HMS Mars was a Royal Navy

Royal Navy

The Royal Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Founded in the 16th century, it is the oldest service branch and is known as the Senior Service...

 predreadnought battleship

Battleship

A battleship is a large armored warship with a main battery consisting of heavy caliber guns. Battleships were larger, better armed and armored than cruisers and destroyers. As the largest armed ships in a fleet, battleships were used to attain command of the sea and represented the apex of a...

 of the Majestic class

Majestic class battleship

The Majestic class was a class of pre-dreadnought battleships, built under the Spencer Programme of 8 December 1893, that sought to counter the growing naval strength of France and the Russian Empire...

.

Technical characteristics

HMS Mars was laid down by Cammell Laird

Cammell Laird

Cammell Laird, one of the most famous names in British shipbuilding during the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, came about following the merger of Laird, Son & Co. of Birkenhead and Johnson Cammell & Co. of Sheffield at the turn of the twentieth century.- Founding of the business :The Company...

 at Birkenhead

Birkenhead

Birkenhead is a town within the Metropolitan Borough of Wirral in Merseyside, England. It is on the Wirral Peninsula, along the west bank of the River Mersey, opposite the city of Liverpool...

 on 2 June 1894 and launched on 3 March 1896. Labor troubles delayed the delivery of her machinery, and she was not completed until June 1897.

When the lead ship of the class, HMS Majestic

HMS Majestic (1895)

HMS Majestic was a Majestic-class predreadnought battleship of the Royal Navy.-Technical characteristics:HMS Majestic was laid down at Portsmouth Dockyard on 5 February 1894 and launched on 31 January 1895...

, was launched in 1895, at 421 ft (128.3 m) long and with a full-load displacement of 16,000 tons, she was the largest battleship ever built at the time. The Majestics were considered good seaboats with an easy roll and good steamers, although they suffered from high fuel consumption. Mars began life as a coal-burner, but in 1905-1906 became the first battleship converted to burn fuel oil. Mars and her sisters were the last British battleships to have side-by-side funnels, successor classes having funnels in a line.

Mars had a new design in which the bridge was mounted around the base of the foremast behind the conning tower to prevent a battle-damaged bridge from collapsing around the tower. Mars and six of her sisters had pear-shaped barbettes and fixed loading positions for the main guns, although her sisters Caesar

HMS Caesar (1896)

HMS Caesar was a Majestic-class pre-dreadnought battleship of the Royal Navy, named after the Roman military and political leader Julius Caesar.-Technical description:...

 and Illustrious

HMS Illustrious (1896)

The third HMS Illustrious of the British Royal Navy was a Majestic-class pre-dreadnought battleship launched in 1896. She was in front-line service during the final years of the 19th century and early 20th century...

 had circular barbettes and all-around loading for their main guns, which established the pattern for future classes.

Mars and the other Majestic-class ships had 9 inches (229 mm) of Harvey armor

Harvey armor

Harvey armor was a type of steel armor developed in the early 1890s in which the front surfaces of the plates were case hardened. The method for doing this was known as the Harvey process....

, which allowed equal protection with less cost in weight compared to previous types of armor. This allowed the Mars and her sisters to have a deeper and lighter belt than previous battleships without any loss in protection. She was divided into 150 watertight compartments.

The Majestics boasted a new gun, the 46-ton 12-inch (305-mm) 35-caliber Mk VIII

BL 12 inch naval gun Mk VIII

The BL 12 inch naval gun Mark VIII was one of the first large British naval guns designed for the higher pressures generated by the new cordite propellant, and Britain's first large wire-wound gun...

, the first new British battleships to mount a 12-inch (305-mm) main battery since the 1880s. One hundred thirteen miles (182 km) of wire were wrapped around each gun barrel, and each gun took nine months to manufacture. Mars carried four such guns in two barbette

Barbette

A barbette is a protective circular armour feature around a cannon or heavy artillery gun. The name comes from the French phrase en barbette referring to the practice of firing a field gun over a parapet rather than through an opening . The former gives better angles of fire but less protection...

s, one forward and one aft, with up to 400 rounds for each. The new gun, which would be the standard main armament of British battleships for sixteen years, was a significant improvement on the 13.5-inch (343-mm) gun which had been fitted on the Admiral

Admiral class battleship

The British Royal Navy's pre-dreadnought Admiral class battleships of the 1880s followed the pattern of the Devastation class in having the main armament on centre-line mounts with the superstructure in between. This pattern was followed by most following British designs until in 1906...

 and Royal Sovereign

Royal Sovereign class battleship

The Royal Sovereign class was a class of pre-dreadnought battleships of the British Royal Navy. The class comprised seven ships built to the same design: HMS Royal Sovereign, , HMS Ramilles, HMS Repulse, HMS Resolution, HMS Revenge, and HMS Royal Oak, and a half-sister built to a modified design: ....

 classes that preceded the Majestics. and was lighter. This saving in weight allowed Mars to carry a secondary battery of twelve 6-inch (152-mm) 40-caliber guns, a larger secondary armament than in previous classes. She also had four submerged torpedo tubes in the bow and one above water in the stern.

