HMS Colossus (1910)

Colossus at anchor, shortly after completion, 1911
History
United Kingdom
Name	Colossus
Namesake	Colossus of Rhodes
Ordered	1 June 1909
Builder	Scotts, Greenock
Laid down	8 July 1909
Launched	9 April 1910
Completed	July 1911
Commissioned	8 August 1911
Reclassified	As a training ship, 1921
Stricken	1923
Fate	Sold for scrap, July 1928
General characteristics
Class and type	Colossus-class dreadnought battleship
Displacement	20,030 long tons (20,350 t) (normal)
Length	545 ft 9 in (166.3 m) (o/a)
Beam	86 ft 8 in (26.4 m)
Draught	27 ft (8.2 m)
Installed power	25,000 shp (19,000 kW) 18 × Babcock & Wilcox boilers
Propulsion	4 × shafts; 2 × steam turbine sets
Speed	21 knots (39 km/h; 24 mph)
Range	6,680 nmi (12,370 km; 7,690 mi) at 10 knots (19 km/h; 12 mph)
Complement	751
Armament	5 × twin 12-inch (305 mm) guns 16 × single 4-inch (102 mm) guns 3 × 21-inch (533 mm) torpedo tubes
Armour	Belt: 8–11 in (203–279 mm) Deck: 1.5–4 inches (38–102 mm) Turrets: 11 in (280 mm) Barbettes: 4–11 inches (102–279 mm) Bulkheads: 4 and 8 in (102 and 203 mm) Conning tower: 11 in (280 mm)

HMS Colossus was the lead ship of her class of two dreadnought battleships built for the Royal Navy at the end of the first decade of the 20th century. She spent her whole career assigned to the Home and Grand Fleets, often serving as a flagship. Aside from participating in the Battle of Jutland in May 1916 and the inconclusive action of 19 August, her service during World War I generally consisted of routine patrols and training in the North Sea. Colossus was the only dreadnought from the main body of the Grand Fleet to be hit during the Battle of Jutland, although she suffered only minor damage.^[1] The ship was deemed obsolete after the war and was reduced to reserve and then became a training ship. Colossus was hulked in 1923 and sold for scrap in 1928.