British squadron assembles at Malta

The British chronology of the war records under 26 May 1915 that a British squadron, which was to join the Italian fleet in the Adriatic, assembled at Malta. It consisted of four old battleships, Queen, London, Prince of Wales and Implacable, under the command of Rear-Admiral Cecil Thursby, flying his flag in Queen. The ships had arrived at Malta a few days earlier, and on the morning of 26 May they put to sea together and headed for Taranto.

A promise made to Italy

On entering the war, Italy had demanded the support of the Allied fleets in the Adriatic. The details were settled in Paris, where the negotiations stalled over a dispute about command: neither the French nor the Italians wanted to place their ships under the orders of a foreign admiral. The British broke the deadlock. They offered to reinforce the Italian fleet at once with four battleships and four light cruisers taken from the Dardanelles, if the French replaced them there with ships of their own. In this form the naval convention was signed on 10 May 1915. Two days later the Admiralty instructed Vice-Admiral John de Robeck, commanding the fleet at the Dardanelles, to send Thursby away with his ships as soon as the French replacements arrived.

The British gave the Italians the ships that had gained the most experience of co-operation with the army at the Dardanelles. Cecil Thursby had commanded the squadron that during the night of 24–25 April brought the first Australian troops to Gaba Tepe, and Queen, London and Prince of Wales had then carried the troops of the ANZAC covering force on board. Implacable that same morning gave close support to the landing at X Beach near Cape Helles. All four were pre-dreadnoughts launched at the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries, armed with four 305 mm (12-inch) guns.

From Mudros via Malta

According to Implacable’s log, the battleship left her station off the Dardanelles on 16 May, took on coal and ammunition in the harbour of Mudros on the island of Lemnos, and put to sea on the evening of 18 May. London had left harbour somewhat earlier, while Queen and Prince of Wales entered Mudros the same evening. The British official history states that Thursby sailed with Queen, Prince of Wales, Implacable and London on 18 May; some studies give 22 May as the date the squadron detached. On 21 May Implacable entered the harbour of Valletta, where her hull was cleaned in dry dock. The light cruisers intended for the Italian fleet, Dublin, Dartmouth, Amethyst and Sapphire, also gathered at Malta. The ships took on coal, stores and ammunition, and an Italian naval officer embarked in Amethyst.

At 7.20 a.m. on 26 May Implacable cast off from the quay and, together with Queen, London and Prince of Wales, sailed for Taranto. On the evening of that day Amethyst also left Malta, carrying stores for the battleship squadron. Dublin and Dartmouth had already left earlier. At the Dardanelles the squadron’s departure came at a difficult moment. For several days German submarines had been expected near the peninsula, and de Robeck had had to reduce the number of battleships supporting the troops ashore; the day before, U-21 had sunk the battleship Triumph off Gaba Tepe.