The origins
HMS Agincourt was a dreadnought-type battleship initially ordered in the british dockyards of Sir W G Armstrong Whitworth & Co Ltd by Brazilian government in 1911 due to South American dreadnought race and was to be named “Rio de Janeiro”. Ship was laid down in 14 September 1911 and launched in 22 January 1913. However, Brazil, crippled with political and economical issues, had to give up on the project and ship was sold to the Ottoman Empire in 13 December 1913 for £2,750,000 and received a new name of “Sultan Osman I”. Near completion The Great War (I World War) broke out and British government seized her 3rd of August in 1914 for use by the Royal Navy, together with another Ottoman dreadnought being constructed in Britain, “Reşad V” of Reşadiye class (called HMS Erin after seizure).
“I have taken the responsibility of forbidding the departure of the Turkish battleship Osman (late Rio) with the Prime Minister’s approval. If war comes she will be called - and shd Your Majesty approve - the Agincourt & will convey Sir Henry Jackson to reinforce, & at the regular date assume command of, the Mediterranean.”
Winston Churchill’s letter to the King George V regarding the seizures - 31 July 1914
It’s said this event caused such a signifcant disturbance in the relations betewn Ottoman and British Empires, it made Ottomans join the Central Powers.
Note: The contract did allow the British government to seize the ship, but only under condition of being in a major conflict, and Britain was yet to participate, so the seizure of the vessel was illegal and a wrongdoing.
Future HMS Agincourt under construction, still bearing the name “Sultan Osman I”
Commission and service
Under the new name, HMS Agincourt was commissioned 7th August was working up untill 7th September 1914, when she joined 4th Battle Squadron of The Grand Fleet. Most of her time she was sailing around The Home Island as security measure against probable submarine attacks at Scapa Flow. Right before the Battle of Jutland she got assigned to the 1st Battle Squadron of The Grand Fleet.
Story of contribution in the Battle of Jutland (quoted from wikipedia page regarding the battle)
"She was the last ship of the Sixth Division of the 1st BS, along with Hercules, Revenge and the flagship, Marlborough, the most heterogeneous group possible as each ship was from a different class. The Sixth Division was the starboardmost column of the Grand Fleet as it headed south to rendezvous with the ships of Admiral Beatty, then engaged with their opposite numbers from the German High Seas Fleet in the North Sea. Admiral Jellicoe, commander of the Grand Fleet, kept it in cruising formation until 18:15, when he ordered it to deploy from column into a single line based on the port division, each ship turning 90° in succession. This turn made the Sixth Division the closest ships in the Grand Fleet to the battleships of the High Seas Fleet, and they fired on each ship as they made their turn to port. This concentration of fire later became known as “Windy Corner” to the British, as the ships were drenched by German shell splashes although none were hit.
At 18:24, Agincourt opened fire on a German battlecruiser with her main guns. Shortly afterwards her six-inch guns followed suit as German destroyers made torpedo attacks on the British battleships to cover the turn to the south of the High Seas Fleet. Agincourt successfully evaded two torpedoes, although another struck Marlborough. Visibility cleared around 19:15, and she engaged a Kaiser-class battleship without result before it was lost in the smoke and haze. Around 20:00, Marlborough was forced to reduce speed because of the strain on her bulkheads from her torpedo damage and her division mates conformed to her speed. In the reduced visibility the division lost sight of the Grand Fleet during the night, passing the badly damaged battlecruiser SMS Seydlitz without opening fire. Dawn found them with only the detritus from the previous day’s battle in sight and the division arrived back at Scapa Flow on 2 June. Agincourt fired 144 twelve-inch shells and 111 six-inch shells during the battle, although she is not known to have hit anything."
HMS Agincourt as completed in 1914, notice the bridge connecting funnels
HMS Agincourt in either 1915 or 1916, these refits lack the bridge between the funnels and feature slightly reinforced “bastion”
This picture shows an interesting dark paintjob applied on the hull of 1915-1916 version - origin unknown
Refited HMS Agincourt in 1918 without it’s second mast. This version was also equiped with aditional rangefinders
Other than occasional patrols, the rest of her service was pretty much uneventful. She was stationed at Scapa Flow in order to provide protection of scandinavian convoy routes if needed. Being transfered to 2nd Battle Squadron, she was present at the surrender of the Hish Seas Fleet (Hochseeflotte) and put at the reserve at Rosyth in March 1919. Later that year, 1920 and 1921 Admiralty tried to resell Agincourt to Brazil, unsuccesfuly, and was put to disposal in April 1921, but recommissioned again for experimental purposes with plans to convert her into a mobile naval base. However, the conversion was cancelled on 23 February 1922 after the Washington Naval Treaty was signed, which limited the tonnage of the vesseles in the Royal Navy.
