HMS King Edward VII, Battleship, 1905

King Edward VII:
Battleship: 
Built: HM Dockyard Devonport, Devon
Laid: 1902; Launched: 1903; Commissioned: 1905; Mined of Cape Wrath 1916;
15,585 Tons; Length: 453′ 9″ (138.3 m); Beam: 75 ft (22.9 m); Draught: 25′ 8″ (7.8 m);
Power: 18,000 ihp (13,420 kW); 2 x screw; 18.5 knots (34.3 km/h; 21.3 mph);
Complement: 777;
Armament: 4 x 12″ (305 mm); 4 x 9.2″ (234 mm); 10 x 6″ (153 mm); 14 x 12 lb (5.4 kg); 14 x 3 lb (1.4 kg) ; 4 x 18″ (457 mm) torpedo tubes;

H.M.S. King Edward VII was the first ship in a class of eight late pre-dreadnought battleships. Her service until her loss in the Great War was as the flagship of the Third Battle Squadron. She was built at Devonport RN Dockyard, her keel laid by King Edward on 8th March 1902 and launched by him on 23rd July 1903. She was commissioned on 7th February 1905. The King requested that she should always serve as a flagship and so she did. Derived from the Majestic class her main armaments were 4×12-inch (305 mm), 4×9.2-inch (230 mm) AND 10×6-inch (150 mm) guns. Twin screwed with 2×4-cylinder triple expansion steam engines she was a great ship but the first dreadnoughts launched two years later rendered her obsolete so a full refit was ordered in 1907. She joined the Home Fleet then Channel Fleet before being assigned to 3rd Battle Squadron. Because they were so outclassed her role in WW I was spent largely protecting dreadnoughts – acting as minesweepers ahead of the rest of the fleet. It was a mine sown by SMS Möwe that ended her career when she was struck on 6th January 1916 off Cape Wrath in the far north west of Scotland en route to a refit in Belfast.  She sank with the loss of only one life.