HMS Glory ( 1899 ) HMS " Glory " was a Royal Navy battleship of the " Canopus " class . One of six ships in her class , she was commissioned in 1900 and entered service with the China Station . She remained in the Far East until 1905 , returning to service with the Channel Fleet . After a refit in 1907 , she was assigned to the Mediterranean Fleet for 18 months before returning to England for service with the Home Fleet . Following the outbreak of World War I , " Glory " acted as a guard ship at Nova Scotia and conducted operations in support of the North America and West Indies Station . She participated in the Dardanelles Campaign from June 1915 until the end of the campaign in December that year . After another refit in July 1916 , she spent the remainder of the war as the Flagship of the British North Russia Squadron , returning to England in September 1919 . In 1920 , she was renamed HMS " Crescent " and served as a depot ship before being decommissioned in April 1921 and sold for scrap a year later . Technical Characteristics . HMS " Glory " and her five sister ships were designed for service in the Far East , where the new rising power Japan was beginning to build a powerful and dangerous navy , and to able to transit the Suez Canal . They were designed to be smaller ( by about 2 , 000 tons ) , lighter , and faster than their predecessors , the " Majestic " - class battleships , although they were slightly longer at 430 feet ( 131 m ) . In order to save weight , " Glory " carried less armour than the " Majestic " s , although the change from Harvey armour in the " Majestic " s to Krupp armour in the " Canopus " class meant that the loss in protection was not as great as it might have been , Krupp armour having greater protective value at a given weight than its Harvey equivalent . Still , " Glory ' s " armor was light enough to make her almost a second - class battleship . Part of the " Canopus " class ' s armour scheme included the use of a special 1 - inch ( 2 . 54 mm ) armoured deck over the belt to defend against plunging fire by howitzers that France reportedly planned to install on its ships , although this report proved to be false . " Glory " had four 12 - inch ( 305 - mm ) 35 - calibre guns mounted in twin turrets fore and aft ; these guns were mounted in circular barbettes that allowed all - around loading , although at a fixed elevation . The ships also mounted twelve 6 - inch ( 152 - mm ) 40 - calibre guns ( sponson mounting allowing some of them to fire fore and aft ) in addition to smaller guns , and four 18 - inch ( 457 - mm ) submerged torpedo tubes . The " Canopus " class ships were the first British battleships with water - tube boilers , which generated more power at less expense in weight compared with the cylindrical boilers used in previous ships . The new boilers led to the adoption of fore - and - aft funnels , rather than the side - by - side funnel arrangement used in may previous British battleships . The " Canopus " - class ships proved to be good steamers , consuming 10 tons of coal per hour at full speed , with a high speed for battleships of their time , a full two knots faster than the " Majestic " s . Operational history . Pre - World War I . HMS " Glory " was commissioned on 1 November 1900 for service on the China Station , departing the United Kingdom for China on 24 November 1900 under the command of Captain A . W . Carter . While there , she was in collision with battleship HMS " Centurion " during a storm at Hong Kong on 17 April 1901 , when " Centurion " drifted across her bows , but " Glory " suffered no damage . In June 1901 , Vice - Admiral Sir Cyprian Bridge , about to succeed as Commander - in - Chief of the China Station , hoisted his flag on the ship . " Glory " refitted at Hong Kong in 1901 – 1902 . In 1905 , the United Kingdom and Japan ratified a treaty of alliance that reduced the need for a Royal Navy presence on the China Station , and all battleships there were recalled . As a result , " Glory " was recalled from China in July 1905 , departing Hong Kong on 22 July 1905 . " Glory " paid off at Portsmouth on 2 October 1905 . She returned to full commission on 24 October 1905 for service in the Channel Fleet . On 31 October 1906 , she transferred to the Portsmouth Reserve Division , which in January 1907 became the Portsmouth Division of the new Home Fleet . She underwent a refit at Portsmouth from March to September 1907 , during which she received fire control and magazine cooling and had her machinery and boilers overhauled . Her refit completed , " Glory " commissioned at Portsmouth on 18 September 1907 for service in the Mediterranean Fleet . On 20 April 1909 , she paid off at Portsmouth and recommissioned for reserve duty with a nucleus crew in the 4th Division , Home Fleet , at the Nore . She became part of the 3rd Fleet at the Nore in May 1912 and transferred to Portsmouth in April 1913 . World War I . When World War I broke out in August 1914 , " Glory " was assigned to the 8th Battle Squadron , Channel Fleet , based at Devonport , but she was detached on 5 August 1914 to serve at Halifax , Nova Scotia , Canada , as guard ship and to support the North America and West Indies Station cruiser squadron , serving as flagship of the station . She escorted a Canadian troop convoy in October 1914 . " Glory " transferred to the Mediterranean in May 1915 to participate in Dardanelles campaign , arriving at the Dardanelles in June 1915 . At the end of 1915 she left this duty and joined the Suez Canal Patrol in the Mediterranean on 4 January 1916 . In April 1916 , she returned to the United Kingdom and began a refit at Portsmouth that lasted until July 1916 . " Glory " was recommissioned on 1 August 1916 to serve as Flagship for Rear Admiral Kemp , British North Russia Squadron . In this duty , she was based at Archangel to protect supplies that arrived there for the Russian Army . Decommissioning and disposal . In September 1919 , " Glory " returned to the United Kingdom . She paid off into care and maintenance on 1 November 1919 at Sheerness . She was renamed HMS " Crescent " in April 1920 and transferred to Rosyth on 1 May 1920 to serve as a harbor depot ship . " Crescent " paid off and was placed on the disposal list on 17 September 1921 . She was sold for scrapping on 19 December 1922 .