HMS Nelson (28)

Aerial view of Nelson, 17 May 1937
History
United Kingdom
Name	Nelson
Namesake	Vice-Admiral Horatio Nelson
Ordered	1 January 1923
Builder	Armstrong-Whitworth, South Tyneside
Laid down	28 December 1922
Launched	3 September 1925
Commissioned	15 August 1927
Decommissioned	February 1948
In service	27 October 1927
Out of service	20 October 1947
Stricken	19 May 1948
Identification	Pennant number: 28
Motto	Palmam qui meruit ferat Latin: "Let him bear the palm who has deserved it"
Nickname(s)	Nelsol
Honours and awards	Malta Convoys 1941−42 North Africa 1942−43 Sicily 1943 Salerno 1943 Mediterranean 1943 Normandy 1944
Fate	Sold for scrap, 5 January 1949
Badge	A rearing lion facing back clasping a palm frond
General characteristics (as built)
Class and type	Nelson-class battleship
Displacement	33,300 long tons (33,800 t) (standard) 37,780 long tons (38,390 t) (full load)
Length	709 ft 10 in (216.4 m) o/a
Beam	106 ft (32.3 m)
Draught	30 ft 4 in (9.2 m) (mean standard)
Installed power	8 × Admiralty 3-drum boilers 45,000 shp (34,000 kW)
Propulsion	2 shafts; 2 geared steam turbines
Speed	23 knots (43 km/h; 26 mph)
Range	7,000 nmi (13,000 km; 8,100 mi) at 16 knots (30 km/h; 18 mph)
Complement	1,314 (private ship) 1,361 (flagship)
Armament	3 × triple 16 in (406 mm) guns 6 × twin 6 in (152 mm) guns 6 × single 4.7 in (120 mm) AA guns 8 × single 2 pdr (40 mm (1.6 in)) AA guns 2 × 24.5 in (622 mm) torpedo tubes
Armour	Waterline belt: 13–14 in (330–356 mm) Deck: 3.75–6.25 in (95–159 mm) Barbettes: 12–15 in (305–381 mm) Gun turrets: 9–16 in (229–406 mm) Conning tower: 12–14 in (305–356 mm) Bulkheads: 4–12 in (102–305 mm)

HMS Nelson (pennant number: 28) was the name ship of her class of two battleships built for the Royal Navy in the 1920s. They were the first battleships built to meet the limitations of the Washington Naval Treaty of 1922. Entering service in 1927, the ship spent her peacetime career with the Atlantic and Home Fleets, usually as the fleet flagship. During the early stages of World War II, she searched for German commerce raiders, missed participating in the Norwegian Campaign after she was badly damaged by a mine in late 1939, and escorted convoys in the Atlantic Ocean.

In mid-1941 Nelson escorted several convoys to Malta before being torpedoed in September. After repairs she resumed doing so before supporting the British invasion of French Algeria during Operation Torch in late 1942. The ship covered the invasions of Sicily (Operation Husky) and Italy (Operation Avalanche) in mid-1943 while bombarding coastal defences during Operation Baytown. During the Normandy landings in June 1944, Nelson provided naval gunfire support before she struck a mine and spent the rest of the year under repair. The ship was transferred to the Eastern Fleet in mid-1945 and returned home a few months after the Japanese surrender in September to serve as the flagship of the Home Fleet. She became a training ship in early 1946 and was reduced to reserve in late 1947. Nelson was scrapped two years later after being used as a target for bomb tests.