By 1.30 a.m. it was all over and the ships were on their way back. At Ostend things had gone badly. The smoke cloud was blown back but, as the mark buoy had been moved, both block-ships ran ashore slightly east of the entrance. On 9th-10th May another attempt was made by VINDICTIVE. Under a heavy fire the ship just made the entrance and grounded. The total personnel of the expedition was 86 officers and 1,698 men of whom 750 were drawn from the Royal Marines. The casualties were as follows : Zeebrugge - killed, 176; missing, 49 (35 believed killed); 412 wounded; 1 Torpedo Boat Destroyer and 2 Motor Launches. Six VCs. were awarded. Ostend: killed, 8; missing (believed killed), 11; wounded, 30; 1 Motor Launch. Three VCs. were awarded. (Original caption No 3): HMS VINDICTIVE Arrogant Class Protected Cruiser. Built at Chatham Dockyard and completed in 1899. Dimensions: length 342 feet;, beam 57 feet 6 in. Displacement : 5750 tons. Armament: guns - ten 6-inch, nine 12-pdr, plus secondary armament; torpedo tubes - three 18-inch. Armour: deck 3-inch. Complement: 480. HMS VINDICTIVE was selected for use as an assault ship in the attack on Zeebrugge, and was to land the first wave of the seamen storming parties and the Royal Marines on the Mole. She was considerably modified for this task. She was fitted with an 11-inch howitzer on her quarter-deck and two 7.5 inch howitzers for engaging the German guns at the shore end of the Mole and for firing on the locks and seaplane base. In addition, she was provided with two large fixed flame throwers. In the foretop there were two pom-poms and six Lewis guns for firing over the Mole parapet, to help the assault. Parts of the upper works were protected by special splinter mats. She retained two 6-inch guns on either side of the upper deck, and had three pom-poms, ten Lewis guns and sixteen Stokes mortars on the port side. Her main mast was removed, part of it being used as a protective bumpkin. Fenders were fitted on the port side to prevent damage while the ship was against the Mole. A false flush deck was built from the forecastle to the quarter deck on the port side and three wide ramps were fitted, leading from the upper deck, to facilitate landing and rapid movement. Fourteen narrow brows were also fitted, hanging on the false deck to bridge the gap between it and the Mole parapet. These were to be lowered by rope tackles.