Majestic-class battleship
| |
| Class overview | |
|---|---|
| Name | Majestic-class battleship |
| Builders |
|
| Operators | Royal Navy |
| Preceded by | HMS Renown |
| Succeeded by | Canopus class |
| Built | 1893–1898 |
| In commission | December 1895 – November 1921 |
| Completed | 9 |
| Lost | 1 |
| Retired | 8 |
| General characteristics | |
| 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 triple-expansion steam engines, twin screws |
| Speed | 16 kn (30 km/h; 18 mph) |
| Complement | 672 |
| Armament |
|
| Armour |
|
The Majestic class of nine
The Majestics introduced a number of significant improvements to British battleship design, including
The nine ships served in a variety of roles throughout their careers. They primarily served in the
Design
In 1891,
The Board approved the design and intended to lay down three ships under the 1892 programme, but work on the 12 in gun was taking longer than predicted, and so construction was delayed to the 1893 programme. By that time, the third ship of what was to be the Majestic class was redesigned as a second-class battleship,
The Majestics were to be a benchmark for all successor
General characteristics and machinery
The Majestics were 390 feet (120 m)
The Majestics were considered good seaboats, in large part due to their high freeboard, with an easy
During the
Armament
Majestic and her sisters were armed with four
The turrets were placed on pear-shaped barbettes; the first six ships had this arrangement, but the last two, Caesar and Illustrious, had circular barbettes.[2] The BII mountings in the first six ships allowed all-around loading from the supply of ready ammunition kept in the turret, but the guns had to return to the centerline to bring ammunition up from the magazines, as the ammunition hoists did not rotate with the turret. Caesar and Illustrious, with their circular barbettes, had BIII mountings with rotating hoists, and these allowed all-around loading from the magazines. Both the BII and BIII mounts had a range of elevation from −5 degrees to 13.5 degrees, with the loading angle at maximum elevation. During World War I, four of the Majestics were disarmed, and these guns were used to arm eight Lord Clive-class monitors. A further two turrets from Illustrious were later emplaced as coastal guns on the Tyne.[11]
The saving in weight from the main battery allowed the Majestic class to carry a
Armour
The
The barbettes for the main battery were protected with 14 in of armour on their exposed sides above the armoured deck, while the portion that was masked below the deck was reduced to 7 in (178 mm). The
Ships
| Name | Builder[2] | Laid down[2]
|
Launched[2] | Completed[2] |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Caesar | Portsmouth Dockyard
|
25 March 1895 | 2 September 1896 | January 1898 |
| Hannibal | Pembroke Dockyard | 1 May 1894 | 28 April 1896 | April 1898 |
| Illustrious | Chatham Dockyard | 11 March 1895 | 17 September 1896 | April 1898 |
| Jupiter | J & G Thomson, Clydebank | 24 April 1894 | 18 November 1895 | May 1897 |
| Magnificent | Chatham Dockyard | 18 December 1893 | 19 December 1894 | December 1895 |
| Majestic | Portsmouth Dockyard | February 1894 | 31 January 1895 | December 1895 |
| Mars | Laird Brothers
|
2 June 1894 | 30 March 1896 | June 1897 |
| Prince George | Portsmouth Dockyard | 10 September 1894 | 22 August 1895 | November 1896 |
| Victorious | Chatham Dockyard | 28 May 1894 | 19 October 1895 | November 1896 |
Service history
Majestic, Magnificent, Jupiter, Mars, Prince George, and Hannibal served in the
In March 1912, Caesar was reduced to reserve in the 4th Squadron, Home Fleet. Later that year, Majestic, Prince George, and Illustrious were assigned to the 7th Battle Squadron (BS). Following Britain's entry into World War I in August 1914, Caesar and Jupiter were assigned to the 7th BS, which was in turn assigned to the Channel Fleet and tasked with protecting the British Expeditionary Force as it crossed the English Channel to France. At the same time, Hannibal, Mars, Magnificent, and Victorious were assigned to the 9th Battle Squadron and stationed in the Humber to protect the British coast. Illustrious was instead used as a guard ship for the Grand Fleet, and was initially based at Loch Ewe.[15]
In early 1915, Majestic and Prince George took part in the
Victorious was converted into a
Hannibal and Jupiter were sold in January 1920 and thereafter broken up in Italy and Britain, respectively. Illustrious followed her sisters to the breakers in June 1920, being scrapped at Barrow-in-Furness. Caesar was paid off in April 1920 and eventually sold for scrapping in Germany in July 1922. Magnificent and Mars were sold for scrap in May 1921 and broken up at Inverkeithing and Briton Ferry, respectively. Prince George was sold for scrapping in Germany in September, but while en route she ran aground off Camperduin. Victorious was renamed Indus II in 1920 and eventually sold for scrap in December 1922.[15]
Notes
- ^ a b c Burt, pp. 139–140.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n Lyon & Roberts, p. 34.
- ^ Hodges, p. 33.
- ^ Sondhaus, p. 168.
- ^ Watts, p. 221.
- ^ Burt, pp. 139, 147.
- ^ Burt, p. 118.
- ^ a b c Burt, p. 147.
- ^ Burt, pp. 147, 157–158.
- ^ a b c d Gibbons, p. 137.
- ^ a b Friedman, pp. 52–55.
- ^ Friedman, pp. 87–89.
- ^ Friedman, p. 329.
- ^ a b Burt, pp. 147, 150–151, 153.
- ^ a b c d e Burt, pp. 161–167.
- ^ Preston, p. 7.
References
- Burt, R. A. (2013) [1988]. British Battleships 1889–1904. Barnsley: Seaforth Publishing. ISBN 978-1-84832-173-1.
- Friedman, Norman (2011). Naval Weapons of World War One: Guns, Torpedoes, Mines and ASW Weapons of All Nations; An Illustrated Directory. Annapolis: Naval Institute Press. ISBN 978-1-84832-100-7.
- 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.
- Hodges, Peter (1981). The Big Gun: Battleship Main Armament, 1860–1945. Annapolis: Naval Institute Press. ISBN 978-0-87021-917-7.
- 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.
- Sondhaus, Lawrence (2001). Naval Warfare, 1815–1914. London: Routledge. ISBN 978-0-415-21478-0.
- Watts, A. J. (1979). "Japan". In Chesneau, Roger; Kolesnik, Eugene M. (eds.). Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships 1860–1905. Greenwich: Conway Maritime Press. pp. 216–239. ISBN 978-0-8317-0302-8.
Further reading
- Parkes, Oscar (1990). British Battleships. Annapolis: Naval Institute Press. ISBN 1-55750-075-4.
