HMS Swiftsure was the lead ship of the Swiftsure class

Swiftsure class battleship

The Swiftsure class was a class of two British pre-dreadnought battleships. Originally ordered by Chile, they were purchased by the United Kingdom prior to completion.-Background:...

 of British

United Kingdom

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...

 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...

s.

Technical Characteristics

HMS Swiftsure was ordered by Chile

Chile

Chile ,officially the Republic of Chile , is a country in South America occupying a long, narrow coastal strip between the Andes mountains to the east and the Pacific Ocean to the west. It borders Peru to the north, Bolivia to the northeast, Argentina to the east, and the Drake Passage in the far...

 as Constitución and laid down by Armstrong Whitworth

Armstrong Whitworth

Sir W G Armstrong Whitworth & Co Ltd was a major British manufacturing company of the early years of the 20th century. Headquartered in Elswick, Newcastle upon Tyne, Armstrong Whitworth engaged in the construction of armaments, ships, locomotives, automobiles, and aircraft.-History:In 1847,...

 at Elswick

Elswick, Tyne and Wear

Elswick is a ward of the city of Newcastle upon Tyne, England, in the western part of the city, bordering the river Tyne. One of the earliest references to the coal mining industry of the north east occurs in 1330, when it was recorded that the Prior of Tynemouth let a colliery, called Heygrove, at...

on 26 February 1902 and launched on 12 January 1903. Chile put her up for sale in early 1903; to prevent a possible purchase by Russia

Russian Empire

The Russian Empire was a state that existed from 1721 until the Russian Revolution of 1917. It was the successor to the Tsardom of Russia and the predecessor of the Soviet Union...

, the United Kingdom

United Kingdom

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...

 purchased her on 3 December 1903 and renamed her HMS Swiftsure on 7 December 1903. She was completed in June 1904.

Swiftsure was a second-class battleship, lightly constructed, armed, and armored by British standards; in fact, she suffered from structural weakness while in service and required hull stengthening. Chile had required her to fit into its graving dock at Talcahuano

Talcahuano

Talcahuano is a port city and commune in the Biobío Region of Chile. It is part of the Greater Concepción conurbation. Talcahuano is located in the south of the Central Zone of Chile.-Geography:...

, so she had to be longer and narrower for her displacement than ships built to British standards. She had a noticeably foreign appearance, with taller, narrower funnels than standard on British battleships and a pair of heavy cranes amidships. Details in mast and anchor arrangements as well as the arrangement of magazines and shell-handling rooms also were different from British standards.

Swiftsure and her sister ship HMS Triumph

HMS Triumph (1903)

HMS Triumph was a Swiftsure class pre-dreadnought battleship of the Royal Navy.-Technical characteristics:HMS Triumph was ordered by Chile as Libertad, laid down by Vickers at Barrow-in-Furness on 26 February 1902, and launched on 12 January 1903...

 were the first British battleships since the Centurion-class

Centurion class battleship

The Centurion class battleships were second-class pre-dreadnought battleships of the Royal Navy designed for service on distant stations.-Description:...

 ships Centurion

HMS Centurion (1892)

HMS Centurion was a predreadnought second-class battleship of the Royal Navy. She was part of the three-ship Centurion class, designed for long-range patrolling of the United Kingdom's far-flung empire.-Technical characteristics:...

 and Barfleur

HMS Barfleur (1892)

HMS Barfleur was a predreadnought second-class battleship of the Royal Navy. She was part of the three-ship Centurion class, designed for long-range patrolling of the United Kingdom's far-flung empire. She mainly saw service in the Mediterranean and Home Fleet, along with Service at China Station,...

 to mount a main battery of 10-inch (254-mm) guns and the last to do so. Swiftsure mounted the Mark VI 10-inch, while Triumph had the Mark VII. The ships followed the standard British practice of the time of mounting the main battery in two double turrets, one forward and one aft. The Royal Navy believed that the 10-inch guns were too light to be effective against modern battleships—they could penetrate the armor of the latest German

Germany

Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...

 and Russian battleships, but not that of the better-armored French

France

The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...

