Majestic Class Battleship

Majestic Class.  With nine ships in the class it was the largest battleship class ever completed.  The main guns were mounted in barbettes although given armoured revolving shields that resembled turrets.  The secondary armament was low mounted and thus susceptible to interference form the sea but overall the class was considered a great success when new and the same basic form was used for many subsequent designs for both the royal Navy and overseas.

HMS Majestic
Built Portsmouth Dockyard, laid down February 1894, completed December 1895, cost £986,482.

HMS Caesar
Built Portsmouth Dockyard, laid down March 1895, completed January 1898, cost £936,864.

HMS Hannibal
Built Pembroke Dockyard, laid down May 1894, completed April 1898, cost £964,159.

HMS Illustrious
Built Chatham Dockyard, laid down March 1895, completed April 1898, cost £952,195.

HMS Jupiter
Built Thomson, Clydebank, laid down April 1894, completed May 1897, cost £967,651.

HMS Magnificent
Built Portsmouth Dockyard, laid down December 1893,completed December 1895, cost £979,889.

HMS Mars
Built Laird, Birkenhead, laid down June 1894, completed June 1897, cost £964,352.

HMS Prince George
Built Portsmouth Dockyard, laid down September 1894, completed November 1896, cost £965,604.

HMS Victorious
Built Chatham Dockyard, laid down May 1894, completed November 1896, cost £955,312.

Size:
Length 399 feet waterline 421 feet overall, beam 75 feet, draught 27 feet, displacement 14,980 load 15,630 tons deep.

Propulsion:
2 shaft Vertical Triple Expansion, 10,000 ihp, 16 knots

Trials:
Majestic 9,315 ihp = 15.2 knots
Caesar 10,740 ihp = 16.1 knots
Hannibal 10,209 ihp = 16 knots
Illustrious 10,074 ihp = 15.2 knots
Jupiter 10,539 ihp = 16.2 knots
Magnificent 10,365 ihp = 15.4 knots
Mars 10,025 ihp = 15 knots
Victorious 10,740 ihp = 16.6 knots

Armour:
9in belt, 14in barbettes, 10in gun houses, 4-2.5in decks

Armament:
4 x 12in 35 cal BL (2 x 2), 12 x 6in QF (12 x 1), 16 x 12pounder QF (16 x 1), 12 x 2pounder (12 x 1), 5 x 18in TT

Comments:
Although this class saw the reduction in main armament to a 12 inch gun the gun and mounting were of a new type that were superior to the earlier types.  The class also introduced into British service Harvey armour which allowwed equivalent protection with a much reduced thickness of armour.  Crew 672.

World War 1 Service:
Majestic
7th Battle Squadron Channel Fleet.
3-14 October 1914 escorted Canadian troop convoy.
October-November 1914 guard ship at Nore then Humber.
December 1914 attached to Dover Patrol.
15 December 1914 bombarded coastal batteries near Nieuport.
3 March 1915 attacked forts.
18 March took part in main attack on the Narrows forts.
28 March attacked enemy positions.
14 April engaged shore batteries.
18 April tried and failed to destroy grounded British submarine E15.  One of her picket boats was used to torpedo the submarine.
27 May 1915 torpedoed and sunk by German submarine U21.

Caesar
7th Battle Squadron Channel Fleet.
25 August 1914 transportation of Plymouth Marine Battalion to Ostend.
December 1914-July 1915 Gibraltar guard ship and gunnery training ship.
July 1915-Septmebr 1918 Bermuda guard and training ship.
September-October 1918 refit at Malta.
October 1918 depot ship at Mudros.
1921 sold for scrap.

Hannibal
9th Battle Squadron defending English east coast.
August 1914-February 1915 guard ship Scapa Flow.
February 1915 paid off and disarmed.
October 1915 Dardanelles as a troop ship.
1920 sold for scrap.

Illustrious
7th Battle Squadron Channel Fleet.
November 1915 paid off for harbour and accommodation duties.
November 1916 ammunition ship.
1920 sold for scrap.

Jupiter
7th Battle Squadron Channel Fleet.
February 1915 sent to Archangel as icebreaker.
May-August 1915 refit at Cammell Laird.
August-October 1915 Suez Canal Patrol.
October 1915 guard ship Aden as part of Red Sea Patrol.
December 1915-November 1916 Suez Canal Patrol.
November 1916 returned to UK and paid off the release crew.
1920 sold for scrap.

Magnificent
9th Battle Squadron defending English east coast.
August 1914-February 1915 guard ship at Scapa Flow.
February 1915 paid off and disarmed.
September 1915 troopship duties at Dardanelles.
February 1916 paid off again.
August 1917-October 1918 refitted as ammunition ship at Belfast.
October 1918 ammunition ship at Rosyth.
1921 sold for scrap.

Mars
9th Battle Squadron for defence of English east coast.
February 1915 paid off into reserve then disarmed.
September 1915 Dardanelles as troop ship.
February-September 1916 in reserve.
September 1916 depot ship at Invergordon.
1921 sold for scrap.

Prince George
7th Battle Squadron Channel Fleet.
25 August 1914 transportation of Plymouth Marine Battalion to Ostend.
February 1915 transferred to Dardanelles.
March 1915 took part in attacks of forts.
3 May hit by Ottoman fire during attack and repaired in Malta.
January 1916 hit my torpedo that failed to explode during evacuation of troops.
March 1916 paid off at Chatham to release crews.
May-September 1918 converted to destroyer depot ship.
August 1918 renamed Victorious II.
October 1918 destroyer depot ship attached to Victorious at Scapa Flow.
1921 sold for scrap but grounded and wrecked on way to breakers.

Victorious
9th Battle Squadron defending English east coast.
December 1914-February 1915 Tyne guard ship.
February 1915 in reserve.
September 1915-February 1916 converted to a repair ship.
22 February 1916 repair ship Grand Fleet.
1922 sold for scrap.

HMS Illustrious.  The class was due for retirement but the outbreak off the war extended their lives.  They were used for a variety of secondary duties or in what were considered less important theatres and then converted to support ship duties after a couple of years.  Several of the class had their main turrets and guns removed and fitted to new Lord Clive class monitors.