Revision 63374811 of "HMS Erin" on enwiki

{| border="1" align="right" cellpadding="2" cellspacing="0" width="300" style="margin-left:1em;margin-bottom:1em"
|colspan="2" align="center"|[[Image:Resadiye.jpg|300px|Sketches showing the transformation from ''Reshadiye'' to ''Erin'']]<br/><small>Sketches showing the transformation from ''Reshadiye'' to ''Erin''</small>
|-
!style="color: white; height: 30px; background: navy;"|Career
!style="color: white; height: 30px; background: navy;"|[[Image:Naval Ensign of the United Kingdom.svg|60px|Royal Navy Ensign]]
|-
|Ordered:
|
|-
|Laid down:
|[[1 August]] [[1911]]
|-
|Launched:
|[[3 September]] [[1913]]
|-
|Commissioned:
|August 1914
|-
|Decommissioned:
|December 1922
|-
|Fate:
|Scrapped
|-
|Struck:
|
|-
!colspan="2" align="center" style="color: white; height: 30px; background: navy;"|General Characteristics
|-
|Displacement:
|27,500 tons normal<br>30,250 tons full load
|-
|Length:
|559 ft 6 in (171 m)
|-
|Beam:
|91 ft (27.7 m)
|-
|Draught:
|28 ft (8.7 m)
|-
|Propulsion:
|Parsons 4 shaft [[steam turbine]]s,<br/>15 Babcock boilers,<br/>26,500 hp (20 MW)
|-
|Speed:
|21 knots (39 km/h)
|-
|Range:
|5,300 nautical miles (9,800 km)
|-
|Complement:
|1,070
|-
|Armament:
|10 x 13.5 in (345 mm) guns </br>(5 twin turrets)<br/>16 x 6 in (152 mm) guns<br/>6 x 6 pdr in (57 mm) guns<br/>2 x 3 in (76 mm) [[anti-aircraft gun]]s<br/>4 x 21 in (533 mm) [[torpedo]] tubes
|-
|Armour:
|12 in (305 mm) main belt,<br/>6 in (152 mm) upper belt,<br/>10 to 3 in (203 to 305 mm) over turrets
|}

'''HMS ''Erin''''' was a [[battleship]] of the [[Royal Navy]], originally '''''Reshadiye''''', ordered for the navy of the [[Ottoman Empire]] but seized by the [[United Kingdom]] on the outbreak of [[World War I]].

==Background and construction==
After the [[Russo-Turkish War, 1877-78|Russo-Turkish War]] of 1877&ndash;1878, Sultan [[Abdulhamid II]] withdrew the [[Ottoman Navy]] from use and left the ships to rot. One of the important reasons of this decision was his fear of dethronement like Sultan [[Abd-ul-Aziz|Abdulaziz I]]. In 1903, the [[First Lord of the Admiralty]], [[William Palmer, 2nd Earl of Selborne]], inspected the condition of the Ottoman Navy and reported that "there was no navy!"

However, the naval arms race of the early 20th century prompted the Ottoman government to embark upon a programme of re-armament by purchasing ships from the best shipbuilders in the world: at that time, in the United Kingdom. By 1914 this programme had purchased forty ships from British yards.

Other navies were undergoing similar programmes of naval expansion. A naval rivalry between [[Argentina]] and [[Brazil]] led the latter to order a battleship from [[Armstrong Whitworth]] in the spring of 1911, to be named ''Rio de Janeiro''. However, by 1913 the two nations had solved their conflicts and Brazil ceased her payments to Armstrong.

The Ottoman Navy placed two orders for battleships: one with [[Vickers]] to be called ''Reshadiye'', and one with Armstrong to be called ''Mahmud Resad V''. However, financial difficulties led the latter to be abandoned; instead the Ottoman Navy took over the contract for ''Rio de Janeiro'', renaming her ''Sultan Osman I''. A third ship, to be named ''Fatih'', was ordered from Vickers in 1914 but cancelled on the outbreak of war.

The battleships cost Turkey 4 million pounds. In that period, Ottoman government was in a financial deadlock and for the budget of these battleships, people's donations were asked. In taverns, cafes, schools, markets everybody donated some amount of money for the Ottoman Navy. To encourage this campaign, plentiful donations were awarded with a medal called "Navy Donation Medal". 

[[George Thurston]]'s design for ''Reshadiye'' was based on contemporary British battleships of the [[King George V class battleship (1911)|''King George V'' class]], but had a heavier main armament and accommodation differences, particularly Turkish-style lavatories. The coal bunkerage and endurance were also less British practice and the armour belt was shallower.

==Seizure==
As war approached, the British government could not risk such powerful vessels leaving British waters while Turkey was flirting with the [[German Empire]]. When on [[27 July]] [[1914]] Mr. Rauf went to Newcastle on behalf of the Ottoman government to arrange for transportation of ''Sultan Osman I'', the First Lord of Admiralty [[Winston Churchill]] was aware that an embargo would mean a diplomatic crisis but he could not take the risk that these battleships would be engaged against the Royal Navy.

Accordingly, on [[3 August]] [[1914]], Churchill declared that the British government had embargoed the two battleships. Mr. Rauf in his memories says, "We paid the last instalment (700,000 Turkish liras). The manufacturer and we agreed on that the ships would be hand over on 2 August 1914. Nevertheless, after we made our payment and half an hour before the ceremony, the British declared that they have requisitioned the ships … Although we have protested, nobody paid attention."

When the UK declared war on [[4 August]] [[1914]] the two ships were taken over by the United Kingdom without compensation because the Ottoman Empire was allied with the German Empire. This caused resentment in the Ottoman Empire and helped push Turkey into declaring war on Germany's side on [[October 29]] [[1914]].

==Service==
[[Image:PopTilley.jpg|200px|thumb|Crew members - 1914]]

''Reshadiye'' was commissioned in the Royal Navy as HMS ''Erin'', and ''Sultan Osman I'' became [[HMS Agincourt (1913)|HMS ''Agincourt'']].

''Erin'' joined the 2nd Battle squadron of the [[Grand Fleet]], and fought in the [[Battle of Jutland]]. She became flagship of the [[Nore]] Reserve in 1919 and was scrapped in 1922 to comply with the [[Washington Naval Treaty]].

==References==
* Conway's ''All the world's fighting ships 1906&ndash;1921''
* D. K. Brown, ''The Grand Fleet'', Chatham, 1999.

== External links ==
* [http://www.maritimequest.com/warship_directory/great_britain/battleships/erin/hms_erin.htm Maritimequest HMS Erin Photo Gallery]

[[Category:Ottoman military]]
[[Category:Royal Navy battleships|Erin]]
[[Category:World War II battleships of the United Kingdom|Erin]]
[[Category:World War I battleships of the United Kingdom|Erin]]
[[Category:Barrow built ships|Erin]]