Pre-World War I

HMS Mars commissioned on 8 June 1897 for service with the Channel Fleet

Channel Fleet

The Channel Fleet was the Royal Navy formation of warships that defended the waters of the English Channel from 1690 to 1909.-History:The Channel Fleet dates back at least to 1690 when its role was to defend England against the French threat under the leadership of Edward Russell, 1st Earl of...

. She was present at the Fleet Review at Spithead

Spithead

Spithead is an area of the Solent and a roadstead off Gilkicker Point in Hampshire, England. It is protected from all winds, except those from the southeast...

 for the Diamond Jubilee

Diamond Jubilee

A Diamond Jubilee is a celebration held to mark a 60th anniversary in the case of a person or a 75th anniversary in the case of an event.- Thailand :...

 of Queen Victoria on 26 June 1897. She suffered a serious accident in April 1902 when one of her forward 12-inch (305-mm) guns was fired before the breech was closed, killing two officers and nine enlisted men, injuring seven, and wrecking the forward main battery turret. She was at the Coronation Fleet Review for King Edward VII on 16 August 1902.

On 16 August 1904, Mars began a refit at Portsmouth. During her refit, the Channel Fleet became a new Atlantic Fleet in a reorganization on 1 January 1905, she became a unit of the Atlantic Fleet. Her refit was completed in March 1905. Her Atlantic Fleet service ended on 31 March 1906, when she commissioned into the Reserve at Portsmouth.

Mars recommissioned at Portsmouth for service in the new Channel Fleet on 31 October 1906. This service ended when she paid off at Portsmouth on 4 March 1907.

Mars recommissioned on 5 March 1907 for service in the Devonport Division of the new Home Fleet which had been organized in January 1907, and was based at Devonport

Devonport, Devon

Devonport, formerly named Plymouth Dock or just Dock, is a district of Plymouth in the English county of Devon, although it was, at one time, the more important settlement. It became a county borough in 1889...

. During this service, she underwent refits in 1908-1909 and 1911-1912. By July 1914, she was in the 4th Division, Home Fleet.

As battleship

With war appearing to be imminent, the Royal Navy undertook a precautionary mobilization on 27 July 1914. As part of this, Mars and her sister ships HMS Hannibal

HMS Hannibal (1896)

HMS Hannibal was a Majestic class pre-dreadnought battleship and the sixth ship to bear the name HMS Hannibal.-Technical characteristics:...

, HMS Magnificent

HMS Magnificent (1894)

HMS Magnificent was one of the nine Majestic-class battleships of the Royal Navy .-Technical characteristics:HMS Magnificent was laid down on 18 December 1893 at Chatham Dockyard...

, and HMS Victorious

HMS Victorious (1895)

HMS Victorious was one of nine Majestic-class predreadnought battleships of the British Royal Navy.-Technical characteristics:HMS Victorious was laid down at Chatham Dockyard on 28 May 1894 and launched on 19 October 1895...

 formed the 9th Battle Squadron, which was based in the Humber

Humber

The Humber is a large tidal estuary on the east coast of Northern England. It is formed at Trent Falls, Faxfleet, by the confluence of the tidal River Ouse and the tidal River Trent. From here to the North Sea, it forms part of the boundary between the East Riding of Yorkshire on the north bank...

 under the Admiral of Patrols. Mars was serving as a guard ship at the Humber when World War I

World War I

World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...

 began in August 1914, and continued in that duty after the 9th Battle Squadron was dissolved on 7 August 1914.

Mars was transferred to the Dover Patrol

Dover Patrol

The Dover Patrol was a Royal Navy command of the First World War, notable for its involvement in the Zeebrugge Raid on 22 April 1918. The Dover Patrol formed a discrete unit of the Royal Navy based at Dover and Dunkirk for the duration of the First World War...

 on 9 December 1914, and was based at Dover briefly before moving to Portland on 11 December 1914. She was based at Portland until February 1915.

