Nelson class
HMS NELSON
The Washington Naval Treaty of 1922 was signed by the WWI Allied powers with the intention of limiting naval forces to prevent a global arms race. The first British battleships built to conform to the treaty were the two ships of the Nelson class. Named after Britain’s greatest naval hero, HMS Nelson was the third Royal Navy ship to bear the name and was laid down by Armstrong Whitworth on North Tyneside at Newcastle, launching on 3 September 1925. After sea trials, Nelson entered service in October as the Atlantic Fleet’s flagship, retaining the role until 1941. In September 1931 the ship gained a certain notoriety as members of her crew were involved in the Invergordon mutiny which had been initiated by drastic cuts in naval rates of pay. During the 1930s, Nelson deployed to the Mediterranean and attended the Silver Jubilee Naval Review in 1935 and King George VI’s Coronation Review in 1937 followed by a short refit period.
On commencement of WWII, the ship patrolled the North Atlantic for German blockade runners and in the first month of the war oversaw salvage operations from the damaged submarine HMS Spearfish.
In the October Nelson survived an attack from the German U-Boat U-56 and briefly pursued Gneisenau and Scharnhorst after the German ships had sunk HMS Rawalpindi in the November but was unable to locate either ship.
On 4 December the ship detonated a mine at the entrance to Loch Ewe necessitating repairs in dry dock at
Portsmouth until the summer of the following year. Returning to service, Nelson and sister ship Rodney were despatched into the Atlantic on the hunt for Admiral Scheer, Gneisenau and Scharnhorst, again without success.
In July 1941 the ship escorted Mediterranean convoys to Malta and Gibraltar, joining Admiral James Somerville’s Force H, with the Admiral embarked in Nelson as she assumed flagship duties. Escorting mine laying and convoy operations throughout the summer, Nelson was damaged by an aerial torpedo launched by an Italian bomber of the Regia Aeronautica, which reduced her speed to 12 knots and she docked in Gibraltar for makeshift repairs before sailing on to Rosyth in Scotland.
In May 1942 Nelson resumed convoy escort runs to South Africa and in October she returned to Force H to support the Operation Torch landings in North Africa.
On 9 July 1943 Nelson in company with Rodney, Warspite and the aircraft carriers Indomitable and Formidable were attached to Force H to provide cover for the invasion of Sicily and the landings at Calabria and Salerno.
During the Allied landings in Normandy, Nelson bombarded German coastal fortifications and supply dumps, however, 12 days later she hit two mines and after temporary repairs in Portsmouth sailed to the Philadelphia Naval Shipyard in the US. On completion of restoration work in January 1945, she returned to Britain and was deployed to Ceylon as part of the Eastern Fleet. Japanese forces in Malaya formally surrendered onboard Nelson on 2 September and the ship was present at the surrender of the Japanese South East Asia Command at Singapore 10 days later.
Post war, Nelson became flagship of the training squadron and was placed in reserve in October 1947 alongside at
HMS Nelson / HMS Rodney
Class: Nelson
Displacement: 30,599 tonnes
Length: 710ft 3in
Beam: 106ft
Draught: 30ft 2in
Speed: 23 knots
Range: 8,055 miles
Crew: 1,361 men
Armament: 3 x triple 16in guns • 6 x twin 6in guns • 6 x 4.7in guns • 8 x 2pdr AA guns • 2 x 24.5in torpedo tubes
Armour: Deck - 3.75in-6.25in, Waterline belt – 13in-14in