HMS Orion (1910)

Orion at anchor, about 1913
History
United Kingdom
NameOrion
NamesakeMythological hunter Orion
BuilderHM Dockyard, Portsmouth
Laid down29 November 1909
Launched20 August 1910
Commissioned2 January 1912
DecommissionedMarch 1922
Out of service12 April 1922
FateSold for scrap, 19 December 1922
General characteristics (as built)
Class and typeOrion-class dreadnought battleship
Displacement21,922 long tons (22,274 t) (normal)
Length581 ft (177.1 m) (o/a)
Beam88 ft 6 in (27.0 m)
Draught31 ft 3 in (9.5 m)
Installed power
Propulsion4 × shafts; 2 × steam turbine sets
Speed21 knots (39 km/h; 24 mph)
Range6,730 nmi (12,460 km; 7,740 mi) at 10 knots (19 km/h; 12 mph)
Complement738–1,107 (1916)
Armament
Armour

HMS Orion was the lead ship of her class of four dreadnought battleships built for the Royal Navy in the early 1910s. She spent the bulk of her career assigned to the Home and Grand Fleets, generally serving as a flagship. Aside from participating in the failed attempt to intercept the German ships that had bombarded Scarborough, Hartlepool and Whitby in late 1914, the Battle of Jutland in May 1916 and the inconclusive action of 19 August, her service during World War I generally consisted of routine patrols and training in the North Sea.

After the Grand Fleet was dissolved in early 1919, Orion was transferred to back to the Home Fleet for a few months before she was assigned to the Reserve Fleet. She served as a gunnery training ship from mid-1921 until she was listed for disposal the following year. The ship was sold for scrap in late 1922 and subsequently broken up.