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LORD NELSON HMS 1906

Posted: Mon Jan 30, 2012 8:18 pm
by aukepalmhof
HMS LORD NELSON was a Lord Nelson-class predreadnought battleship launched in 1906 and completed in 1908. She was the Royal Navy's last predreadnought.
Pre-World War I
HMS LORD NELSON was first commissioned in reserve on 1 December 1908 at Chatham Dockyard, being attached to the Nore Division of the Home Fleet with a nucleus crew. She first went into full commission on 5 January 1909 to relieve the battleship HMS Magnificent as flagship of the Nore Division, Home Fleet, and in April 1909 became part of the First Division, Home Fleet. She was transferred in January 1911 to the Second Division of the Home Fleet, and in May 1912 to the 2nd Battle Squadron. She was temporarily attached in September 1913 to the 4th Battle Squadron. In April 1914 she relieved battleship HMS Queen as Flagship, Vice Admiral, Channel Fleet.
World War I
At the outbreak of World War I in August 1914, HMS LORD NELSON became flagship of the Channel Fleet and was based at Portland. With other ships, she covered the safe transport of the British Expeditionary Force, under the command of Sir John French, to France. On 14 November 1914 she transferred to Sheerness to guard the English coast against the possibility of a German invasion. The ship returned to Portland Harbour on 30 December 1914 and was employed in the defence of the southern ports of England and patrols of the English Channel until February 1915.
Dardanelles campaign, 1915-1916
In February 1915, HMS LORD NELSON was ordered to the Dardanelles to participate in the Dardanelles Campaign. She departed Portland on 18 February 1915 and joined the British Dardanelles Squadron at Mudros on 26 February 1915. She took part in the bombardment of the inner forts and supported the initial landings in early March 1915. The Ottoman Turkish forts engaged her heavily on 7 March 1915 and hit her several times; she suffered damage to her superstructure and rigging and was holed by one hit below the waterline which flooded two coal bunkers. After repairs at Malta, the ship returned to take part in the main attack on the Narrows forts on 18 March 1915. Later she bombarded Ottoman field batteries on 6 May 1915 prior to the Second Battle of Krithia.
HMS LORD NELSON relieved the battleship Queen Elizabeth as flagship of the British Dardanelles Squadron on 12 May 1915, flying the flag of Vice-Admiral Rosslyn Erskine-Wemyss. On 20 June 1915, she bombarded docks and shipping at Gallipoli, aided by the spotting of a kite balloon, and inflicted significant damage. Lord Kitchener made his headquarters aboard her in November 1915 and, on 22 December 1915, HMS LORD NELSON hoisted the flag of Vice Admiral John de Roebeck when he succeeded Wemyss.
Mediterranean operations, 1916-1918
With the end of the Dardanelles Campaign in January 1916, during which HMS LORD NELSON had suffered no casualties, British naval forces in the area were reorganized and she became flagship of the Eastern Mediterranean Squadron, which was redesignated the Aegean Squadron in August 1917; under either name, the squadron was dispersed throughout the area to protect Allied-held islands, support the British Army at Salonika, and guard against any attempted breakout from the Dardanelles by the German battlecruiser Goeben and light cruiser Breslau. HMS LORD NELSON spent the remainder of the war based at Salonika and Mudros, alternating between the two bases with her sister ship Agamemnon; the ship was based mostly at Salonika, with Agamemnon at Mudros.
According to naval historian Ian Buxton, the most important role of the Royal Navy was to blockade the Dardanelles and thus guard the Eastern Mediterranean against a breakout by Goeben.
On 12 January 1918, Rear-Admiral Arthur Hayes-Sadler hoisted his flag aboard HMS LORD NELSON at Mudros as the new commander of the Aegean Squadron. Needing transportation to Salonika for a conference with the British Army commander there, and finding his personal yacht unavailable, Hayes-Sadler opted to have HMS LORD NELSON take him there and thus she was not present when Goeben and Breslau finally made their breakout attempt on 20 January 1918. HMS LORD NELSON could not get back to the Dardanelles in time to participate in the resulting Battle of Imbros or intercept Goeben before she gained shelter in the Dardanelles. Lord Nelson was given a short refit at Malta in October 1918.
Post-World War I
HMS LORD NELSON was part of the British squadron that went to Constantinople in November 1918 following the armistice with the Ottoman Empire, after which she served as flagship in the Black Sea. In April 1919 she conveyed Grand Duke Nicholas and Grand Duke Peter of Russia from the Black Sea to Genoa.
HMS LORD NELSON returned to the United Kingdom in May 1919 and was placed in reserve until August 1919, when she was placed on the sale list. On 4 June 1920 she was sold to Stanlee Shipbreaking Company of Dover. She was resold to Slough Trading Company on 8 November 1920, then again to German scrappers. She was towed to Germany for scrapping in January 1922.
Builder: Palmers Shipbuilding and Iron Company, Jarrow, England
Cost: £1,651,339
Laid down: 18 May 1905
Launched: 4 September 1906
Completed: October 1908
Commissioned: 1 December 1908
Decommissioned: May 1919
Fate: Sold for scrapping 4 June 1920
Class and type: Lord Nelson-class predreadnought battleship
Displacement: 15,358 long tons (15,604 t) normal; 16,090 long tons (16,350 t) load; 17,820 long tons (18,110 t) deep
Length: 443 ft 6 in (135.2 m)
Beam: 79 ft 6 in (24.2 m)
Draught: 26 ft 0 in (7.9 m)
Installed power: 16,750 ihp (12,490 kW)
Propulsion: 2 shafts, 4-cylinder inverted vertical triple-expansion steam engines
15 Babcock and Wilcox water-tube boilers
Speed: 18 knots (33 km/h; 21 mph)
Range: 9,180 nmi (17,000 km; 10,560 mi) at 10 knots (19 km/h; 12 mph)
Complement: Peacetime ca. 750
Wartime 800–817
Armament: 2 × 2 - 12-inch (305 mm) Mk X guns
4 × 2, 2 × 1 - BL 9.2-inch (234 mm) Mk XI guns
24 × 1 - QF 12-pounder 18 cwt guns
2 × 1 - 3-pounder guns
5 x 17.72-inch (450 mm) submerged torpedo tubes; 23 torpedoes carried
Armour: Main belt: 12 inches (305 mm) amidships, 6 to 2 inches (152 to 51 mm) forward
Decks: main 1.5 inches (38 mm); middle 4 to 1 inches (102 to 25.4 mm); lower 3 inches (76.2 mm)
12-inch (305-mm) turrets: 12 inches (305 mm)
9.2-inch (234-mm) turrets: 7 inches (178 mm)
Barbettes: 12 inches (305 mm)
Bulkhead aft: 8 inches (203 mm)
Citadel: 8 inches (203 mm)
Conning tower: 12 inches (305 mm)
Delandre label
Source: Wikipedia

Peter Crichton
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