To round up the
Dukes, I want to present the
Duke of Edinburgh in her last guise.
No longer suitable for fleet work, and showing signs of a hard life, the
Duke has been rebuilt to bring her up to an acceptable standard.
Already in March 1916 her secondary battery was removed; the casemate openings plated over flush with the hull, except the aftermost, recessed one, which was just closed in. In May 1917, the ship was taken in hand by the yard to have legs fitted to her mast, making it a tripod, in anticipation of the 15ft range finder to be installed in her control top (which never, as it were, materialized.) also numerous other changes and improvements are being made, the most important one is the fitting on each side of her forward superstructure of a pair of 6" 50 cal. mounts in casemates, thus bringing her secondary battery up to eight 6" 50 cal.; two shy of her original complement.
Having been allocated to the 2nd CS, after the obliteration of her parent squadron, and remaining at sea until June 2 to look for stricken or disabled vessels and survivors after Jutland, she continued to sortie with the Grand Fleet, until transferred to American and West Indies Station in Aug, 1917.
Now the ship was being utilized for the tedious but ever so important North Atlantic convoy route escort, based alternatively in Halifax and Nova Scotia, Canada; and Kingston Jamaica. That's why her bridge structure has been built up and 'roughened' up. The vast expanse of tarps will provide frozen tars and officers a modicum of protection! She's now almost entirely lost her innate beauty; instead she exudes a kind of tough business-like look. The dazzle camouflage paint job only adds to her rugged appearance.
For two drudging years she and her consorts plough the inclement North Atlantic, bringing in vital supply for the Entete's supreme effort in crushing the Kaiser's victorious armies on the Western Front. As the United States enters the war, in May, 1917, she and her rugged, care-worn siblings will be a welcome sight by American GIs crossing the Big Pond for the first time in their life! With her impressive battery of 9.2" guns and, now efficiently workable 6" guns, no German or Austro-Hungarian surface raider would dare to challenge the convoys! As for the subs, the presence of the big cruisers certainly deters, since they provide a reasonably fast and truly menacing protection for the small sloops detailed and engaged in finding and sinking the German subs!
In other words: although relegated to a secondary role, without much glory or fanfare to be expected, the old ironclad performs a most vital role in the overall Entete war effort.
Now, behold the
Duke of Edinburgh as she appeared during her last two service years (As usual credit for badge goes to Kim Werner Vestergaard):