HMS Mars (1896)
 HMS Mars at anchor
| |
| History | |
|---|---|
 United Kingdom | |
| Namesake | Mars, the Roman god of war |
| Builder | Laird Brothers, Birkenhead |
| Laid down | 2 June 1894 |
| Launched | 30 March 1896 |
| Completed | June 1897 |
| Commissioned | 8 June 1897 |
| Decommissioned | 7 July 1920 |
| Fate | Sold for scrapping 9 May 1921 |
| General characteristics | |
| Class and type | pre-dreadnought battleship |
| Displacement | 16,060 long tons (16,320 t) |
| Length | 421 ft (128 m) |
| Beam | 75 ft (23 m) |
| Draught | 27 ft (8.2 m) |
| Installed power |
|
| Propulsion | 2 × 3-cylinder vertical triple-expansion steam engines, twin screws |
| Speed | 16 kn (30 km/h; 18 mph) |
| Complement | 672 |
| Armament |
|
| Armour |
|
HMS Mars was a
Laird Brothers
shipyard in June 1894, she was launched in March 1896, and she was commissioned into the fleet in June 1897. She was armed with a main battery of four 12-inch (305 mm) guns and a secondary battery of twelve 6-inch (152 mm) guns. The ship had a top speed of 16 knots (30 km/h; 18 mph).
Mars served in the
Dardanelles Campaign before being converted into a depot ship. She remained in service until July 1920; the old ship was sold for scrap in May 1921 and broken up
in November.
Design
Right elevation, deck plan, and hull section as depicted in Brassey's Naval Annual 1902
Mars was 421 feet (128 m)
triple-expansion steam engines powered by eight coal-fired, cylindrical fire-tube boilers. By 1907–1908, she was re-boilered with oil-fired models.[1] Her engines provided a top speed of 16 knots (30 km/h; 18 mph) at 10,000 indicated horsepower (7,500 kW). The Majestics were considered good seaboats with an easy roll and good steamers, although they suffered from high fuel consumption. She had a crew of 672 officers and ratings.[2]
The ship was armed with a
QF 12-pounder guns and twelve QF 2-pounder guns for defence against torpedo boats. She was also equipped with five 18 in (457 mm) torpedo tubes, four of which were submerged in the ship's hull, with the last in a deck-mounted launcher.[2]
Mars and the other ships of her class had 9 inches (229 mm) of
belt armour, which allowed equal protection with less cost in weight compared to previous types of armour. This allowed Mars and her sisters to have a deeper and lighter belt than previous battleships without any loss in protection.[1] The barbettes for the main battery were protected with 14 in (356 mm) of armour, and the conning tower had the same thickness of steel on the sides. The ship's armoured deck was 2.5 to 4.5 in (64 to 114 mm) thick.[2]
Service history
HMS Mars was laid down at the
Portsmouth. During her refit, the Channel Fleet became the Atlantic Fleet in a reorganization on 1 January 1905, and she remained in the renamed unit. Her refit was completed in March 1905. Her Atlantic Fleet service ended on 31 March 1906, when she commissioned into the Reserve at Portsmouth.[3]
Mars recommissioned at Portsmouth for service in the new Channel Fleet on 31 October 1906. This service ended when she paid off at Portsmouth on 4 March 1907. Mars recommissioned on 5 March 1907 for service in the
Devonport. During this service, she underwent refits in 1908–1909 and 1911–1912. By July 1914, she was in the 4th Division, Home Fleet. With war appearing to be imminent, the Royal Navy undertook a precautionary mobilization on 27 July 1914. As part of this, Mars and her sister ships Hannibal, Magnificent, and Victorious formed the 9th Battle Squadron, which was based in the Humber under the Admiral of Patrols. Mars was serving as a guard ship at the Humber when World War I began in August 1914, and continued in that duty after the 9th Battle Squadron was dissolved on 7 August 1914.[6][7]
Mars was transferred to the
Harland and Wolff, retaining only four of her 6-inch (152-mm) guns and some lighter guns; her 12-inch (305-mm) guns were taken to arm the new Lord Clive-class monitors Earl of Peterborough and Sir Thomas Picton.[7] After that, she was laid up in Loch Goil in April 1915.[8]
In September 1915, Mars recommissioned to serve as a
Anzac Cove on 8 and 9 December 1915 and from West Beach at Cape Helles on 8 and 9 January 1916. During the West Beach evacuation, Mars was covered by what had once been her 12-inch (305-mm) guns, now mounted on Sir Thomas Picton. Mars returned to Devonport in February 1916, then paid off at Chatham, where she underwent a refit for conversion to a harbor depot ship. She recommissioned as a harbor depot ship on 1 September 1916, and served in this capacity at Invergordon until July 1920. Mars was placed on the sale list at Invergordon on 7 July 1920. She was sold for scrapping on 9 May 1921 and left Invergordon for scrapping at Briton Ferry in November 1921.[9]
Footnotes
- ^ a b c Gibbons, p. 137.
- ^ a b c d e Lyon & Roberts, p. 34.
- ^ a b c Burt, p. 164.
- ^ "The Coronation - Naval Review". The Times. No. 36845. London. 13 August 1902. p. 4.
- ^ "Naval & Military intelligence". The Times. No. 36880. London. 23 September 1902. p. 8.
- ^ Burt, p. 164–165.
- ^ a b Preston, p. 7.
- ^ a b Burt, p. 165.
- ^ Burt, p. 134.
References
- Burt, R. A. (2013) [1988]. British Battleships 1889–1904. Barnsley: Seaforth Publishing. ISBN 978-1-84832-173-1.
- Gibbons, Tony (1983). The Complete Encyclopedia of Battleships and Battlecruisers: A Technical Directory of All the World's Capital Ships From 1860 to the Present Day. London: Salamander Books. ISBN 978-0-86101-142-1.
- Lyon, David & Roberts, John (1979). "Great Britain and Empire Forces". In Chesneau, Roger & Kolesnik, Eugene M. (eds.). Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships 1860–1905. Greenwich: Conway Maritime Press. pp. 1–113. ISBN 978-0-85177-133-5.
- Preston, Antony (1985). "Great Britain and Empire Forces". In Gardiner, Robert & Gray, Randal (eds.). Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships 1906–1921. Annapolis: Naval Institute Press. pp. 1–104. ISBN 978-0-87021-907-8.
Further reading
- Dittmar, F. J. & Colledge, J. J. (1972). British Warships 1914–1919. London: Ian Allan. ISBN 978-0-7110-0380-4.
- Pears, Randolph (1979) [1957]. British Battleships 1892–1957: The Great Days of the Fleets. London: G. Cave Associates. ISBN 978-0-906223-14-7.
External links
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