HMS Lord Nelson ( 1906 ) HMS " Lord Nelson " was a pre - dreadnought battleship launched in 1906 and completed in 1908 . She was the Royal Navy ' s last pre - dreadnought . The ship was flagship of the Channel Fleet when World War I began in 1914 . " Lord Nelson " was transferred to the Mediterranean Sea in early 1915 to participate in the Dardanelles Campaign . She remained there , becoming flagship of the Eastern Mediterranean Squadron , which was later redesignated the Aegean Squadron . After the Ottoman surrender in 1918 the ship moved to the Black Sea where she remained as flagship before returning to the United Kingdom in May 1919 . " Lord Nelson " was placed into reserve upon her arrival and sold for scrap in June 1920 . Construction and description . HMS " Lord Nelson " was laid down by Palmers Shipbuilding and Iron Company at Jarrow on 18 May 1905 and launched on 4 September 1906 . Her completion was greatly delayed by the diversion of her 12 - inch ( 305 mm ) guns and turrets to expedite completion of , and she was not fully completed until October 1908 . Although she was not the last pre - dreadnought laid down for the Royal Navy , she was the last one commissioned . " Lord Nelson " displaced at deep load as built , with a length of , a beam of , and a draft of . She was powered by two four - cylinder inverted vertical triple - expansion steam engines , which developed a total of and gave a maximum speed of . She was armed with four 12 - inch guns arranged in two twin gun turret s , one turret each fore and aft . Her secondary armament consisted of ten 9 . 2 - inch ( 234 mm ) guns , eight in twin gun turrets on each corner of the superstructure , and a single gun turret between them . For defence against torpedo boat s , " Lord Nelson " carried twenty - four QF 12 - pounder 18 cwt guns and two 3 - pounder guns . She also mounted five submerged 18 - inch ( 457 mm ) torpedo tubes for which 23 torpedoes were stowed aboard . Service . Pre - World War I . HMS " Lord Nelson " was first commissioned in reserve on 1 December 1908 at Chatham Dockyard , being attached to the Nore Division of the Home Fleet with a nucleus crew . She first went into full commission on 5 January 1909 to relieve the battleship HMS " Magnificent " as flagship of the Nore Division , Home Fleet , and in April 1909 became part of the First Division , Home Fleet . She was transferred in January 1911 to the Second Division of the Home Fleet , and in May 1912 to the 2nd Battle Squadron . She was temporarily attached in September 1913 to the 4th Battle Squadron . In April 1914 , she relieved the battleship HMS " Queen " as Flagship , Vice Admiral , Channel Fleet . World War I . At the outbreak of World War I in August 1914 , " Lord Nelson " became flagship of the Channel Fleet and was based at Portland . With other ships , she covered the safe transport of the British Expeditionary Force , under the command of Sir John French , to France . On 14 November 1914 , she transferred to Sheerness to guard the English coast against the possibility of a German invasion . The ship returned to Portland Harbour on 30 December 1914 and patrolled the English Channel until February 1915 . Dardanelles campaign , 1915 - 1916 . In February 1915 , " Lord Nelson " was ordered to the Dardanelles to participate in the Dardanelles Campaign . She departed Portland on 18 February 1915 and joined the British Dardanelles Squadron at Mudros on 26 February 1915 . She took part in the bombardment of the inner forts and supported the initial landings in early March 1915 . The Ottoman Turkish forts engaged her heavily on 7 March 1915 and hit her several times , including by a stone cannon ball which landed on the deck and was kept as a souvenir by the Flag Officer , Arthur Baker , at Longcross Church ; she suffered damage to her superstructure and rigging and was holed by one hit below the waterline which flooded two coal bunkers . After repairs at Malta , the ship returned to take part in the main attack on the Narrows forts on 18 March 1915 . Later she bombarded Ottoman field batteries on 6 May 1915 prior to the Second Battle of Krithia . " Lord Nelson " relieved the battleship " Queen Elizabeth " as flagship of the British Dardanelles Squadron on 12 May 1915 , flying the flag of Vice - Admiral Rosslyn Erskine - Wemyss . On 20 June 1915 , she bombarded docks and shipping at Gallipoli , aided by the spotting of a kite balloon , and inflicted significant damage . Lord Kitchener made his headquarters aboard her in November 1915 and , on 22 December 1915 , " Lord Nelson " hoisted the flag of Vice Admiral John de Roebeck when he succeeded Wemyss . Mediterranean operations , 1916 - 1918 . With the end of the Dardanelles Campaign in January 1916 , during which " Lord Nelson " had suffered no casualties , British naval forces in the area were reorganized and " Lord Nelson " became flagship of the Eastern Mediterranean Squadron , which was redesignated the Aegean Squadron in August 1917 ; under either name , the squadron was dispersed throughout the area to protect Allied - held islands , support the British Army at Salonika , and guard against any attempted breakout from the Dardanelles by the German battlecruiser and light cruiser . " Lord Nelson " spent the remainder of the war based at Salonika and Mudros , alternating between the two bases with her sister ship ; the ship was based mostly at Salonika , with " Agamemnon " at Mudros . According to naval historian Ian Buxton , the most important role of the Royal Navy was to blockade the Dardanelles and thus guard the Eastern Mediterranean against a breakout by " Goeben " . On 12 January 1918 , Rear - Admiral Arthur Hayes - Sadler hoisted his flag aboard " Lord Nelson " at Mudros as the new commander of the Aegean Squadron . Needing transportation to Salonika for a conference with the British Army commander there , and finding his personal yacht unavailable , Hayes - Sadler opted to have " Lord Nelson " take him there , and thus she was not present when " Goeben " and " Breslau " finally made their breakout attempt on 20 January 1918 . The ship could not get back to the Dardanelles in time to participate in the resulting Battle of Imbros or intercept " Goeben " before she gained shelter in the Dardanelles . " Lord Nelson " was given a short refit at Malta in October 1918 . Post - World War I . " Lord Nelson " was part of the British squadron that went to Constantinople in November 1918 following the armistice with the Ottoman Empire , after which she served as flagship in the Black Sea . In April 1919 , she conveyed Grand Duke Nicholas and Grand Duke Peter of Russia from the Black Sea to Genoa . " Lord Nelson " returned to the United Kingdom in May 1919 and was placed in reserve until August , when she was placed on the sale list . On 4 June 1920 , she was sold to Stanlee Shipbreaking Company of Dover . She was resold to Slough Trading Company on 8 November 1920 , then again to German scrappers . She was towed to Germany for scrapping in January 1922 .