HMS Erin (1913)

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Career

Laid down:	1 August 1911
Launched:	3 September 1913
Commissioned:	August 1914
Decommissioned:	December 1922
Fate:	Scrapped
General characteristics
Displacement:	27,500 tons normal 30,250 tons full load
Length:	559 ft 6 in (170.5 m)
Beam:	91 ft (28 m)
Draught:	28 ft (8.5 m)
Propulsion:	Parsons 4 shaft steam turbines, 15 Babcock boilers, 26,500 hp (20 MW)
Speed:	21 knots (39 km/h)
Complement:	1,070
Armament:	10 × 13.5 in (345 mm) Mk VI guns (5 twin turrets) 16 × 6 in (152 mm) guns 6 × 6 pdr (57 mm) guns 2 × 3 in (76 mm) 20 cwt anti-aircraft guns 4 x 21 in (533 mm) torpedo tubes
Armour:	12 in (305 mm) main belt, 6 in (152 mm) upper belt, 10 to 3 in (203 to 305 mm) over turrets

HMS Erin was a battleship of the Royal Navy, a modified contemporary of the King George V class. She was originally named Reshadiye, ordered for the navy of the Ottoman Empire but seized by the United Kingdom on the outbreak of World War I.

1 Background and construction
2 Seizure
3 Service
4 References
5 External links

[edit] Background and construction

After the Russo-Turkish War of 1877–1878, Sultan Abdulhamid II withdrew the Ottoman Navy from use and left the ships to rot. One of the important reasons of this decision was his fear of dethronement like Sultan Abdulaziz I. In 1903, the First Lord of the Admiralty, William Palmer, 2nd Earl of Selborne, inspected the condition of the Ottoman Navy and reported that "there was no navy!"

However, the naval arms race of the early 20th century prompted the Ottoman government to embark upon a programme of re-armament by purchasing ships from the best shipbuilders in the world: at that time, in the United Kingdom. By 1914 this programme had purchased forty ships from British yards.

Other navies were undergoing similar programmes of naval expansion. A naval rivalry between Argentina and Brazil led the latter to order a battleship from Armstrong Whitworth in the spring of 1911, to be named Rio de Janeiro. However, by 1913 the two nations had solved their conflicts and Brazil ceased her payments to Armstrong.

The Ottoman Navy placed two orders for battleships: one with Vickers to be called Reshadiye, and one with Armstrong to be called Mahmud Resad V. However, financial difficulties led the latter to be abandoned; instead the Ottoman Navy took over the Armstrong contract for Rio de Janeiro from Brazil, renaming her Sultan Osman I. A third ship, to be named Fatih, was ordered from Vickers in 1914 but cancelled on the outbreak of war.

George Thurston's design for Reshadiye was based on contemporary British battleships of the King George V class, but had a heavier secondary armament and accommodation differences, particularly Turkish-style lavatories. The coal bunkerage and endurance were also less than British practice and the armour belt was shallower.

The war broke out before delivery during the trials. Even though the Turkish crew had arrived to collect her, the British Government took over the vessel for incorporation into the Royal Navy. At the same time the British also took over a second Turkish battleship, a unique vessel being built by Armstrong — the Sultan Osman I which was renamed HMS Agincourt. Such an action was allowed for in the contracts, as then-First Lord of the Admiralty Winston Churchill did not want to risk the ships being used against the British, but it had consequences.

The takeover caused considerable ill-feeling in Turkey, where public subscriptions had partially funded the ships. The battleships had cost £4 million pounds but the British refused the refund the payments. In that period, Ottoman government was in a financial deadlock and for the budget of these battleships, people's donations were asked. In taverns, cafes, schools, markets everybody donated some amount of money for the Ottoman Navy. To encourage this campaign, plentiful donations were awarded with a medal called "Navy Donation Medal".

This proved an important factor in turning Turkish public opinion against Britain, especially as the Turkish Navy had been pro-Britain — the Army having been pro-German. It helped put Turkey (and its Ottoman Empire) into the war on the side of Germany and the Austro-Hungarian Empire against the Triple Entente of Britain, France and Russia (29 October 1914). As an act of generosity to secure their allies, Germany made a gift to Turkey of the battlecruiser SMS Goeben and of the light cruiser SMS Breslau.

[edit] Seizure

When on 27 July 1914 Mr. Rauf went to Newcastle on behalf of the Ottoman government to arrange for transportation of Sultan Osman I, the First Lord of Admiralty Winston Churchill was aware that an embargo would mean a diplomatic crisis but he could not take the risk that these battleships would be engaged against the Royal Navy.

Accordingly, on 3 August 1914, Churchill declared that the British government had embargoed the two battleships. Mr. Rauf in his memoirs says, "We paid the last instalment (700,000 Turkish liras). We reached an agreement with the manufacturer that the ships would be handed over on 2 August 1914. Nevertheless, after we made our payment and half an hour before the ceremony, the British declared that they have requisitioned the ships … Although we protested, nobody paid attention."

When Germany violated Belgian territory Great Britain was compelled to declare war on 4 August 1914 both battleships were taken over by the Royal Navy. This act caused significant outcry in Turkey and was instrumental in the decision of the Ottoman Empire to ally with Germany in October 1914.

[edit] Service

Reshadiye was commissioned in the Royal Navy as HMS Erin, and Sultan Osman I became HMS Agincourt.

Erin joined the 2nd Battle squadron of the Grand Fleet, and fought in the Battle of Jutland. She became flagship of the Nore Reserve in 1919 and was scrapped in 1922 to comply with the Washington Naval Treaty.