A diver on one of the quadruple propellers
HMS Audacious was a King George V-class battleship of the Royal Navy. The vessel did not see any combat in the First World War, being sunk by a German naval mine off the northern coast of Donegal, Ireland in 1914.
Propulsion
The machinery arrangement was very similar to that of the earlier Orion class: quadruple propellers driven by Parsons direct drive steam turbines. The machinery spaces were split into three, with the inboard shafts leading to the centre engine room, and the outer shafts to the port and starboard wing engine rooms. The two inboard shafts were driven by the high pressure ahead and astern turbines, with the ahead turbines having an extra stage for cruising. This was separated from the main turbine by a bypass valve. The outer shafts were driven by the ahead and astern low pressure turbines. For cruising, the outboard turbines would be shut down, the ship relying on the inboard shafts alone. The Yarrow boilers remained in three groups of six, eighteen boilers in total. Although primarily coal-fired, Audacious was equipped with oil spraying equipment for quickly raising steam. Normal power was 31,000 SHP, giving 21 knots (39 km/h). Bunker capacity was up to 3,180 tons of coal and 800 tons of oil, which gave a range of 6,370 miles (10,250 km) at 10 knots (19 km/h).
Would you like to read more blog posts? Go to the page News.