Lord Nelson, built in Britain 1905-08, was something of an oddity, a transitional ship between the Majestic-style predreadnought battleship and the all-big-gun ship. Her gestation was long and tortured as the British Admiralty struggled to define a new direction after the retirement of long-time DNC Sir William White, whose swan song was the King Edward VII class of 1904-05. The Nelson pair became the first big project of the new DNC, Sir Phillip Watts, White's understudy for more than a decade. Moreover, miLord's construction overlapped the creation of the Dreadnought, the especial pet project of the new First Sea Lord, Sir John "Jackie" Fisher. To shorten the build time for his super-ship, Fisher commandeered the eight 12" guns ordered for the Lord Nelson and her sister the Agamemnon for use in Dreadnought, making it possible to produce his wonder ship in the astonishing time of a year and a day (normal build time in Britain being between 2 and 3 years at the time). The trade-off was considerably lengthened build time for the Nelson and Agamemnon. When the Dreadnought debuted in 1907, she quite stole their thunder; the sisters did not appear until the following year. Although formidable ships in their own right, they already marked an evolutionary dead end in the British Navy. The British public of 1908 was entirely focused on admiring the new battlecruiser Invincible. Parliament stampeded to build a full fleet of dreadnought-type ships, in the mistaken belief that it would guarantee British naval supremacy for the forseeable future, and that a ruinous arms race would not follow from Britain's upping the ante.

The Lord Nelson class offered an alternative to the all-big-gun ship. Their objective was to mount as many heavy guns in the secondary armament as was possible on their 16,000-ton displacement. This goal was accomplished by lining the sides of the ship with 9.2" turrets, mounting 10 guns of this calibre in the final design seen here; gone was the sided battery of 6" casemate mounts and smaller weapons. A very heavy anti-torpedo-boat armament of 24 12-pounders was largely carried in a high, armored flying deck above the 9.2" turrets. The 12" Mk X main armament was carried, as usual, in two twin turrets fore and aft of the superstructure.

The Nelsons were 410 feet long and 81 feet in beam -- intentionally kept short to fit existing drydock dimensions. Deep-laden they displaced some 18,000 tons. Even so, they were rather crowded ships due to the large number of turrets with all their attendant magazines and machinery. They had a chunky, squarish look: the blocky conning tower, feathered into oblique wings, fronted a tall, solid superstructure bristling with guns. As for armor, the Nelsons actually were better protected than the first dreadnoughts, with a 12" Krupp-cemented belt on the hull, 12-13" on the main turrets, 7" on the 9.2" turrets, 12" on conning tower, 2-4" on the decks, 8" on the armored bulkheads and 12" on the main armament barbettes. Both vessels were capable of 18 kts, the Agamemnon (left) proving a hair slower at 18.9 kts under forced draft. High-performance boilers were incorporated in the design, but the Nelsons received traditional triple-expansion engines. Turbine propulsion was earmarked for use in the dreadnoughts: enabling them to steam at 21+ knots; enabling the lightly-armored dreadnought battlecruisers to attain speeds over 27 knots.

Specifications for the Lord Nelson and Agamenon:
Dimensions: 410' x 81' x 29'4"   Displacement: 18,000 tons deep laden.   Armament: (4) 12"/45 Mk X (2x2); (10) 9.2"/45 Mk XI (4x2, 2x1); (15) 12-pdr, (16) 3-pdr, and (6) 1-pdr. guns; (2) Maxim MG;  (5) submerged 18" torpedo tubes, 4 on broadside and 1 at stern (450 mm bore).   Armor: Krupp Cemented (KC) type. 12"/6"/4" belt, 7" upper belt, 13"/12" main turrets), 14" barbettes, 7" secondary turrets, 12" conning tower, 2" deck. Fuel capacity: 900 tons of coal std, 2,0000 tons maximum; also 400 tons bunker oil. Propulsion: 15 B&W (Lord Nelson) or Yarrow (Agamemnon) boilers; (2) 4-cyl inverted vertical triple expansion engines developing up to 17,450 HP, shafted to twin screw. Maximum speed: 19 kts (Lord Nelson); 18.9 kts (Agamemnon). Crew: 865 normal; 878 as flagship. Initial cost: £1.5M apiece at 1908 valuation.   Ships in class: Lord Nelson · Agamemnon

Metric Specifications:
Dimensions: 125m x 24.7m x 8.85m.   Displacement: 18,000 tons deep laden.   Armament: (4) 305 mm/45 Mk X, 2x2; (10) 234 mm/45 Mk XI mounted 4x2, 2x1; (15) 12-pdr, (16) 3-pdr, and (6) 1-pdr. guns; (2) Maxim MG;  (5) 45 cm submerged torpedo tubes, 4 on broadside and 1 at stern.   Armor: Krupp Cemented (KC) type. 305/152/102 mm, 178 mm upper belt, 331/305 mm main turrets, 356 mm barbettes, 178 mm secondary turrets, 305 mm conning tower, 51 mm deck. Fuel capacity: 900 tons of coal std, 2,0000 tons maximum; also 400 tons bunker oil. Propulsion: 15 B&W (Lord Nelson) or Yarrow (Agamemnon) boilers; (2) 4-cyl inverted vertical triple expansion engines developing up to 13,012.5 kW, shafted to twin screw. Maximum speed: 35.2 km/hr (Lord Nelson); 35 km/hr (Agamemnon). Crew: 865 normal; 878 as flagship.

Like many of their fellow pre-dreadnoughts, Lord Nelson and Agamemnon served principally in the Dardanelles Campaign during WWI. With their huge batteries of large-calibre guns, they were invaluable for shore bombardment. They attacked forts, took out bridges to the Gallipoli Peninsula, and attempted to draw out the ex-German battlecruiser Goeben on more than one occasion. Their heavy armor proved its worth as Turkish guns placed several hits which would have annihilated less strongly protected vessels. The Nelsons missed their crack at the Goeben, however. Late in the war when Goeben made her attack at Imbros, the Agamemnon, normally stationed on the other side of the island, was away escorting military brass to a conference in Greece. Lord Nelson served as flagship for the Eastern Mediterranean Fleet after the British Army evacuated Gallipoli in 1916. Agamemnon much later became a gunnery target ship, her guns stripped away (left), scooting around under radio control from 1923-26 before going to the shipbreakers.

Quarter view of Agamemnon on a hazy morning. Note net booms along hull, admiral's walk around stern, patent davits for small boats, and pedestal-mounted 12-pdr guns around base of mainmast. Click here for enlarged view.

Lord Nelson and Agamemnon together in the Gallipoli theatre, 1915. They were two of Britain's heaviest and most survivable units.

Aft Mark X 12" turret on the Lord Nelson, with all vents open.

Color plan of Agamemnon. Click here for enlarged view.