HMS Agincourt was sold for scrap on 22 January 1923 for mere £25,000 and met her fate around January 1925
HMS Agincourt was the only of its kind, not only was just one unit built, but also it futured an exclusive arrangement of 7 turrets of main artillery, giving it 14 main caliber cannons in total.
Armament
- 7x Twin-mounted BL 12 inch Mk XIII naval gun
- 20x Songle-mounted BL 6-inch Mk XIII naval gun - Type “E” mountings
- 10x Single-mounted QF 3-inch 20 cwt anti-aircraft gun
- 3x submerged 21-inch (533mm) torpedo launcher
Section of barbette and gunhouse of HMS Agincourt
Armour, displacement and layout
- Belt - 9" (229 mm)
- Deck - 1–2.5" (25–64 mm)
- Barbettes - 2–9" (51–229 mm)
- Turret - 8–12" (203–305 mm)
- Conning tower - 12" (305 mm)
- Bulkheads - 2.5–6" (64–152 mm)
Armour description
Agincourt’s design focused heavily on its armament, resulting in a compromise on armor. Its waterline belt measured only 9 inches (229 mm) thick, compared to the 12 inches or more found on other British dreadnoughts. This belt extended about 365 feet (111.3 m), starting from the forward edge of the “Monday” barbette and reaching the middle of the “Friday” barbette. Forward of this, the thickness decreased to 6 inches for roughly 50 feet (15.2 m), and then further down to 4 inches (102 mm) all the way to the bow. Aft of the midships section, the belt again reduced to 6 inches for about 30 feet (9.1 m), then thinned to 4 inches, stopping before the stern at the rear bulkhead. The upper belt was 6 inches thick and ran from the main deck to the upper deck, covering from the “Monday” barbette to the “Thursday” barbette. The armour bulkheads at both ends of the ship angled inward and were 3 inches thick. Four of Agincourt’s decks featured varying armor thicknesses from 1 to 2.5 inches (25 to 64 mm).
A notable weakness in Agincourt’s protection lay in its barbettes, which had 9 inches of armor above the upper deck but reduced to 3 inches between the upper and main decks, with no armor below the main deck except for the “Sunday” barbette (3 inches) and the “Thursday” and “Saturday” barbettes (2 inches each). The turret armor was thicker, with 12 inches on the face, 8 inches (203 mm) on the sides, and 10 inches (254 mm) at the rear, while the turret roofs had 3 inches of thickness at the front and 2 inches at the back. The secondary armament casemates were shielded by 6 inches of armor and had 6-inch-thick bulkheads to protect against raking fire.
The main conning tower had 12 inches of armor on its sides and a 4-inch thick roof, while the aft conning tower (often referred to as the torpedo control tower) had 9-inch sides and a 3-inch roof. The communications tubes leading down from each tower had 6 inches of thickness above the upper deck and 2 inches below it. Each magazine was fortified with two armor plates on each side serving as torpedo bulkheads, the first being an inch thick and the second one and a half inches.
Agincourt also had a significant flaw in that it lacked the watertight subdivisions expected by the Royal Navy, as the Brazilian designers opted to eliminate as many bulkheads as possible to enhance compartment size and crew comfort. For example, the officer’s wardroom was a spacious 85 by 60 feet (25.9 by 18.3 m), much larger than anything typically found in the Grand Fleet.
Technical drawings and layout schemes
HMS Agincourt’s displacement on normal load was 28,300 metric tons and 31,360 metric tons on deep load
Propulsion
Agincourt was powered with four Parsons Marine Steam Turbine Company direct-drive steam turbines generating more than 40000 HP (they were designed to generate 34000 HP but sea trials proved otherwise) and giving her the maximum speed of over 22 knots (41 km/h; 25 mph).
Dimensions
- Length - 671 ft 6 in (204.7 m)
- Beam - 89 ft (27.1 m)
- Draught - 29 ft 10 in (9.1 m)
Notable wartime modifications:
- 70 long tons (71 t) of high-tensile steel was added to the main deck after the Battle of Jutland in order to protect the magazines
- Two single_mounted 3-inch (76 mm) AA guns were added to the quarterdeck in 1917–18. A 9-foot (2.7 m) rangefinder was added to the former searchlight platform on the foremast at the same time
- A high-angle rangefinder was added to the spotting top in 1918
- Yes
- No
- Added behind HMS Colossus
- Added somewhere else in the Tech-tree
- As an event vehicle
- As a premium
- I said no to the first poll
Sources: