RN Battleships: King Edward VII Class

[Brian James]

King Edward VII-Class Pre-Dreadnought Battleship HMS Commonwealth pictured at Scapa Flow in 1918.Like all ships of the Class (apart from HMS King Edward VII) she was named after an important part of the British Empire, namely the Commonwealth of Australia.Built at Fairfield Shipbuilding & Engineering Company at Govan in 1903.After commissioning in 1905, she served with the Atlantic Fleet until she was involved in a collision with HMS Albemarle in early 1907. While being repaired, she was transferred into what would become known as the Home Fleet. Following a reorganisation of the fleet in 1912, she, along with her King Edward VII-Class sister ships formed the 3rd Battle Squadron, which served in the Mediterranean.
When World War I broke out, the 3rd Battle Squadron was assigned to the Grand Fleet, with Commonwealth conducting operations around Scotland and the North Sea as part of the Northern Patrol. In 1916, the squadron was detached to the Nore Command. In 1917, the Commonwealth was updated, the only ship of her Dlass to receive technology equivalent to that of the Dreadnoughts. She ended the war as a gunnery Training Ship, continuing in this role until February 1921, at which time she was decommissioned and disposed of.

[Brian James]

King Edward VII Pre-Dreadnought Battleship HMS Commonwealth pictured in 1912.

[Brian James]

Pre-Dreadnought Battleship HMS Dominion pictured c1905.Like all ships of the Class (apart from the lead ship of the Class, HMS King Edward VII) she was named after an important part of the British Empire, namely the Dominion of Canada. The ship was built by Vickers at Barrow-in-Furness; she was laid down in May 1902, was launched in August 1903, and was completed in July 1905. Armed with a battery of four 12-inch and four 9.2 in guns, she and her sister ships marked a significant advance in offensive power compared to earlier British Battleship designs that did not carry the 9.2 in guns.
Commissioned in August 1905, Dominion entered service with the Atlantic Fleet but ran she aground in August 1906 in the Gulf of Saint Lawrence. Repairs took nearly a year, and upon completion, she was assigned to the Home Fleet. Following a reorganisation of the fleet in 1912, she and her sister ships formed the 3rd Battle Squadron, part of the Home Fleet. That year, the squadron went to the Mediterranean Sea during the First Balkan War as part of an international blockade of Montenegro. In 1913, the ship returned to British waters.
When the First World War broke out, the 3rd Battle Squadron was assigned to the Grand Fleet, with Dominion conducting operations as part of the Northern Patrol. Through 1914 and 1915, the ships frequently went to sea to search for German vessels, but saw no action during this period. By the end of the year, the Grand Fleet stopped operating with the older 3rd Battle Squadron ships, and in 1916, the Squadron was detached to the Nore Command. The unit subsequently dissolved in March 1918. She was a Depot Ship for the raids on Zeebrugge and Ostend, and decommissioned in May, ended the war as an Accommodation Ship. She was sold in 1921 and eventually scrapped in 1924.

[Brian James]

King Edward VII Class Battleship HMS Dominion in the Floating Drydock at Bermuda c1910.

[Brian James]

King Edward VII Class Pre-Dreadnought Battleship HMS Commonwealth pictured off Brest in 1905.

[Brian James]

Rifle practice aboard King Edward VII Class Pre-Dreadnought Battleship HMS Africa,August 31st 1911.

[Brian James]

King Edward VII Class Pre-Dreadnought Battleship HMS Africa pictured c1909.

[Brian James]

King Edward VII Class Pre-Dreadnought Battleship HMS Britannia pictured c1908...When WWI broke out, she was transferred back to the 3rd Battle Squadron, which was assigned to the Grand Fleet, the main British fleet during the war. Through 1914 and 1915, the ships frequently went to sea to search for German vessels, but Britannia saw no action during this period. By the end of the year, the Grand Fleet stopped operating with the older 3rd Battle Squadron ships, and in 1916, she was attached to the 2nd Detached Squadron, then serving in the Adriatic Sea. After a refit in 1917, she conducted patrol and convoy escort duties in the Atlantic. On November 9th 1918, just two days before the end of the war, she was torpedoed by a German Submarine off Cape Trafalgar and sank with the loss of 50 men. Britannia was one of the last British warships to be sunk in the war.

[Brian James]

Lead Ship, Pre-Dreadnought Battleship HMS King Edward VII hoists her 50ft steam pinnace aboard c1910.

[Brian James]

King Edward VII Class Pre-Dreadnought Battleship HMS Commonwealth pictured c1911.