HMS Anson (79)
_at_Devonport,_March_1945.jpg)
HMS Anson at Devonport, March 1945
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| History | |
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 UK
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| Name: | HMS Anson |
| Builder: | Swan Hunter, Tyne and Wear, United Kingdom |
| Laid down: | 20 July 1937 |
| Launched: | 24 February 1940 |
| Commissioned: | 14 April 1942 |
| Decommissioned: | November 1951 |
| Struck: | 18 May 1957 |
| Motto: |
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| Fate: | Scrapped, 17 December 1957 |
| Notes: | Pennant number 79 |
| General characteristics | |
| Class and type: | King George V-class battleship |
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| Length: |
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| Beam: | 103 ft 0.62 in (31.4 m) |
| Draught: | 34 ft 2.25 in (10.4 m) |
| Installed power: | 110,300 shp (82,300 kW) (trials) |
| Propulsion: |
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| Speed: | 29.25 knots (54.17 km/h; 33.66 mph) |
| Range: | 6,100 nmi (11,300 km; 7,000 mi) at 10 knots (19 km/h; 12 mph) |
| Complement: | 1,553-1,558 peacetime 1,900 war |
| Armament: |
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| Armour: |
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| Aircraft carried: | Two Supermarine Walrus seaplanes, one double-ended catapult (removed early 1944) |
HMS Anson was a King George V-class battleship of the Royal Navy, named after Admiral George Anson. She was built by Swan Hunter and Wigham Richardson Shipyard and launched on 24 February 1940, being completed on 22 June 1942. Her completion was delayed to allow the fitting of fire-control radar and additional anti-aircraft weapons. She was originally to have been named Jellicoe, but was renamed Anson in February 1940.
Anson saw service in the Second World War, escorting nine Russian convoys in the Arctic by December 1943. She took part in diversionary moves to draw attention away from Operation Husky in July 1943. In October the same year she took part in Operation Leader. In February 1944 she provided cover for Operation Tungsten, the successful air strike against the German battleship Tirpitz. She accepted the surrender of Japanese forces occupying Hong Kong on 15 August 1945 and after the end of the war she became the flagship of the 1st Battle Squadron of the British Pacific Fleet.
Anson arrived back in British waters on 29 July 1946, spending the next three years in active service with the post-war navy. She was finally placed in reserve and "mothballed" in 1949, spending eight years in this condition. On 17 December 1957 she was purchased for scrap by Shipbreaking Industries, Faslane.
In the aftermath of the First World War, the Washington Naval Treaty was drawn up in 1922 in an effort to stop an arms race developing between Britain, Japan, France, Italy and the United States. This treaty limited the number of ships each nation was allowed to build and capped the displacement of all capital ships at 35,000 long tons. These restrictions were extended in 1930 through the London Naval Treaty, however, in 1935 Japan and Italy would not agree to the Second London Naval Treaty for further armament control. Concerned by a lack of modern battleships within their navy, the Admiralty ordered the construction of a new battleship class: the King George V class. The calibre limitation clause introduced in the Second Treaty meant that the main armament of the King George V was limited to 14-inch (356 mm) and the unusual arrangement of the guns in the three turrets was an attempt to maximise firepower. Due to the pressing need for the ships, the British unlike the US could not delay to take advantage of an escalator clause that would allow 16-inch guns. The ships were the only ones to be built at the time to adhere to the treaty and even though it soon became apparent to the British that the other signatories to the treaty were ignoring its requirements, it was too late to change the design of the class before they were laid down in 1937.
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