Majestic class battleship
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.jpg/300px-HMS_Majestic_(Majestic-class_battleship).jpg) HMS Majestic |
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| Class overview | |
|---|---|
| Name: | Majestic |
| Operators: | Royal Navy |
| In commission: | December 1895 - November 1921 |
| Completed: | 9 |
| Lost: | 2 |
| General characteristics | |
| Class and type: | Battleship |
| Displacement: | 14,900 tons (16,000 tons full load) |
| Length: | 413 ft (126 m) |
| Beam: | 75 ft (23 m) |
| Draught: | 27.5 ft (8.4 m) |
| Propulsion: | Water tube boilers, triple-expansion steam engines, 2 screws |
| Speed: | 17 knots (31 km/h) designed 17.6 knots (32.6 km/h) – 18.7 knots (34.6 km/h) on sea trials |
| Range: | ? |
| Complement: | 670 |
| Armament: | Four 12-inch (305 mm) guns Twelve QF 6 in (152 mm) guns Sixteen 12-pounder guns Twelve 3-pounder guns 2 light QF 2 machine guns Five 18-inch (457 mm) torpedo tubes (1 above water, 4 underwater) |
| Armour: | Harvey armour 9-inch (230 mm) side belt 3-inch (80 mm) deck 10-inch (250 mm) barbettes 5-inch (130 mm) secondary turrets |
The Majestic class was a nine-ship class of pre-Dreadnought battleships, built under the Spencer Programme (named after the First Sea Lord, John Poyntz Spencer, 5th Earl Spencer). When Majestic was launched in 1895, at 421 ft (128 m) long and with a full load displacement of 16,000 tons, she was the largest battleship ever built at the time. They were to be a benchmark for successor pre-dreadnoughts.
The Majestic design was also adapted by the Imperial Japanese Navy for their own pre-dreadnought class, the Shikishima class, as well as Mikasa, which was largely based on the Shikishimas.
The Majestics boasted a new gun, the 12 inch Mk VIII, which was a significant improvement on the 13.5-inch (343 mm) gun, which had been fitted on the "Admiral" and Royal Sovereign classes. The class was also the last to have side by side funnels, with successor classes having funnels in a line. They were all effectively made obsolete by the introduction of Dreadnought. All surviving ships were scrapped by 1923.
[edit] Ships of the class
- Caesar served in World War I. She took part in operations after WWI against the Bolsheviks, during the Russian Civil War in the Black Sea.
- Hannibal served as a troopship during WWI, having her 12-inch (300 mm) guns removed for the monitors Prince Eugene and Sir John Moore.
- Illustrious was initially used as a guard-ship during WWI. In 1916 she became an ammunition ship.
- Jupiter was a guard-ship at the Humber, on the outbreak of WWI. She was used as an ice-breaker at Archangel.
- Magnificent was used as a troopship and ammunition ship during WWI. Her main guns were removed for use in monitors.
- Majestic collided with her sister-ship Victorious in 1912. In WWI, she was initially used as an escort for Canadian troop convoys and was involved in the bombardment of Zeebrugge in 1915. She was sunk on 27 May 1915 by U-21 (which had sunk Triumph two days before) while stationed off Cape Helles, Turkey, during the Dardanelles Campaign, with the loss of forty of her crew.
- Mars was used as a guard-ship at the Humber on the outbreak of WWI. Like some of her sister-ships, Mars had her main armament removed for monitors of the Lord Clive class, with Mars subsequently becoming a troop transport. In this role, Mars helped in the evacuation of troops from Gallipoli. She was used as a depot ship for the rest of the war.
- Prince George collided with the armoured cruiser Shannon in 1909. During WWI, she took part in the Dardanelles Campaign.
- Victorious saw no active service during WWI. She was used as a dockyard repair ship for the duration of the war.
[edit] External links
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