Editing Duncan-class battleship (section)

{{Short description|Pre-dreadnought battleship class of the British Royal Navy}}
{{Good article}}
{{Use shortened footnotes|date=October 2022}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=January 2018}}
{{Use British English|date=January 2018}}
{|{{Infobox ship begin}}
{{Infobox ship image
|Ship image=HMS Albemarle LOC ggbain.17993.jpg
|Ship caption=HMS ''Albemarle''
}}
{{Infobox ship class overview
|Name=''Duncan'' class
|Builders=
*[[Thames Iron Works]] (2)
*[[Cammell Laird|Laird Brothers]] (1)
*[[Chatham Dockyard]] (1)
*[[HMNB Devonport|Devonport Dockyard]] (1)
*[[Palmers Shipbuilding and Iron Company Limited|Palmers Shipbuilding & Iron Co.]] (1)
|Operators={{navy|United Kingdom}}
|Class before={{sclass|London|battleship|4}}
|Class after={{sclass|King Edward VII|battleship|4}}
|Built range=1900–1903
|In commission range=1903–1917
|Total ships completed=6
|Total ships lost=3
|Total ships retired=3
}}
{{Infobox ship characteristics
|Hide header=
|Header caption=
| Ship type=[[Pre-dreadnought battleship]]
|Ship displacement=
*[[Normal displacement|Normal]]: {{convert|13270|to|13745|LT|lk=on}}
*[[Full load]]: {{convert|14900|to|15200|LT}}
|Ship length={{convert|432|ft|m|abbr=on}}
|Ship beam={{convert|75|ft|6|in|m|abbr=on}}
|Ship draught={{convert|25|ft|9|in|m|abbr=on}}
|Ship power=
*{{convert|18,000|ihp|kW|abbr=on|lk=in}}
*24 × [[Belleville boiler|Belleville]] [[water-tube boilers]]
|Ship propulsion=
*2 × [[Marine steam engine#Triple or multiple expansion|triple-expansion steam engines]]
*2 × shafts
|Ship speed= {{convert|19|kn|lk=in}}
|Ship range={{convert|6070|nmi|abbr=on|lk=in}} at {{convert|10|kn}}
|Ship complement=720
|Ship armament=
*4 × [[BL 12 inch Mk IX naval gun|{{convert|12|in|mm|adj=on|0}} 40-caliber Mk IX guns]]
*12 × [[BL 6-inch Mk VII naval gun|{{convert|6|in|mm|adj=on|0}} 45-calibre guns]]
*10 × [[QF 12-pounder 12 cwt naval gun|12-pounder guns]]
*6 × [[QF 3-pounder Hotchkiss|3-pounder guns]]
*4 × [[British 18 inch torpedo|{{convert|18|in|mm|adj=on|0}} torpedo tubes]] (submerged)
|Ship armour=
*[[Belt armor|Belt]]: {{convert|7|in|mm|abbr=on|0}}
*[[Bulkhead (partition)|Bulkheads]]: {{convert|11|-|7|in|mm|abbr=on|0}}
*[[Deck (ship)|Decks]]: {{convert|2|-|1|in|mm|abbr=on}}
*[[Gun turret|Turrets]]: {{convert|10|-|8|in|mm|0|abbr=on}}
*[[Barbettes]]: {{convert|11|-|4|in|mm|0|abbr=on}}
*[[Casemates]]: {{convert|6|in|mm|abbr=on|0}}
*[[Conning tower]]: {{convert|12|in|mm|abbr=on|0}}
|Ship notes=
}}
|}
The '''''Duncan'' class''' was a [[Ship class|class]] of six [[pre-dreadnought]] [[battleship]]s built for the [[Royal Navy]] in the early 1900s. The six ships—{{HMS|Duncan|1901|6}}, {{HMS|Albemarle|1901|6}}, {{HMS|Cornwallis|1901|6}}, {{HMS|Exmouth|1901|6}}, {{HMS|Montagu|1901|6}}, and {{HMS|Russell|1901|6}}—were ordered in response to Russian naval building, specifically the fast second-class battleships of the {{sclass|Peresvet|battleship|4}}, which they were specifically to counter. The foremost design consideration was a high top speed to match the rumoured (and incorrect) top speed of {{convert|19|kn|lk=in}} of the Russian ships while maintaining the same battery of {{convert|12|inch|adj=on}} guns and keeping [[displacement (ship)|displacement]] from growing. This forced significant compromises in armour protection, though the ships adopted a revised system of protection for the bow, which was copied in other designs like the {{sclass|London|battleship|4}}.

All members of the class served in the [[Mediterranean Fleet]] after completion, thereafter joining the [[Home Fleet|Home]], [[Channel Fleet|Channel]], and [[Atlantic Fleet (United Kingdom)|Atlantic Fleets]] over the next ten years. In 1906, ''Montagu'' was wrecked off [[Lundy Island]] and could not be salvaged. The period passed largely uneventfully for the other members of the class. Following the outbreak of the [[First World War]] in August 1914, the ships were sent to reinforce the [[Grand Fleet]], where they were used on the [[Northern Patrol]] to help blockade Germany. In November, ''Russell'' and ''Exmouth'' bombarded [[Zeebrugge]], but otherwise the ''Duncan''s saw no action in the first months of the war.

''Cornwallis'' participated in the [[Dardanelles campaign]] beginning in early 1915, and most of the other members of the class joined her there over the course of the year. ''Duncan'' instead served in the Atlantic and later in the [[Adriatic Sea]] and ''Albemarle'' remained with the Grand Fleet and later went to [[Murmansk]], Russia, to guard the port. ''Russell'' and ''Cornwallis'' were sunk by German [[U-boat]]s in April 1916 and January 1917, respectively. The three surviving members of the class saw little activity in the final two years of the war, though ''Duncan'' and ''Exmouth'' were involved in the Allied intervention in Greece. All three ships were ultimately sold for [[scrap]] in the immediate post-war reduction in naval strength and were [[broken up]] in 1920.