Operational History
All six ships were launched in 1901; all were completed in 1903 except Cornwallis, which was completed in 1904. Before World War I, the ships served in the Mediterranean Fleet, Channel Fleet, Atlantic Fleet, and Home Fleet; Montagu, was lost prematurely when she was wrecked in 1906.
During World War I, the ships saw early service in the Grand Fleet and Channel Fleet. Later, Albemarle continued to serve in the Grand Fleet and in North Russia, while the others all were involved in service in the Mediterranean, where some saw action in the Dardanelles Campaign and members of the class served in the Atlantic Ocean, Adriatic Sea, Aegean Sea, and Indian Ocean. Russell and Cornwallis were lost off Malta; the survivors went into reserve in 1917 and were scrapped in 1919–1920.
Read more about this topic: Duncan Class Battleship
Famous quotes containing the word history:
“The history of his present majesty, is a history of unremitting injuries and usurpations ... all of which have in direct object the establishment of an absolute tyranny over these states. To prove this, let facts be submitted to a candid world, for the truth of which we pledge a faith yet unsullied by falsehood.”
—Thomas Jefferson (1743–1826)