HMS Agamemnon

History of HMS Agamemnon

HMS Agamemnon was a prize for the Royal Navy and their last pre-dreadnought production. Designed as a "bridge" between the ironclads of ancient and future dreadnoughts, her design and fate were determined before she was launched. It came after the turn of the century and survived long enough to see World War I (1914-1918), but barely beyond.

The HMS Agamemnon is among the endangered ship species, although it may be twenty years late in its design capabilities.

Her shape is dominated by a central superstructure, twin masts and twin chimneys. Her four 12-inch main guns were mounted in two armored turrets - one in tandem, two guns in each turret. This was complemented by 10 x 9.2 inch guns located in turrets around the superstructure.

Her other weapons include a 24 x 12 pounder and another 2 x 3 pounder type centered on rapid-fire action. To complement this weapon, 5 x 460 mm torpedo tubes and 23 spare torpedoes are provided. With a crew of over 800 people, power comes from her vertical triple expansion 4-cylinder engine powered by no less than 15 boilers.

This turns the twin-screw with 16,750 horsepower and provides a speed of nearly 19 knots.

After launching, the ship performed some basic operations before commissioning in World War I as part of the Channel Fleet in February 1915, alongside her sister ship, Lord Nelson. That same month, her main guns turned to Ottoman targets inland, providing cover fire for amphibious operations shortly after the infamous Gallipoli landings. During this period, HMS Agamemnon survived several direct howitzer ships, but none were critical to the underlying systems, and her crew losses were manageable.

The Agamemnon survived the war and had Ottoman representatives on her deck sign an armistice. In addition, the class had reached its zenith, with HMS Agamemnon being downgraded to target ship in the mid-1920s. Surviving the event, she was dismantled and sold as scrap in 1927.

Agamemnon ordered in 1904, manufactured by William Beardmore Company in 1905, introduced a year later.

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