×
Aircraft / Aviation Vehicles & Artillery Infantry Arms Warships & Submarines Military Ranks Military Pay Chart (2024)
HOME
NAVAL WARFARE INDEX
MODERN FLEETS
WARSHIPS BY COUNTRY
SHIPBUILDERS
COMPARE WARSHIPS
SHIPS BY CONFLICT
SHIPS BY TYPE
SHIPS BY DECADE
SHIPS BY CLASS
WWI NAVAL WARFARE
Naval Warfare

HMS Agincourt


Dreadnought Battleship [ 1914 ]



HMS Agincourt was originally intended for the Brazilian Navy and resold to the Ottoman Empire before being appropriated by the Royal Navy for service in World War 1.



Authored By: Staff Writer | Last Edited: 03/30/2020 | Content ©www.MilitaryFactory.com | The following text is exclusive to this site.

VIEW SPECIFICATIONS [+]
HMS Agincourt joined the British Royal Navy as part of her growing "dreadnought" series of battleships commissioned prior to World War 1 (1914-1918). The dreadnought descriptor was created with the commissioning of the famous HMS Dreadnought of 1906, an all-big-gunned warship with steam propulsion that also incorporated a level blend of speed and protection into her design. Her arrival immediately made all existing lead battleships obsolete and forced national powers to follow in their pursuit of a modern warship. As such, pre-existing vessels became known as "predreadnoughts".

HMS Agincourt proved the only member of her class - which was typically rare in ship procurement. She was also originally ordered by the Brazilian government as "Rio de Janeiro" and constructed by Armstrong at Newcastle-Upon-Tyne with her keel was laid down on September 14th, 1911. She was launched to sea on January 22nd, 1913.

However, during the period of the ship's construction, Brazil fell into an economic downturn which limited her naval arms goals. Unable to afford the vessel, the Ottoman Empire (Turkey) moved in to secure the British warship in December 1913. It was to have carried the name of "Sultan Osman I". With the outbreak of World War 1 on the European mainland, the British government took on ownership of the vessel despite the Turks already having paid off two British-built warships. The British were leery of providing a warship to a nation that was leaning towards partnership with enemy Germany and this resulted in the warship entering service with the Royal Navy in August 1914. The event soured the Ottomans and eased their decision to officially join the Central Powers.

Named after the Battle of Agincourt, which was a decisive English victory over the hated French in October of 1415, HMS Agincourt was commissioned on August 7th and finally completed on August 20th. As built, she was a unique vessel as dreadnoughts went - fitting seven turrets and no fewer than 14 x 12" (304.8mm) BL Mk XIII guns as her main battery. The massed weight lessened her armor protection but she was able to make headway at 22 knots on full in ideal conditions and her sea keeping was regarded as sound. Her propulsion arrangement included 22 x Babcock and Wilcox water-tube boilers with 4 x Parsons steam turbines developing 34,000 horsepower to 4 x shafts which allowed a range of 8,100 miles. At the center of her profile were a pair of smoke funnels and two high-reaching masts which completed her silhouette.

The main battery was spread about seven twin-gunned turrets with two ahead of the bridge superstructure, two at amidships, and the remaining three collected ahead of the stern. Supplemental firepower came from 20 x 6" (152mm) BL Mk XIII guns and 10 x 3" (76mm) guns. Torpedoes could be launched by way of 3 x 21" (533mm) tubes carried.

Armor protection ranged from 229mm thickness at the belt to 64mm maximum on the deck. Her barbettes were protected up to 229mm and her turrets up to 305mm. The conning tower carried 305mm protection and the bulkheads were up to 152mm thick. Her overall displacement was 28,300 tons under standard load and 31,360 tons under full load. Dimensions included a length of 671.5 feet with a width of 89 feet and a draught of 29.9 feet.

HMS Agincourt joined others in forming the 4th Battle Squadron of the Grand Fleet at the outbreak of war. Her early months were spent on patrol and she fired her guns in anger on several occasions throughout the war including as a participant in the Battle of Jutland - the largest naval confrontation of the war - which led to a tactically-inconclusive victory but allowed Britain to retain control over North Sea functions from Germany. The battle took place from May 31st, to June 1st, 1916.

