HMS Glasgow (1909)

HMS "Glasgow", the sixth ship of that name, was launched on the Clyde at Govan in 1909 and was a Town-class light cruiser.

On the outbreak of the First World War, she was operating off the coast of South America, and on 16 August 1914 she captured the German merchant ship SS "Catherina". In the South Atlantic on 1 November 1914, she saw action at the Battle of Coronel, when, together with the cruisers HMS "Good Hope" and HMS "Monmouth", she engaged the German East Asia Cruiser Squadron, including the new cruisers "Scharnhorst" and "Gneisenau". Having inflicted little damage on the enemy, "Glasgow" escaped with moderate damage considering that an estimated 600 shells were fired at her, although the other British cruisers were lost with all hands. Next month, in the battle of the Falkland Islands, in company with the battlecruisers "Invincible" and "Inflexible", the battle with Admiral Von Spee was resumed on more advantageous terms. The victory was convincing with HMS "Glasgow" helping sink "Leipzig". Another German ship, "Dresden", escaped this particular battle, only to be later found by the "Glasgow" and HMS "Kent" and forced to scuttle. After the sinking a sailor from "Glasgow" noticed a pig swimming in the water and after nearly being drowned by the frightened pig, succeeded in rescuing him. The crew named him 'Tirpitz', and he served as the mascot of HMS "Glasgow" for a year and was then transferred to Whale Island Gunnery School, Portsmouth for the rest of his career. [ [http://www.rpsl.org.uk/pig/index.html Royal Philatelic Society London] ] "Glasgow" was assigned to operate in the Mediterranean in 1915, and in 1917 was reassigned to the 8th Light Cruiser Squadron in the Adriatic Sea.

After the war "Glasgow" served briefly as a stokers' training ship before being paid off in 1922 and sold for scrapping on 29 April 1927 to Ward, of Morecambe.

Mt. Glasgow in the Canadian Rockies in Alberta, Canada is named after this ship.

References

*Colledge
*Jane's Fighting Ships of World War One (1919), Jane's Publishing Company
* Gray, Randal (ed), "Conway's All The Worlds Fighting Ships, 1906-1921", (Conway Maritime Press, London, 1985), ISBN 0-85177-245-5
* [http://www.worldwar1.co.uk/light-cruiser/hms-Bristol.html Ships of the Bristol group]