The ship with three names

T

he development of new weapons always starts a race between those who have them against those who want them. After that, a race to get the most normally follows.

Great Britain really had no obligation to declare war against Germany at the start of the First World War. Yes, there had been some vague undertakings with France and Britain was a guarantor of Belgium but those minor issues could be avoided.

The cabinet was split between those urging war and those in favour of keeping out. One of the main reasons for going to war had nothing to do with France or Belgium. It was the massive growth of the Imperial German Navy in the decades before 1914.

An America admiral and naval historian, Alfred Thayer Mahan had written books on the importance of gaining control of the seas and naval tactics. He saw the Royal Navy as a major reason for the defeat of Napoleon and the astounding growth of the British Empire. His books became bestsellers; one of the most avid readers was Kaiser Wilhelm II of Germany, then leader of the most powerful land army on the Continent and fresh from victory over France. He wanted to build a navy powerful enough to challenge the Royal Navy.

The battleship race was on with Germany building more and more big ships that threatened British control of the oceans. By the dawning of the 20th Century, the two fleets were almost neck and neck in firepower.

First Sea Lord Jackie Fisher of Britain decided to try something new. He authorized a new design for a warship that would be bigger, longer, better-armored and carrying all “big guns.” The new ship could easily destroy any other ship then at sea.

In 1907, H.M.S. Dreadnought slipped into the waters, making all other battleships obsolete. The next years saw both Britain and Germany spend massive amounts of money in what became known as The Great Dreadnought Race, building more and more Dreadnought-style battleships and the slightly less armored, but faster, battle cruisers. National pride was at stake.

Other nations, also devotees of Mahan, started to flex their naval muscles. In South America, Brazil, Argentina, and Chile – who had been peaceful neighbours for decades – responded to public demand for Dreadnoughts. As the biggest and richest nation, Brazil wanted a navy big enough to defeat both Argentina and Chile.These countries had no ability to build such ships but they could order them from private yards in England, Germany, and other countries each of which sent salesmen out to drum up business.

Brazil was first off the blocks. She ordered three from an English firm. When Argentina and Chile increased their navies, Brazil responded by commissioning a huge Dreadnought, the Rio de Janeiro. Brazil’s wealth was derived from its world monopoly on rubber. New automobiles needed rubber for tires and other items. But, notwithstanding strict punitive laws forbidding the export of any rubber tree, two Brits had managed to smuggle out some seeds and found they grew very well in Malaysia, Sri Lanka, and Africa. Brazil’s economy slowed to a crawl. There was now no way she could afford the second Dreadnought. The poor Rio had to be put up for sale.

In the Eastern Mediterranean, the Ottoman Empire and Greece were not friendly neighbours. Greece had only recently gained its independence and was spoiling for a fight; the Ottomans were equally happy to prove their power. Again Mahan was front and centre when the United States gave Greece an old battleship.

The Ottomans could barely afford the downpayment on the Rio but national pride was strong. Kiosks were set up throughout the country to raise donations. Enough was raised to fully pay for the ship. As soon as she was finished she would join the Ottomans as the Sultan Osman I. It was 1914.

Churchill was now First Sea Lord and could see war on the horizon. When war came, he confiscated the Sultan without any compensation telling the Turks they could not have their ship until the war was over. The Turks were mad – very, very mad.

Now, it so happened that the Germans had two very nice ships in the Mediterranean – the Goben and the Breslau. They were not as big as the Sultan and unable to return to Germany as the British blocked escape at Gibraltar. A game of fox and hounds followed, the Goben and Breslau playing the fox. As the hounds got closer, Germany gave both ships to the Ottomans who put them where the British could not get at them. The Turks were overjoyed, but not happy enough to declare war on the Allies.

The German Captain was made a Turkish Admiral and his crew Turkish sailors. As time passed and the Turks failed to declare war – something had to be done to move them off the mark. He convinced the Turks that the two ships needed to test certain repairs and the Black Sea was the ideal place to do it. So the two ships sailed off, the Turkish pilots were soon thrown in the brig, and the ships proceeded to shell Sevastopol and Odessa under Turkish colours without a declaration of war and without orders from the Turks to do so.

Needless to say, the Russians were very upset and shortly after, declared war on the Ottomans while they joined the Germans (leading to such nice battles as Gallipoli).

The former Rio/Sultan, now Agincourt, joined the British fleet at Scapa Flow. She really had no business at the Battle of Jutland, the largest sea battle of the War. But there she was exchanging fire with the German fleet. She may have hit something but was not hit herself. She ended the war at anchor in Scapa Flow having contributed nothing much to winning the war.

After the Washington Naval Treaty of 1921, she was scrapped.

Every weapon of war has its day before it is nothing but scrap. Acres of Arizona desert are filled with discarded aircraft that are no longer deemed suitable for service; harbours in the U.S. are the resting rusting places for many ships from the Second World War. Tanks, planes, ships, and boats of the military may cost many millions but once made, they are on the way to obsolescence.

As Brazil shows, thriving economies based primarily on only one product are subject to depression when confronted with new competition. Aside from the two massive ships, the cities along the Amazon built lavish hotels, an opera house, a magnificent theatre, and many fine mansions, all based on the income from rubber. When the rubber boom collapsed, one city (Manaus) had to close its new power plant as it could not afford to repair it.

And, as we all learn, purchasing expensive but unnecessary things based on current income can become major liabilities when the source of income dries up.