Commonwealth
Name: HMS Commonwealth
Ordered: 1903 naval programme
Builder: Fairfield Shipbuilding and Engineering Company, Govan
Cost: £1,471,527
Laid down: 17 June 1902
Launched: 13 May 1903
Completed: March 1905
Commissioned: 9 May 1905
Decommissioned: February 1921
Fate: Sold for scrapping 18 November 1921
Although Commonwealth and her seven sister ships of the King Edward VII class were a direct descendant of the Majestic class, they were also the first class to make a significant departure from the Majestic design, displacing about 1,000 tons more and mounting for the first time an intermediate battery of four 9.2-inch guns in addition to the standard outfit of 6-inch guns.
Commonwealth and her sisters were the first British battleships with balanced rudders since the 1870s and were very maneuverable, with a tactical diameter of 340 yards at 15 knots. However, they were difficult to keep on a straight course, and this characteristic led to them being nicknamed "the Wobbly Eight" during their 1914-1916 service in the Grand Fleet. They had a slightly faster roll than previous British battleship classes, but were good gun platforms, although very wet in bad weather.
She joined the fleet in mid-1905, but quickly was made obsolete by the commissioning of the revolutionary battleship HMS Dreadnought at the end of 1906 and the large numbers of the new dreadnought battleships that commissioned in succeeding years.
Commonwealth, however, was reconstructed in 1918 with all the trappings (such as updated fire control systems) of modern dreadnought battleships, so as to provide an adequate gunnery training platform. She served in this capacity until 1921, leaving service as the last seagoing British predreadnought still armed with her guns.
Commonwealth
Name: HMS Commonwealth
Ordered: 1903 naval programme
Builder: Fairfield Shipbuilding and Engineering Company, Govan
Cost: £1,471,527
Laid down: 17 June 1902
Launched: 13 May 1903
Completed: March 1905
Commissioned: 9 May 1905
Decommissioned: February 1921
Fate: Sold for scrapping 18 November 1921
Although Commonwealth and her seven sister ships of the King Edward VII class were a direct descendant of the Majestic class, they were also the first class to make a significant departure from the Majestic design, displacing about 1,000 tons more and mounting for the first time an intermediate battery of four 9.2-inch guns in addition to the standard outfit of 6-inch guns.
Commonwealth and her sisters were the first British battleships with balanced rudders since the 1870s and were very maneuverable, with a tactical diameter of 340 yards at 15 knots. However, they were difficult to keep on a straight course, and this characteristic led to them being nicknamed "the Wobbly Eight" during their 1914-1916 service in the Grand Fleet. They had a slightly faster roll than previous British battleship classes, but were good gun platforms, although very wet in bad weather.
She joined the fleet in mid-1905, but quickly was made obsolete by the commissioning of the revolutionary battleship HMS Dreadnought at the end of 1906 and the large numbers of the new dreadnought battleships that commissioned in succeeding years.
Commonwealth, however, was reconstructed in 1918 with all the trappings (such as updated fire control systems) of modern dreadnought battleships, so as to provide an adequate gunnery training platform. She served in this capacity until 1921, leaving service as the last seagoing British predreadnought still armed with her guns.