The Majestic-class ships were by then the oldest and least effective battleships in service in the Royal Navy. In February 1915, Mars transferred to Belfast

Belfast

Belfast is the capital of and largest city in Northern Ireland. By population, it is the 14th biggest city in the United Kingdom and second biggest on the island of Ireland . It is the seat of the devolved government and legislative Northern Ireland Assembly...

, where she paid off on 15 February 1915. In March and April 1915 she was disarmed there by Harland and Wolff

Harland and Wolff

Harland and Wolff Heavy Industries is a Northern Irish heavy industrial company, specialising in shipbuilding and offshore construction, located in Belfast, Northern Ireland....

, retaining only four of her 6-inch (152-mm) guns and some lighter guns; her 12-inch (305-mm) guns were taken to arm the new Lord Clive-class

Lord Clive class monitor

The Lord Clive class, sometimes referred to as the General Wolfe class, of monitors were ships designed for shore bombardment and were constructed for the Royal Navy during the First World War.-Design:...

 monitor

Monitor (warship)

A monitor was a class of relatively small warship which was neither fast nor strongly armoured but carried disproportionately large guns. They were used by some navies from the 1860s until the end of World War II, and saw their final use by the United States Navy during the Vietnam War.The monitors...

s HMS Earl of Peterborough and HMS Sir Thomas Picton. After that, she was laid up in Loch Goil

Loch Goil

Loch Goil is a small sea loch in Scotland.It is an arm of Loch Long. The village of Lochgoilhead stands at its head.Located in the Loch Lomond & Trossachs National Park, Lochgoilhead sits at the head of Loch Goil, a fjord type sea loch. Only an hour from the Erskine Bridge, Glasgow Airport the M8...

 in April 1915.

As troopship

In September 1915, Mars recommissioned to serve as a troopship

Troopship

A troopship is a ship used to carry soldiers, either in peacetime or wartime...

 in the Dardanelles campaign. Mars and her similarly disarmed sister ships Hannibal and Magnificent, also acting as troopships, arrived at Mudros on 5 October 1915. At the Dardanelles

Dardanelles

The Dardanelles , formerly known as the Hellespont, is a narrow strait in northwestern Turkey connecting the Aegean Sea to the Sea of Marmara. It is one of the Turkish Straits, along with its counterpart the Bosphorus. It is located at approximately...

, Mars took part in the evacuation of Allied troops from Anzac Cove

Anzac Cove

Anzac Cove is a small cove on the Gallipoli peninsula in Turkey. It became famous as the site of World War I landing of the ANZAC on April 25, 1915. The cove is a mere long, bounded by the headlands of Ari Burnu to the north and Little Ari Burnu, known as Hell Spit, to the south...

 on 8 December 1915 and 9 December 1915 and from West Beach at Cape Helles

Cape Helles

Cape Helles is the rocky headland at the south-westernmost tip of the Gallipoli peninsula, Turkey. It was the scene of heavy fighting between Turkish and British troops during the landing at Cape Helles at the beginning of the Gallipoli Campaign in 1915....

 on 8 January 1916 and 9 January 1916. During the West Beach evacuation, Mars was covered by what had once been her 12-inch (305-mm) guns, now mounted on monitor Sir Thomas Picton.

Decommissioning and subsidiary duties

Mars returned to Devonport in February 1916, then paid off at Chatham

Chatham Dockyard

Chatham Dockyard, located on the River Medway and of which two-thirds is in Gillingham and one third in Chatham, Kent, England, came into existence at the time when, following the Reformation, relations with the Catholic countries of Europe had worsened, leading to a requirement for additional...

, where she underwent a refit for conversion to a harbor depot ship. She recommissioned as a harbor depot ship on 1 September 1916, and served in this capacity at Invergordon

Invergordon

Invergordon is a town and port in Easter Ross, in Ross and Cromarty, Highland, Scotland.-History:The town is well known for the Invergordon Mutiny of 1931. More recently it was also known for the repair of oil rigs which used to be lined up in the Cromarty Firth on which the town is situated...

 until July 1920.

Disposal

Mars was placed on the sale list at Invergordon on 7 July 1920. She was sold for scrapping on 9 May 1921 and left Invergordon for scrapping at Briton Ferry

Briton Ferry

Briton Ferry is a town and community in the county borough of Neath Port Talbot, Wales. The town encompasses the electoral wards of Briton Ferry East and Briton Ferry West....

in November 1921.

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