HMS Agincourt (1913)
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| Missing image HMS_Agincourt_(Royal_Navy_battleship)_.jpg | |
| Career | 
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|---|---|
| Ordered: | |
| Laid down: | September 1911 |
| Launched: | January 1913 |
| Commissioned: | August 1914 |
| Decommissioned: | 1921 |
| Fate: | Scrapped 1924 |
| Struck: | |
| General Characteristics | |
| Displacement: | 27,500 tons normal 30,250 tons full load |
| Length: | 671 ft 6 in (205 mm) |
| Beam: | 89 ft (27.1 m) |
| Draught: | 27 ft (8.2 m) |
| Propulsion: | Parsons 4-shaft steam turbines, 22 Babcock boilers, 40270 hp (30 MW) |
| Speed: | 22.4 knots (41 km/h) @ 40,279 hp maximum |
| Range: | |
| Complement: | 1267 |
| Armament: | 14x 12 inch (305 mm) guns in 7 turrets, 20x 6 inch (152 mm) guns, 10x 3 inch (76 mm) guns, 2x 3 inch (76 mm) anti-aircraft guns, 3x 21 inch (533 mm) torpedo tubes - one subsequently removed |
| Armour: | 9 inch (229 mm) main belt, 6 inch (152 mm) upper belt, 8 to 12 inch (303 to 305 mm) over turrets |
| Aircraft: | 0 |
| Motto: | |
HMS Agincourt was a Dreadnought battleship of the Royal Navy.
She was a unique vessel, laid down by Armstrongs at Newcastle upon Tyne as the Brazilian Rio de Janeiro in September 1911. The chief designer of Armstrongs, Eustace d'Eyncourt, produced her outline design in his hotel bedroom in Brazil during the negotiations. As a result of a collapse in the rubber trade, Brazil cancelled the order in 1912, and sold the vessel on to the Turkish navy for £2,750,000 in January 1914. Renamed the Sultan Osman I, she underwent trials in July 1914 and was completed in August, just as the First World War began.
The war broke out before delivery during the trials. Even though the Turkish crew had arrived to collect her, the British Government seized the vessel for incorporation into the Royal Navy. At the same time the British also took over a second Turkish battleship - The Reshadieh which was renamed HMS Erin). This caused considerable ill-feeling in Turkey, particularly as public subscriptions had partially funded these ships. This proved an important factor in turning Turkish public opinion against Britain, and a major cause of Turkey (and its Ottoman Empire) joining 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 replacements, Germany made a gift to Turkey of the battlecruiser SMS Goeben and of the light cruiser SMS Breslau.
Agincourt was an unusual ship in having seven main turrets. This gave her a broadside of 14 main guns - a commentator remarked that when firing a broadside it looked like a ship blowing up. Normally ship turrets are lettered A,B Q etc, hers were named after the days of the week.
She had poor armour in comparison with her armament, having just 9 inches (229 mm) maximum belt thickness compared with the 12 inches (305 mm) or more appropriate for her armament. Added to this her internal layout was poor, with fewer bulkheads and more open spaces than would have been acceptable for a ship designed for the Royal navy. She would have ranked as a battlecruiser but for her low speed. By her completion, her 12-inch (305 mm) guns had started to become obsolete - most capital ships under construction having larger calibres.
The Royal Navy made modifications before commissioning its prize: in particular they removed a flying-off deck for seaplanes.
The luxurious fittings, that may have led to the original high cost to the Brazilians, gave her the nickname 'Gin Palace'.
Battle Honours
HMS Agincourt formed part of the First Battle Squadron at the Battle of Jutland, which she survived unscathed firing several broadsides without damage.
She was reallocated to the Second Battle Squadron in 1918 and decommissioned in 1919. After unsuccessful attempts to sell her to the Brazilian Government she was recommissioned as a depot ship before being decommissioned again in 1921 and scrapped in 1924.
See HMS Agincourt for other ships of this name.