Swiftsure-class
Lord Nelson-class
An item referred to the Naval&Military Record dated 14 January 1920 reporting that the Royal British Navy was converting the battleships Swiftsure (1) and Agamemnon (2) into target ships while testing several protection systems.
Notes
1. Part of the Swiftsure-class, consisting of the Swiftsure (ex-Constitución) and Triumph (ex-Libertad), preceded by the King Edward VII-class and succeeded by the Lord Nelson-class.
Ordered by the Chile as the Constitución in 1901, laid down by Armstrong Whitworth, Elswick, England with yard number 733 on 26 February 1902, launched on 12 January 1903, sold to England on 3 December 1903, renamed Swiftsure, completed in June 1904, commissioned on 21 June 1904, decommissioned in April 1917, stripped to be used as a blockship in the Belgian harbour Ostend in autumn 1918, after the war used as target and finally sold to be broken up on 19 June 1920.
2. Building ordered in 1904. Laid down by the William Beardmore and Company’s Daimuir Naval Construction Works, Daimuir, Scotland on 15 May 1905, launched on 23 June 1906, completed on June 1908, commissioned on 25 June 1908, decommissioned on 20 March 1909, converted into a target ship at the Chatham Dockyard between 6 December 1920-8 April 1921, radio-controlled target ship between 1923-1926 and then replaced by HMS Centurion and finally sold to J. Cashmore, Newport, England to be broken up on 24 January 1927. On 1 March she left the Portsmouth Dockyard to her final destination at Newport. Her building was seriously delayed caused by problems with the shipyard personnel and using her guns for the HMS Dreadnought .Building costs 1.652.346 pound sterling.
