HMS Swiftsure (1903)

Swiftsure at anchor
History
Chile
Name	Constitución
Ordered	1901
Builder	Armstrong Whitworth, Elswick
Yard number	733
Laid down	26 February 1902
Launched	12 January 1903
Renamed	HMS Swiftsure
Fate	Sold to the United Kingdom, 3 December 1903
United Kingdom
Name	HMS Swiftsure
Completed	June 1904
Acquired	3 December 1903
Commissioned	21 June 1904
Decommissioned	April 1917
Fate	Sold for scrap, 18 June 1920
General characteristics
Class and type	Swiftsure-class pre-dreadnought battleship
Displacement	12,175 long tons (12,370 t) (normal load) 13,840 long tons (14,060 t) (deep load)
Length	475 ft 3 in (144.9 m) (o/a)
Beam	71 ft 1 in (21.7 m)
Draught	27 ft 4 in (8.3 m) (deep)
Installed power	12,500 ihp (9,300 kW)
Propulsion	2 shafts 2 × 4-cylinder vertical triple-expansion steam engines 12 × Yarrow boilers
Speed	19 knots (35 km/h; 22 mph)
Range	6,210 nmi (11,500 km; 7,150 mi) at 10 knots (19 km/h; 12 mph)
Crew	729 (1906)
Armament	2 × 2 - BL 10-inch Mk VI guns 14 × 1 - BL 7.5-inch guns 14 × 1 - QF 14-pounder Mk I guns 4 × 1 - QF 6-pounder guns 2 × 1 - 18-inch (450 mm) submerged torpedo tubes
Armour	Belt: 3–7 inches (76–178 mm) Bulkheads: 2–6 inches (51–152 mm) Decks: 1–3 inches (25–76 mm) Conning tower: 11 inches (279 mm) Turrets: 8–10 inches (203–254 mm) Barbettes: 2–10 inches (51–254 mm) Casemates: 7 inches (178 mm)

HMS Swiftsure, originally known as Constitución, was the lead ship of the Swiftsure-class pre-dreadnought battleships. The ship was ordered by the Chilean Navy, but she was purchased by the United Kingdom as part of ending the Argentine–Chilean naval arms race. In British service, Swiftsure was initially assigned to the Home Fleet and Channel Fleets before being transferred to the Mediterranean Fleet in 1909. She rejoined Home Fleet in 1912 and was transferred to the East Indies Station in 1913, to act as its flagship.

After the beginning of World War I in August 1914, Swiftsure escorted troop convoys in the Indian Ocean until she was transferred to the Suez Canal Patrol in December. After defending the Canal in early 1915 from Ottoman attacks, the ship was then transferred to the Dardanelles in February and saw action in the Dardanelles Campaign bombarding Ottoman fortifications. Swiftsure was assigned to convoy escort duties in the Atlantic from early 1916 until she was paid off in April 1917 to provide crews for anti-submarine vessels. In mid-1918, the ship was disarmed to be used as a blockship during a proposed second raid on Ostend. Swiftsure was sold for scrap in 1920.