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| HMS Anson (79) | |
|---|---|
| Ship name | HMS Anson |
| Caption | HMS Anson at sea, 1944 |
| Ship class | King George V-class battleship |
| Ship tonnage | 42,300 tons (full load) |
| Ship length | 745 ft |
| Ship beam | 106 ft |
| Ship draught | 33 ft |
| Ship propulsion | Parsons geared steam turbines |
| Ship speed | 27 knots |
| Ship range | 3,700 nmi at 14 kn |
| Ship complement | ≈1,376 officers and ratings |
| Ship builder | Vickers-Armstrongs, Barrow-in-Furness |
| Ship launched | 24 March 1940 |
| Ship commissioned | 25 March 1942 |
| Ship decommissioned | 31 October 1957 |
| Ship fate | Scrapped, 1958–1960 |
HMS Anson (79) was a King George V-class battleship of the Royal Navy completed during World War II. Named after George Anson, 1st Baron Anson, she served in the Home Fleet, the Eastern Fleet and supported operations in the Arctic convoys, the Battle of the Atlantic and the Invasion of Normandy. Following post-war refits and Cold War service she was decommissioned and scrapped, leaving a legacy in naval architecture and Royal Navy heritage.
The design originated from interwar restrictions set by the Washington Naval Treaty and the London Naval Treaty, which influenced the Admiralty to balance armour, armament and speed in the King George V-class battleship programme. Designed by Sir Stanley Goodall and his staff at the Admiralty Naval Construction Department, Anson incorporated innovations from earlier capital ships such as HMS King George V (41), HMS Prince of Wales (53), HMS Duke of York and HMS Howe (32). Built by Vickers-Armstrongs at Barrow-in-Furness, she was laid down in 1937, launched on 24 March 1940 and completed on 25 March 1942 after pressure from Prime Minister Winston Churchill and wartime urgency driven by threats from Kriegsmarine surface raiders and German battleship operations including Bismarck sorties. Her construction used armor schemes influenced by HMS Nelson (28) and machinery developments pioneered on Queen Elizabeth-class vessels.
Anson carried a main armament of ten 14-inch (356 mm) guns in two twin and two quadruple turrets, a configuration reflecting treaty-calibre choices shared with HMS Prince of Wales (53) and HMS Duke of York. Secondary battery and anti-aircraft defences included 5.25-inch dual-purpose guns, 40 mm Bofors and 20 mm Oerlikon mounts, which were upgraded during refits to counter threats like Luftwaffe torpedo-bomber attacks seen during Operation Pedestal. Propulsion was by Parsons geared steam turbines fed by Admiralty three-drum boilers, producing 100,000 shp for speeds near 27 knots, enabling operations alongside HMS Renown and escorting Royal Navy carriers such as HMS Victorious and HMS Formidable (67). Protection comprised an armored belt, deck armour and internal bulkheads informed by analysis from naval architects including Sir Thomas Phillips. Electrical and fire-control systems used components from Admiralty Fire Control Table developments and radar suites like Type 279 radar and later Type 284 radar.
Upon commissioning Anson joined the Home Fleet at Scapa Flow and operated under commanders associated with fleet admiralties including Admiral Sir John Tovey and Admiral Sir Bruce Fraser. Early wartime duties involved intercepting German Navy sorties and escorting convoys in the North Atlantic and the Arctic Ocean, where she provided heavy cover for PQ Convoys and engaged in operations connected to the Battle of the Barents Sea. In 1942–43 Anson transferred to the Eastern Fleet in the Indian Ocean to deter Imperial Japanese Navy surface raiders and supported operations from bases such as Ceylon and Trincomalee. She later participated in fleet actions and shore bombardments for Operation Husky and the Normandy landings escorting Operation Neptune forces alongside battleships including USS Iowa (BB-61) and USS Alabama (BB-60). During these deployments Anson worked with escort carriers, destroyer flotillas such as 6th Destroyer Flotilla (Royal Navy) and cruisers like HMS Belfast, using combined arms tactics refined in Mediterranean Sea and Far East theatres. Post-war, she served in a peacetime role with visits to Portsmouth, New York City and other ports as part of diplomacy practiced by the Royal Navy.
After World War II Anson underwent significant refits at shipyards including Devonport and Rosyth to modernize anti-aircraft and sensor suites as tensions rose during the early Cold War. Proposals for conversion to a guided missile battleship mirrored plans considered for HMS Vanguard (23) and USS Missouri (BB-63), but budgetary constraints and the advent of carrier-centric doctrine under Admiral Lord Mountbatten led to curtailed upgrades. Reduced to reserve status, Anson was decommissioned in October 1957 and sold for breaking up to firms in Britain and Britannia yards; scrapping took place between 1958 and 1960, with metal reclaimed by industrial concerns involved in post-war reconstruction.
Anson's legacy endures in naval engineering studies comparing King George V-class battleship armour schemes with contemporaries like Yamato-class battleship and in museums such as the Imperial War Museum and the National Maritime Museum where models, plans and artefacts are held. Surviving components and memorabilia are displayed by organizations including the Royal Naval Museum and associations of former crew, and scholarly works by historians such as John Roberts (naval historian), N. A. M. Rodger and Christopher H. G. Paterson analyze her role in Royal Navy strategy. Anson appears in naval wargaming, modelling communities and academic curricula at institutions like the Royal Naval College, Greenwich and features in documentary treatments by broadcasters such as the BBC and Channel 4. Her service symbolizes the transition from treaty-era battleship design to post-war naval priorities shaped by carriers, submarines like USS Nautilus (SSN-571), and missile technology exemplified by programs like Polaris.
Category:King George V-class battleships Category:Ships built in Barrow-in-Furness Category:1940 ships