 battleships—but that they could be useful against foreign cruisers, although Swiftsure and Triumph were not fast enough to catch cruisers. They had a powerful secondary battery, being the only British battleships to mount 7.5-inch (190.5-mm) guns; these were of a different type than the 7.5-inch mounted on British cruisers. Ten of the 7.5-inch were mounted in a central battery on the main deck, where they were criticized for taking up too much deck space; the other four were in casemates abreast the fore- and mainmasts on the upper deck. The ships mounted 14-pounders, again a heavier battery than the 12-pounders of most British battleships, although in practice the 14-pounders proved no more effective than the 12-pounders.

The armor of Swiftsure and Triumph compared favorably with that of the Duncan-class

Duncan class battleship

The Duncan class was a class of pre-dreadnought battleships built for the Royal Navy. From 1889, Britain's “rank as a first-class power was bound up with its Mediterranean position” and these lightly armoured fast ships were intended to help meet combined Russian and French threats. Their period of...

 battleships, but would not have stood up well against the main battery rounds of foreign first-class battleships. About the same percentage of their displacement was devoted to armor as in the Duncans, with much of its rearrangement from that of the Duncans having to do with most of the secondary guns being mounted in a central battery, rather than casemate

Casemate

A casemate, sometimes rendered casement, is a fortified gun emplacement or armored structure from which guns are fired. originally a vaulted chamber in a fortress.-Origin of the term:...

d as in the Duncan class.

The Swiftsures had balanced rudders and an improved hull form, making them quite maneuverable.
They received the latest in British boiler technology when built, and Swiftsure was the fastest predreadnought ever built, achieving 20.87 knots (38.65 km/h) on trials, although this was during a short sprint under ideal conditions. Operationally, Swiftsure and Triumph averaged a top speed of 19 knots (37.2 km/h), slightly faster than the battleships of the Duncan class, and this still was enough to qualify them as the fastest predreadnoughts.

Swiftsure and Triumph were the last British battleships to enter service with bow crests. They also were the last to be equipped with ventilation cowls.

Purchased solely to deny her acquisition by other navies, Swiftsure met no outstanding Royal Navy requirement when purchased, did not match British standards in many ways, required the manufacturing of her own, special 10-inch (254-mm) ammunition, and was problematic for the British to employ, being too weakly armed and protected to face modern enemy battleships and too slow to catch enemy cruisers. Like all predreadnoughts, she was made obsolete by the completion of the revolutionary new battleship HMS Dreadnought

HMS Dreadnought (1906)

HMS Dreadnought was a battleship of the British Royal Navy that revolutionised naval power. Her entry into service in 1906 represented such a marked advance in naval technology that her name came to be associated with an entire generation of battleships, the "dreadnoughts", as well as the class of...

 at the end of 1906 and the many dreadnought

Dreadnought

The dreadnought was the predominant type of 20th-century battleship. The first of the kind, the Royal Navy's had such an impact when launched in 1906 that similar battleships built after her were referred to as "dreadnoughts", and earlier battleships became known as pre-dreadnoughts...

 battleships commissioned in succeeding years. She nonetheless had a useful and eventful career, playing an active role in British operations on foreign stations during the first half of 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...

.

Pre-World War I

HMS Swiftsure commissioned at Chatham Dockyard

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...

 on 21 June 1904 for service in the Home Fleet. Under a fleet reorganization in January 1905, the Home Fleet became 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...

, and Swiftsure became a Channel Fleet unit. She collided with her sister ship Triumph

HMS Triumph (1903)

HMS Triumph was a Swiftsure class pre-dreadnought battleship of the Royal Navy.-Technical characteristics:HMS Triumph was ordered by Chile as Libertad, laid down by Vickers at Barrow-in-Furness on 26 February 1902, and launched on 12 January 1903...

 on 3 June 1905, suffering propeller, sternwalk and hull damage. She was repaired at Chatham in June-July 1905. She was reduced to the commissioned reserve at Portsmouth Dockyard on 7 October 1908.

