These guns are mounted in five twin turrets on the centre line of the vessel, and all of them can be trained on either broadside. Sixteen 4-in. quick-firers are mounted for use against torpedo craft, and there are three 21-in. submerged torpedo tubes. The armour belt is 12-in. thick amidships, the turrets 11-in. Some of the smaller guns are protected by 4-in. armour. Coal and oil to the amount of 2,700 tons can be carried. The complement of these ships is 900 officers and men. They cost complete nearly £2,000,000.
NEPTUNE CLASS.
(Completed 1911.)
NEPTUNE.
HERCULES.
COLOSSUS.
These are Dreadnought battleships of 20,000 tons displacement. They are 510 ft. in length, and have Parsons’ turbines of 25,000 h.p., which give them a speed of 21 knots. The main battery consists of ten 12-in. guns, 50 calibres (i.e., 50 ft.) long, mounted in five twin turrets. Two of these turrets are in echelon amidships, the remaining three being on the centre line, an arrangement that permits all ten guns to come into action on either broadside through a limited arc.
In the class to which these ships belong the super-posed turret appeared for the first time in the British Navy. Sixteen 4-in. quick-firers and three submerged torpedo tubes complete the armament. There is an 11-in. armour belt on the waterline, similar protection being given to the big guns. The fuel capacity is 2,700 tons. The complement numbers over 800 officers and men. These vessels cost about £1,700,000 apiece to complete.
ST. VINCENT CLASS.
(Completed 1910.)
ST. VINCENT.
VANGUARD.
COLLINGWOOD.
These are Dreadnought battleships with a displacement of 19,250 tons. They are 500 ft. long, and have Parsons’ turbines of 24,500 h.p., which give them a top speed of 21 knots. Their main battery comprises ten 12-in. guns of powerful type, mounted in five twin turrets, the disposition of which allows eight guns to be used on either beam. They also carry eighteen 4-in. quick-firers, some mounted on top of the turrets, and others in the superstructure. There are three submerged torpedo tubes.
The waterline is protected by armour barely 10-in. thick, this being also the thickness of the turret armour. Coal and oil to the amount of 2,700 tons can be carried. The complement of these battleships numbers rather more than 800 officers and men. They cost about £1,700,000 to build and complete.