During 1917, her profile was redrawn some when her mainmast tripod was modified to a pole design. HMS Agincourt managed to survive all of the war which ended with an Armistice in November 1918 and lived only a short post-war existence when the British attempted to resell the proven veteran back to the Brazilian government which declined the offer. She was placed in reserve status during 1919 and officially decommissioned in April of 1921. In accordance to the newly-drafted Washington Naval Treaty, HMS Agincourt was scrapped in 1924.©MilitaryFactory.com
Note: The above text is EXCLUSIVE to the site www.MilitaryFactory.com. It is the product of many hours of research and work made possible with the help of contributors, veterans, insiders, and topic specialists. If you happen upon this text anywhere else on the internet or in print, please let us know at MilitaryFactory AT gmail DOT com so that we may take appropriate action against the offender / offending site and continue to protect this original work.

Specifications



Service Year
1914

Origin
United Kingdom national flag graphic
United Kingdom

Status
DECOMMISSIONED
Destroyed, Scrapped.
Complement
1,270
PERSONNEL


Class
Agincourt
Number-in-Class
1
VESSELS
Ships-in-Class


Agincourt


National flag of the United Kingdom United Kingdom
(OPERATORS list includes past, present, and future operators when applicable)
Offshore Bombardment
Offshore bombardment / attack of surface targets / areas primarily through onboard ballistic weaponry.
Land-Attack
Offshore strike of surface targets primarily through onboard missile / rocket weaponry.
Maritime Patrol
Active patroling of vital waterways and maritime areas; can also serve as local deterrence against airborne and seaborne threats.
Airspace Denial / Deterrence
Neutralization or deterrence of airborne elements through onboard ballistic of missile weaponry.
Fleet Support
Serving in support (either firepower or material) of the main surface fleet in Blue Water environments.
Flag Ship / Capital Ship
Serving in the fleet Flag Ship role or Capital Ship in older warship designs / terminology.


Length
671.5 ft
204.67 m
Beam
89.0 ft
27.13 m
Draught
29.9 ft
9.11 m
Displacement
30,250
tons


Installed Power: 22 x Babcock and Wilcox water-tube boilers with 4 x Parsons steam turbines developing 34,000 horsepower to 4 x shafts.
Surface Speed
22.0 kts
(25.3 mph)
Range
7,039 nm
(8,100 mi | 13,036 km)


kts = knots | mph = miles-per-hour | nm = nautical miles | mi = miles | km = kilometers

1 kts = 1.15 mph | 1 nm = 1.15 mi | 1 nm = 1.85 km
14 x 12" (305mm) BL Mk XIII main guns in seven, twin-gunned turrets.
20 x 6" (152mm) BL Mk XIII guns
10 x 3" (76mm) guns
3 x 21" (533mm) torpedo tubes


Supported Types


Graphical image of a historical warship turreted main gun armament
Graphical image of an aircraft aerial torpedo


(Not all weapon types may be represented in the showcase above)
None.


Military lapel ribbon for the Cold War period
Military lapel ribbon for early warship designs
Military lapel ribbon for the Falklands War
Military lapel ribbon for the 1991 Gulf War
Military lapel ribbon for the Korean War
Military lapel ribbon representing modern aircraft
Military lapel ribbon for the Attack on Pearl Harbor
Military lapel ribbon for the Russian Invasion of Ukraine
Military lapel ribbon for the Vietnam War
Military lapel ribbon for the World War 1
Military lapel ribbon for the World War 2


Ribbon graphics not necessarily indicative of actual historical campaign ribbons. Ribbons are clickable to their respective naval campaigns / operations / periods.

Images Gallery



1 / 1
Image of the HMS Agincourt

Disclaimer | Privacy Policy | Cookies


2024 Military Pay Chart Military Ranks DoD Dictionary Conversion Calculators Military Alphabet Code Military Map Symbols

The "Military Factory" name and MilitaryFactory.com logo are registered ® U.S. trademarks protected by all applicable domestic and international intellectual property laws. All written content, illustrations, and photography are unique to this website (unless where indicated) and not for reuse/reproduction in any form. Material presented throughout this website is for historical and entertainment value only and should not to be construed as usable for hardware restoration, maintenance, or general operation. We do not sell any of the items showcased on this site. Please direct all other inquiries to militaryfactory AT gmail.com. No A.I. was used in the generation of this content; site is 100% curated by humans.

Part of a network of sites that includes GlobalFirepower, a data-driven property used in ranking the top military powers of the world, WDMMA.org (World Directory of Modern Military Aircraft), WDMMW.org (World Directory of Modern Military Warships), SR71blackbird.org, detailing the history of the world's most iconic spyplane, and MilitaryRibbons.info, cataloguing military medals and ribbons. Special Interest: RailRoad Junction, the locomotive encyclopedia.


©2023 www.MilitaryFactory.com • All Rights Reserved • Content ©2003-2023 (20yrs)