Britain’s “Foreign” Battleships and the Great War

At the outbreak of World War I in 1914, four powerful battleships were under construction in Great Britain for foreign navies; two for Ottoman Türkiye, and two for Chile. In the early twentieth century the battleship was much more than a costly weapon system, it was a cult object, a prestige trophy, and an iconic symbol of national power.

In 1911 Brazil, riding an economic boom based on rubber exports and engaged in an arms race against neighboring Argentina, ordered the battleship Rio de Janeiro from the British builder Armstrong Whitworth. When the rubber boom crashed, and tensions eased, the unfinished ship was sold to Türkiye, which renamed the vessel Sultan Osman-i Evvel, after the founder of the Ottoman dynasty. Armed with fourteen 12-inch (305 mm) guns in seven twin turrets, and a powerful secondary battery of twenty 6-inch (152 mm) guns, the vessel was fast (22 knots), but lightly armored compared to most contemporary battleships.

In 1911, Türkiye, engaged in its own arms race with Greece, ordered a battleship from Vickers that was a close copy of the British King George V class. Named Resadiye, the ship carried ten 13.5-inch (343 mm) guns. On July 29, 1914, a day after the outbreak of the First World War, Winston Churchill, then First Lord of the Admiralty (civilian head of the Royal Navy) ordered the seizure of the Turkish ships, fearing the Turks might turn them over to their German ally. Following the declaration of war, the ships were renamed HMS Agincourt (after the famous battle) and HMS Erin (in honor of Ireland) and incorporated into the British fleet.

In November, 1911 Chile, engaged in a long-running arms race with Argentina, ordered two battleships Almirante Latorre and Almirante Cochrane from Armstrong Whitworth. Juan José Latorre (1846 –1912) Chilean Vice Admiral, was a hero of the War of the Pacific (1879-1884). Admiral Thomas Cochrane (1775-1860), dismissed in disgrace from the Royal Navy in 1814, brilliantly organized and led the navies of Chile and of Brazil in their wars of independence during the 1820s, eventually being pardoned by the British Crown in 1832.

Armed with ten 14-inch (355 mm) guns, the ships were fast (22.75 knots) and well-armored. Shortly after the outbreak of war, Latorre was purchased from Chile and incorporated into the Royal Navy as HMS Canada. The ship fought at the battle of Jutland (May 31--June 1, 1916) and was sold back to Chile in 1920, serving as the flagship of the Chilean navy until it was scrapped in 1959 in Japan. Some parts from Latorre were used to restore the Japanese pre-Dreadnought battleship Mikasa, today preserved as a memorial at Yokosuka. The unfinished Cochrane was purchased for the Royal Navy in 1918 and slowly rebuilt as the aircraft carrier HMS Eagle, which was commissioned in 1924, and sunk in the Mediterranean on August 11, 1942 by German submarine U-73.

Superbly illustrated with many period photographs and new line drawings, this meticulously researched book will be read with delight by naval history enthusiasts. The author, Aidan Dodson, is honorary Professor of Egyptology at the University of Bristol, where he has taught since 1996, and a Fellow of the Society of Antiquaries of London. He worked for 25 years in UK defense procurement, including as project leader for the Falkland Island patrol vessel, HMS Clyde. He is the author of over 25 books, including works on naval history.

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