HMS Anson (1886)

Bow view of Anson at anchor, circa 1897
History
United Kingdom
Name:	Anson
Namesake:	Admiral George Anson
Ordered:	1883
Builder:	Pembroke Dockyard
Cost:	£662,582
Laid down:	24 April 1883
Launched:	17 February 1886
Completed:	28 May 1889
Fate:	Sold for scrap, 13 July 1909
General characteristics
Class and type:	Admiral-class ironclad battleship
Displacement:	10,600 long tons (10,800 t)
Length:	330 ft (100.6 m) (p.p.)
Beam:	68 ft 6 in (20.9 m)
Draught:	27 ft 10 in (8.5 m)
Installed power:	7,500 ihp (5,600 kW) (normal) 11,500 ihp (8,600 kW) (forced draught)
Propulsion:	2 × Humphreys compound-expansion steam engines 2 × screws
Speed:	16.9 kn (31.3 km/h; 19.4 mph) (forced draught)
Range:	7,200 nmi (13,300 km; 8,300 mi) at 10 knots (19 km/h; 12 mph)
Complement:	525–536
Armament:	2 × twin BL 13.5 in (343 mm) Mk II guns 6 × single BL 6 in (152 mm) Mk IV guns 12 × single QF 6-pdr (2.2 in (57 mm)) Hotchkiss guns 10 × single QF 3-pdr (1.9 in (47 mm)) Hotchkiss guns 5 × 14 in (356 mm) torpedo tubes
Armour:	Waterline belt: 18–8 in (457–203 mm) Bulkheads: 16–7 in (406–178 mm) Barbettes: 14–12 in (356–305 mm) Conning tower: 12–2 in (305–51 mm) Deck: 3–2.5 in (76–64 mm)

HMS Anson was the last of six Admiral-class ironclad battleships built for the Royal Navy during the 1880s. The ship was completed, except for her armament, in 1887, but had to wait two years for her guns to be installed. She assigned to the Channel Fleet in mid-1889 as a flagship for the fleet's second-in-command. Two years later, Anson accidentally sank a passenger ship when the latter broke loose from her anchors during a strong storm and collided with her. The ship was transferred to the Mediterranean Fleet in mid-1893 and returned home in 1900 when she was assigned to the Reserve Fleet. She recommissioned for the Home Fleet in early 1901. Anson was paid off three years later and then sold for scrap in 1909.

The Admiral class was built in response to French ironclad battleships of the Hoche and Marceau classes.Anson and her sister ship, Camperdown, were enlarged and improved versions of the previous pair of Admirals, Rodney and Howe. The sisters had a length between perpendiculars of 330 feet (100.6 m), a beam of 68 feet 6 inches (20.9 m), and a draught of 27 feet 10 inches (8.5 m) at deep load. They displaced 10,600 long tons (10,800 t) at normal load, some 300 long tons (305 t) heavier than Howe and Rodney and 1,100 long tons (1,118 t) heavier than the first ship of the class, Collingwood. The ships had a complement of 525–536 officers and ratings.