Lord Nelson-class battleship

Lord Nelson
Class overview
Name	Lord Nelson class
Builders	Palmers William Beardmore
Operators	Royal Navy
Preceded by	Swiftsure class
Succeeded by	HMS Dreadnought
Built	1905–1908
In service	1908–1926
In commission	1908–1919
Planned	3
Completed	2
Cancelled	1
Scrapped	2
General characteristics
Type	Pre-dreadnought battleship
Displacement	15,358 long tons (15,604 t) (normal) 17,820 long tons (18,106 t) (deep load)
Length	443 ft 6 in (135.2 m) (o/a)
Beam	79 ft 6 in (24.2 m)
Draught	30 ft (9.1 m) (extra deep load)
Installed power	15 water-tube boilers 16,750 ihp (12,490 kW)
Propulsion	2 shafts; 2 triple-expansion steam engines
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	ca. 750 in peacetime ca. 800 in wartime
Armament	2 × twin 12 in (305 mm) guns 4 × twin, 2 × single 9.2 in (234 mm) guns 24 × single 12-pdr 3 in (76 mm) guns 12 × single 3-pdr (47 mm (1.9 in)) guns 5 × 18 in (450 mm) torpedo tubes
Armour	Waterline belt: 12 in (305 mm) Upper belt: 8 in (203 mm) Deck(s): 1–4 in (25–102 mm) Barbettes: 3–12 in (76–305 mm) Main gun turrets: 12 in (305 mm) Secondary gun turrets: 7–8 in (178–203 mm) Conning tower: 12 in (305 mm) Bulkheads: 8 in (203 mm)

The Lord Nelson class consisted of a pair of pre-dreadnought battleships built for the Royal Navy in the first decade of the twentieth century. Although they were the last British pre-dreadnoughts, both were completed and commissioned well over a year after HMS Dreadnought had entered service in late 1906. Lord Nelson and Agamemnon were assigned to the Home Fleet when completed in 1908, with the former ship often serving as a flagship. The sister ships were transferred to the Channel Fleet when the First World War began in August 1914. They were transferred to the Mediterranean Sea in early 1915 to participate in the Dardanelles Campaign.

They remained there after the end of that campaign in 1916 and were assigned to the Eastern Mediterranean Squadron, which was later redesignated the Aegean Squadron, to prevent the ex-German battlecruiser Yavuz Sultan Selim and her consort, the light cruiser Midilli, from breaking out into the Mediterranean from the Dardanelles, although neither ship was present when the German ships made that attempt in early 1918. Both ships participated in the Occupation of Constantinople in November following the Armistice of Mudros which ended Turkish participation in the war. The sisters returned home in mid-1919 and were placed into reserve upon their arrival. Lord Nelson sold for scrap in 1920, but Agamemnon was converted into a radio-controlled target ship that year and continued in that role until being sold for scrap in early 1927, the last surviving British pre-dreadnought.