Plans of
Swiftsure Class
Battleships
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The two battleships of the Swiftsure class had been designed for the Chilean navy as a counter for Argentinean armoured cruisers, but in December 1903, after they had been launched but before they had been completed, they were purchased by the British Government.
In order to fulfil their original purpose they had been designed to be lightly armoured but fast. They carried a relatively weak main armament of four 10in guns, but a more powerful secondary armament of fourteen 7.5in guns. In peacetime they were seen as of little practical use, being too weak to take on enemy battleships and too slow to hunt down modern cruisers, but during the First World War both would provide valuable service.
At the start of the war HMS Swiftsure was the flagship of the East Indies station, while HMS Triumph was in reserve at Hong Kong. The Swiftsure spent the early months of the war escorting Indian Army troop ships from Bombay to Aden. In November she became flagship of the naval forces in the Suez Canal and helped to defeat the Turkish invasion of Egypt. She then moved to the Dardanelles, taking part in the failed attempt to force the straits on 18 March. During 1916 she served with the 9th Cruiser Squadron in the Atlantic, before entering the Chatham reserve in 1917.
At the start of the war HMS Triumph had to be crewed by a combination of gunboat crews and volunteers from the army. She took part in the siege of Tsingtao, before joining the fleet off the Dardanelles. On 25 May 1915 she was sunk by U 21, with the loss of 73 of her crew.
Displacement (loaded) |
Swiftsure 11,800t |
Top Speed |
19kts |
Armour – deck |
3in-1in |
- belt |
7in-3in |
- bulkheads |
6in-2in |
- barbettes |
10in-2in |
- gun houses |
10in-8in |
- battery |
7in |
- coning tower |
11in |
- decks |
3in-1in |
Length |
479ft 9in |
Armaments |
Four 10 guns |
Crew complement |
800 |
Launched |
1903 |
Completed |
1904 |
Sunk |
HMS Swiftsure |
British Battleships 1889-1904 New Revised Edition, R A Burt. Magnificent study of the Royal Navy's pre-dreadnought battleships, amongst the most powerful ships in the world when built, but seen as obsolete by the outbreak of war in 1914. Traces the development of the 'classic' pre-dreadnought design and the slow increase in the power of the secondary armament, leading up to the all-big gun ships that followed. [read full review]
