HMS Glory (1899)

HMS Glory between 1910 and 1915.
History
United Kingdom
Name	HMS Glory
Builder	Laird Brothers, Birkenhead
Laid down	1 December 1896
Launched	11 March 1899
Commissioned	1 November 1900
Decommissioned	17 September 1921
Renamed	HMS Crescent April 1920
Fate	Sold for scrapping 19 December 1922
General characteristics
Class and type	Canopus-class pre-dreadnought battleship
Displacement	Full load: 14,300 long tons (14,500 t)
Length	421 ft 6 in (128.5 m) (loa)
Beam	74 ft (22.6 m)
Draught	26 ft (7.9 m)
Installed power	20 × water tube boilers 13,500 ihp (10,100 kW)
Propulsion	2 × screw propellers 2 × triple-expansion steam engines
Speed	18 knots (33 km/h)
Complement	750
Armament	4 × BL 12 in (305 mm) 35-caliber Mk VIII guns 12 × QF 6 in (152 mm) 40-caliber guns 10 × 12-pounder 76 mm (3 in) quick-firing guns 6 × 3-pounder guns 4 × 18 in (457 mm) torpedo tubes
Armour	Belt 6 in (152 mm) Bulkheads 10–6 in (254–152 mm) Barbettes 12 in Gun houses 8 in (203 mm) Casemates 6 in Conning tower 12 in Decks 2–1 in (51–25 mm)

HMS Glory was a pre-dreadnought battleship of the British Royal Navy and a member of the Canopus class. Intended for service in Asia, Glory and her sister ships were smaller and faster than the preceding Majestic-class battleships, but retained the same battery of four 12-inch (305 mm) guns. She also carried thinner armour, but incorporated new Krupp steel, which was more effective than the Harvey armour used in the Majestics. Glory was laid down in December 1896, launched in March 1899, and commissioned into the fleet in November 1900.

Glory spent much of her peacetime career abroad. She was assigned to the China Station from 1901 to 1905, before returning to British waters for a brief stint with the Channel Fleet and then the Home Fleet from late 1905 to early 1907. After a refit in 1907, she was then sent to the Mediterranean Fleet, where she remained until April 1909. She then returned to Britain and was reduced to reserve status. She remained inactive until the outbreak of the First World War in August 1914, at which time she was mobilised into the 8th Battle Squadron.

In October 1914, Glory was transferred to the North America and West Indies Station, where she served as the squadron flagship. In June 1915, she was reassigned to the Mediterranean, and she took part in the Dardanelles Campaign, though she saw little action during that time, as her crew was needed ashore to support the troops fighting in the Gallipoli campaign. In August 1916, Glory was sent to Murmansk, Russia, to support Britain's ally by keeping the vital port open for supplies being sent for the Eastern Front. There, she served as the flagship of the British North Russia Squadron, including during the Allied intervention in the Russian Civil War. By that time, she was the last British pre-dreadnought still in active service. She returned to Britain in late 1919, was decommissioned, and was renamed HMS Crescent in 1920, before ultimately being sold to ship breakers in December 1922.