King Edward VII class battleship

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General characteristics (original configuration)
HMS King Edward VII
Displacement:	normal 16,350 tons full draft 17,500 tons
Length:	453 ft 6 in (138 m)
Beam:	78 ft (23.7 m)
Draught:	26 ft 9 in (8.2 m)
Propulsion:	Coal fired (with oil sprayers) water tube boilers, Two 4-cylinder vertical compound expansion steam engines, 2 screws, 18,000 hp (13 MW)
Speed:	16.75 knots (31 km/h) maximum
Range:
Complement:	777
Armament:	4 × 12 in (305 mm) guns (2 turrets) 4 × 9.2 in (234 mm) guns (4 secondary turrets) 10 × 6 in (152 mm) guns 5 × 18 in (457 mm) torpedo tubes (4 broadside, one stern) 14 × 12 pounder (5 kg) guns 14 × 3 pounder (1.4 kg) guns 2 Maxim machine guns
Armour:	belt amidships: 9 in (229 mm) barbettes: 12 in (305 mm) main turrets: 9 in (229 mm) secondary turrets: 7 in (178 mm) armoured deck: 2 in (51 mm)

The King Edward VII class was a class of battleships launched by the Royal Navy between 1903 and 1905 in response to the emerging navies of Japan and the USA. The navies of these two nations were smaller, but their ships possessed superior secondary armament, a key part of a ship's firepower. The King Edward VII class were built as a response, with the intention of halting the gap in firepower and maintaining the dominance of the Royal Navy.

The design was a direct descendant of the Majestic class, and that class, as well as the Canopus, Formidable and Duncan classes all had 6 inch (152 mm) secondary armament. The King Edwards though, mounted an impressive four 9.2 inch (234 mm) guns that could prove a formidable and potent weapon during any type of engagement, due to its heavier shells compared to the shells of the standard 6 inch (152 mm) guns with the additional advantage of it retaining its ability to quick-fire.

Although very manoeuvrable, they were difficult to keep on a straight course which earned them the nickname "the wobbly eight". Primarily powered by coal, all of the class except New Zealand had oil sprayers installed during construction, the first time this had been done in British battleships. These allowed steam pressure to be rapidly increased, improving the acceleration of the ships.

The King Edwards were made quickly obsolete by 1906, with the launch of the revolutionary battleship HMS Dreadnought, although Commonwealth was reconstructed in 1918 with all the trappings of modern battleships, so as to provide an adequate gunnery training platform.

[edit] Ships of the class

All ships of the class served in World War I and those that survived the war were broken up in 1920–1921.

Africa - In August 1914 she was part of the 3rd Battle Squadron of the huge Grand Fleet, and then in November 1918 joined the 9th Cruiser Squadron, before becoming an accommodation ship in 1919. She was scrapped the following year.
Britannia - She was torpedoed and sunk just two days before the armistice, on 9 November 1918 by U-50 off Cape Trafalgar.
Commonwealth - Rebuilt in 1918. Used as a training ship. Scrapped in 1921
Dominion - She was the third ship of the class to be launched in 1903.
Hibernia - She was the last of the class to be launched, on 17 June 1905.
Hindustan
King Edward VII - The name-ship of the class had a far shorter career than her sister-ships. In 1916 she was mined off Cape Wrath. Her engine rooms flooded and she subsequently capsized twelve hours later.
New Zealand - She was renamed Zealandia to allow a battlecruiser to use the original name.