HMS Erin

Erin in the Moray Firth, August 1915
Ottoman Empire
Name	Reşad V
Namesake	Sultan Mehmed V
Ordered	8 June 1911
Builder	Vickers
Yard number	425
Laid down	6 December 1911
Launched	3 September 1913
Renamed	Reşadiye
Fate	Seized, 31 July 1914
United Kingdom
Name	Erin
Namesake	Erin
Completed	August 1914
Decommissioned	May 1922
Fate	Sold for scrap, 19 December 1922
General characteristics (as built)
Type	Dreadnought battleship
Displacement	22,780 long tons (23,146 t) (normal) 25,250 long tons (25,655 t) (deep load)
Length	559 ft 6 in (170.54 m) (o/a)
Beam	91 ft 7 in (27.9 m)
Draught	28 ft 5 in (8.7 m)
Installed power	15 × Babcock & Wilcox boilers 26,500 shp (19,800 kW)
Propulsion	4 × shafts; 4 × steam turbine sets
Speed	21 knots (39 km/h; 24 mph)
Range	5,300 nmi (9,800 km; 6,100 mi) at 10 knots (19 km/h; 12 mph)
Complement	976 (1914) 1,064 (1915)
Armament	5 × twin 13.5 in (343 mm) guns 16 × single 6 in (152 mm) guns 6 × single 6 pdr (57 mm) guns 4 × 21 in (533 mm) torpedo tubes
Armour	Belt: 12 in (305 mm) Decks: 1–3 in (25–76 mm) Turrets: 11 in (279 mm) Barbettes: 9–10 in (229–254 mm)

HMS Erin was a dreadnought battleship of the Royal Navy, originally ordered by the Ottoman government from the British Vickers Company. The ship was to have been named Reşadiye when she entered service with the Ottoman Navy. The Reşadiye class was designed to be at least the equal of any other ship afloat or under construction.^[1] When the First World War began in August 1914, Reşadiye was nearly complete and was seized at the orders of Winston Churchill, the First Lord of the Admiralty, to keep her in British hands and prevent her from being used by Germany or German allies. There is no evidence that the seizure played any part in the Ottoman government declaring war on Britain and the Triple Entente.

Aside from a minor role in the Battle of Jutland in May 1916 and the inconclusive Action of 19 August the same year, Erin's service during the war generally consisted of routine patrols and training in the North Sea. The ship was deemed obsolete after the war; she was reduced to reserve and used as a training ship. Erin served as the flagship of the reserve fleet at the Nore for most of 1920. She was sold for scrap in 1922 and broken up the following year.