HMS Anson (1886)

Bow view of Anson at anchor, circa 1897
History
United Kingdom
Name	Anson
Namesake	Admiral George Anson
Ordered	1883
Builder	Pembroke Dockyard
Cost	£662,582
Laid down	24 April 1883
Launched	17 February 1886
Completed	28 May 1889
Fate	Sold for scrap, 13 July 1909
General characteristics
Class and type	Admiral-class ironclad battleship
Displacement	10,600 long tons (10,800 t)
Length	330 ft (100.6 m) (p.p.)
Beam	68 ft 6 in (20.9 m)
Draught	27 ft 10 in (8.5 m)
Installed power	7,500 ihp (5,600 kW) (normal) 11,500 ihp (8,600 kW) (forced draught)
Propulsion	2 × Humphreys compound-expansion steam engines 2 × screws
Speed	16.9 kn (31.3 km/h; 19.4 mph) (forced draught)
Range	7,200 nmi (13,300 km; 8,300 mi) at 10 knots (19 km/h; 12 mph)
Complement	525–536
Armament	2 × twin BL 13.5 in (343 mm) Mk II guns 6 × single BL 6 in (152 mm) Mk IV guns 12 × single QF 6-pdr (2.2 in (57 mm)) Hotchkiss guns 10 × single QF 3-pdr (1.9 in (47 mm)) Hotchkiss guns 5 × 14 in (356 mm) torpedo tubes
Armour	Waterline belt: 18–8 in (457–203 mm) Bulkheads: 16–7 in (406–178 mm) Barbettes: 14–12 in (356–305 mm) Conning tower: 12–2 in (305–51 mm) Deck: 3–2.5 in (76–64 mm)

HMS Anson was the last of six Admiral-class ironclad battleships built for the Royal Navy during the 1880s. The ship was completed, except for her armament, in 1887, but had to wait two years for her guns to be installed. She was assigned to the Channel Fleet in mid-1889 as a flagship for the fleet's second-in-command. Two years later, the passenger ship SS Utopia sank with the loss of 562 lives after colliding with Anson in the Bay of Gibraltar. In mid-1893, Anson was transferred to the Mediterranean Fleet, subsequently returning home in 1900 when she was assigned to the Reserve Fleet. She recommissioned for the Home Fleet in early 1901. Anson was paid off three years later and then sold for scrap in 1909.