HMS Montagu (1901)

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Career (UK)
Name:	HMS Montagu
Builder:	Devonport Dockyard
Laid down:	23 November 1899
Launched:	5 March 1901
Fate:	Wrecked on Lundy Island, 30 May 1906
General characteristics
Class and type:	Duncan-class battleship
Displacement:	14,000 long tons (14,224.7 t) normal
Length:	432 ft (131.7 m)
Beam:	75 ft 7 in (23.0 m)
Draught:	22 ft 7 in (6.9 m)
Propulsion:	Water tube boilers, 2 × vertical triple expansion engines, 2 shafts, 18,000 ihp
Speed:	19 kn (35.2 km/h)
Complement:	720 officers and men
Armament:	Main guns: 4 × 12 inch (2 × 2) Secondary guns: 12 × 6 inch Torpedo tubes: 4 × 18 inch Other weapons: 12 × 12 pdr QF
Armour:	Belt: 7 inch Deck: 2.5 inch Barbettes: 11 inch Turrets: 10 inch

HMS Montagu was a Duncan-class Pre-dreadnought battleship of the Royal Navy, launched at Devonport Dockyard on 5 March 1901 and completed in October 1903. Like her sister ships, she was designed with a shallow draught to pass through the Suez canal. She joined the Channel Fleet in 1905.

At 0200 hours on 30 May 1906 during radio communication trials carried out in thick fog, Montagu ran into Shutter Rock at the south west corner of Lundy Island. The Montagu Steps which subsequently appeared on OS maps were constructed adjacent to the wreck during the salvage. The captain, believing the ship was stuck at Hartland Point on the mainland, sent a party on a rowing boat to the North, instructing them to contact the Hartland Lighthouse. They instead got to the North light on Lundy, where officers asked the Light house keeper to inform the Admiralty that they were aground south of Hartland point. An argument ensued with the keeper until the unanswerable "I know what bloody light I'm keeping" convinced them they were wrong. Strenuous efforts by hundreds of people over several months failed to save the £1m ship, although the Liverpool Salvage Association successfully removed the precious 12" guns. The Western Marine Salvage Company of Penzance completed salvage for scrap metal over the next 15 years. Although the Duncan class battleships were designed in response to reports of fast Russian ships, rather than the new enemy Germany, and were rendered obsolescent by the newly launched Dreadnaught, her loss, during the 1900-1913 Naval arms race, was a significant blow. Her unfortunate captain, Thomas B. S. Adair and Navigating officer were court martialled and dismissed.

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