HMS Iron Duke

1912 IRON DUKE A member of a class of four modern 25,000 ton dread-
naughts, widely held to be amongst the most powerful warships in the world when they were launched, just prior to the outbreak of the First World War.

THE IRONDUKE CLASS

Built under the 1911 programme at an average cost of under 1 .9 million, the four ships of the iron Duke Class the others were Marihorough, Benbow and Emperor of India were essentially repeats of the four ships of the previous years construction programme, increased in size to accommodate secondary batteries of 6in (152mm) instead of 4in (102mm) guns. They were the last coal-burning British battleships. All were laid down in 1912, Iron Duke at Portsmouth Dockyard on 12 January She was launched exactly nine months later, on 12 October, and commissioned in March 1914. Iron Duke was reduced to a training ship in 1932, stripped of two of her four turrets, her conning tower and her belt armour, and with some boilers decommissioned. She was removed to Scapa Flow in 1939, and served as a depot ship. She was sold for scrap and broken up in 1946.

THE IRON DUKE IN WAR AND PEACE

For the first two years of the First World War, Iron Duke flew the flag of Sir John Jellicoe as flagship of the Grand Fleet, and participated in the Battle of Jutland in that capacity She formed part of the second Battle Squadron from late 1916 to early 1919, then served in the Mediterranean and the Black Sea, seeing combat against Bolshevik forces there in 1919. She served with the Atlantic Fleet thereafter, until being reduced to a gunnery- and boys training ship.

TECHNICAL DATA

Type: Battleship
Machinery: 4-shaft Parsons turbines fed by 18 composite boilers, producing 29,000shp
Dimensions (overall): Length, 1 89m (622.75ft); beam, 27.4m (90ff)
Displacement: 25,000t light; 30,300t deep load
Draught: 8.5m (2Bft)
Complement: 925 peacetime; 1022 wartime, as flagship