Swiftsure returned to full commission on 6 April 1909 for service in the Mediterranean Fleet

Mediterranean Fleet

Several countries have or have had a Mediterranean Fleet in their navy. See:* Mediterranean Fleet * French Mediterranean Fleet* Mediterranean Squadron * United States Sixth Fleet...

. Under a fleet reorganization in May 1912, she transferred to the Third Fleet, Home Fleet, with a nucleus crew in reserve at Portsmouth. She underwent a refit from September 1912 to March 1913.

Her refit complete, Swiftsure commissioned at Portsmouth on 26 March 1913 to serve as Flagship

Flagship

A flagship is a vessel used by the commanding officer of a group of naval ships, reflecting the custom of its commander, characteristically a flag officer, flying a distinguishing flag...

, Rear Admiral

Rear Admiral

Rear admiral is a naval commissioned officer rank above that of a commodore and captain, and below that of a vice admiral. It is generally regarded as the lowest of the "admiral" ranks, which are also sometimes referred to as "flag officers" or "flag ranks"...

, East Indies Station

East Indies Station

The East Indies Station was a formation of the British Royal Navy from 1865 to 1941.From 1831 to 1865 the East Indies and the China Station were a single command known as the East Indies and China Station...

, and she was serving in this capacity 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.

World War I

Swiftsure escorted India

India

India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...

n troop convoy

Convoy

A convoy is a group of vehicles, typically motor vehicles or ships, traveling together for mutual support and protection. Often, a convoy is organized with armed defensive support, though it may also be used in a non-military sense, for example when driving through remote areas.-Age of Sail:Naval...

s from Bombay to Aden

Aden

Aden is a seaport city in Yemen, located by the eastern approach to the Red Sea , some 170 kilometres east of Bab-el-Mandeb. Its population is approximately 800,000. Aden's ancient, natural harbour lies in the crater of an extinct volcano which now forms a peninsula, joined to the mainland by a...

 from September to November 1914, when the destruction of the German

Germany

Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...

 light cruiser

Light cruiser

A light cruiser is a type of small- or medium-sized warship. The term is a shortening of the phrase "light armored cruiser", describing a small ship that carried armor in the same way as an armored cruiser: a protective belt and deck...

 Emden, which had been raiding in the Indian Ocean

Indian Ocean

The Indian Ocean is the third largest of the world's oceanic divisions, covering approximately 20% of the water on the Earth's surface. It is bounded on the north by the Indian Subcontinent and Arabian Peninsula ; on the west by eastern Africa; on the east by Indochina, the Sunda Islands, and...

, made this escort duty unnecessary. On 1 December 1914 Swiftsure was reassigned to the Suez Canal Patrol, although she remained East Indies Station flagship while at Suez. From 27 January 1915 to 4 February 1915, she took part in repelling an Ottoman Turkish

Ottoman Empire

The Ottoman EmpireIt was usually referred to as the "Ottoman Empire", the "Turkish Empire", the "Ottoman Caliphate" or more commonly "Turkey" by its contemporaries...

 attack on the Suez Canal

Suez Canal

The Suez Canal , also known by the nickname "The Highway to India", is an artificial sea-level waterway in Egypt, connecting the Mediterranean Sea and the Red Sea. Opened in November 1869 after 10 years of construction work, it allows water transportation between Europe and Asia without navigation...

 in the Kantara area.

Swiftsure was relieved as East Indies Station flagship by armored cruiser

Armored cruiser

The armored cruiser was a type of warship of the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Like other types of cruiser, the armored cruiser was a long-range, independent warship, capable of defeating any ship apart from a battleship, and fast enough to outrun any battleships it encountered.The first...

 HMS Euryalus

HMS Euryalus (1901)

HMS Euryalus was a Cressy-class armoured cruiser in the Royal Navy. Though the class was already obsolete by the outbreak of the First World War, the Euryalus and her sisters Aboukir, Bacchante, Hogue and Cressy were assigned to patrol the Broad Fourteens of the North Sea, in support of a force of...

 later in February 1915 and transferred to 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...

 for service in the Dardanelles Campaign

Naval operations in the Dardanelles Campaign

The naval operations in the Dardanelles Campaign of the First World War were mainly carried out by the Royal Navy with substantial support from the French and minor contributions from Russia and Australia. The Dardanelles Campaign began as a purely naval operation...

