HMS Neptune (1909)

Neptune before 1914
Class overview
Operators Royal Navy
Preceded bySt Vincent class
Succeeded byColossus class
Completed1
Scrapped1
History
United Kingdom
NameNeptune
NamesakeNeptune
Ordered14 December 1908
BuilderHM Dockyard, Portsmouth
Laid down19 January 1909
Launched30 September 1909
CompletedJanuary 1911
Commissioned11 January 1911
Out of serviceNovember 1921
FateSold for scrap, September 1922
General characteristics (as built)
TypeDreadnought battleship
Displacement19,680 long tons (20,000 t) (normal)
Length546 ft (166.4 m) (o/a)
Beam85 ft (25.9 m)
Draught28 ft 6 in (8.7 m)
Installed power
Propulsion4 × shafts; 2 × steam turbine sets
Speed21 knots (39 km/h; 24 mph)
Range6,330 nmi (11,720 km; 7,280 mi) at 10 knots (19 km/h; 12 mph)
Complement756–813 (1914)
Armament
Armour

HMS Neptune was a dreadnought battleship built for the Royal Navy in the first decade of the 20th century, the sole ship of her class. She was the first British battleship to be built with superfiring guns. Shortly after her completion in 1911, she carried out trials of an experimental fire-control director and then became the flagship of the Home Fleet. Neptune became a private ship in early 1914 and was assigned to the 1st Battle Squadron.

The ship became part of the Grand Fleet when it was formed shortly after the beginning of the First World War in August 1914. Aside from participating in the Battle of Jutland in May 1916, and the inconclusive action of 19 August several months later, her service during the war generally consisted of routine patrols and training in the North Sea. Neptune was deemed obsolete after the war and was reduced to reserve before being sold for scrap in 1922 and subsequently broken up.