. She joined the Dardanelles Squadron on 28 February 1915.

Swiftsure took part in the attack on Fort Dardanos on 2 March 1915. She and Triumph were detached from the Dardanelles on 5 March 1915 for operations against forts at Smyrna

Izmir

Izmir is a large metropolis in the western extremity of Anatolia. The metropolitan area in the entire Izmir Province had a population of 3.35 million as of 2010, making the city third most populous in Turkey...

, returning to the Dardanelles on 9 March 1915. She participated in the main attack on the Narrows forts on 18 March 1915 and supported the main landings at 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 25 April 1915 and subsequent landings, including the attack on Achi Baba

Achi Baba

Achi Baba is a height dominating the Gallipoli Peninsula in Turkey.Achi Baba was the main position of the Ottoman Turkish defenses in 1915 during the World War I Gallipoli campaign.-References:...

 on 4 June 1915. On 18 September 1915 a German

Germany

Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...

 submarine

Submarine

A submarine is a watercraft capable of independent operation below the surface of the water. It differs from a submersible, which has more limited underwater capability...

 unsuccessfully attacked her while she was on a voyage from Mudros to Suvla Bay. She took part in the bombardment of Dedeagatch on 18 January 1916.

Swiftsure left the Dardanelles in February 1916, departing Kephale on 7 February 1916 for Gibraltar

Gibraltar

Gibraltar is a British overseas territory located on the southern end of the Iberian Peninsula at the entrance of the Mediterranean. A peninsula with an area of , it has a northern border with Andalusia, Spain. The Rock of Gibraltar is the major landmark of the region...

, where she was attached to the 9th Cruiser Squadron for service on the Atlantic Patrol and convoy

Convoy

A convoy is a group of vehicles, typically motor vehicles or ships, traveling together for mutual support and protection. Often, a convoy is organized with armed defensive support, though it may also be used in a non-military sense, for example when driving through remote areas.-Age of Sail:Naval...

 escort duty in the Atlantic

Atlantic Ocean

The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's oceanic divisions. With a total area of about , it covers approximately 20% of the Earth's surface and about 26% of its water surface area...

. She was photographed in Freetown on 30 January, 1917, by New Zealand soldiers en route to England. She transferred out of the 9th Cruiser Squadron in March 1917, departing Sierra Leone

Sierra Leone

Sierra Leone , officially the Republic of Sierra Leone, is a country in West Africa. It is bordered by Guinea to the north and east, Liberia to the southeast, and the Atlantic Ocean to the west and southwest. Sierra Leone covers a total area of and has an estimated population between 5.4 and 6.4...

 on 26 March 1917 and arriving at Plymouth on 11 April 1917.

Decommissioning and subsidiary duties

Swiftsure paid off at Chatham on 26 April 1917 to provide crews for antisubmarine vessels. She then went into reserve, undergoing a refit at Chatham in mid-1917 and being employed as an accommodation ship beginning in February 1918. In the autumn of 1918 she was partially dismantled for use as a blockship

Blockship

A blockship is a ship deliberately sunk to prevent a river, channel, or canal from being used.It may either be sunk by a navy defending the waterway to prevent the ingress of attacking enemy forces, as in the case of HMS Hood at Portland Harbour; or it may be brought by enemy raiders and used to...

 in a proposed second attempt to block the entrance to the harbor at Ostend

Ostend

Ostend  is a Belgian city and municipality located in the Flemish province of West Flanders. It comprises the boroughs of Mariakerke , Stene and Zandvoorde, and the city of Ostend proper – the largest on the Belgian coast....

, but World War I ended on 11 November 1918 before this operation could take place. Instead, she was used as a target ship briefly.

Disposal

Swiftsure was placed on the sale list at Portsmouth in March 1920. She was sold for scrapping to Stanlee Shipbeaking Company of Dover on 18 June 1920.

External links