On this day in history 8 June 1897, the Royal Navy Majestic-class battleship HMS Mars was placed in commission.
HMS Mars underway, 1898.
Built by Laird Brothers, Birkenhead, Mars was a pre-dreadnought battleship carrying main armament of four Vickers 12-inch Mk VIII guns mounted in twin turrets. Secondary armament included twelve QF 6-inch guns mounted in casemates and twelve QF 12-pounder guns.
Mars served in the Portsmouth Division of the Channel Fleet and took part in the Fleet Review for Queen Victoria’s Diamond Jubilee in 1897 and for Edward VII’s Coronation in 1902.
HMS Mars departing Portsmouth, 1901.
During the First World War, Mars served as guard ship on the Humber, then transferred to the Dover Patrol. In 1915, she had her main armament removed and recommissioned as a troopship for service in the Dardanelles campaign. Later, she served as an accommodation ship at Invergordon. Mars was sold for scrap in 1921.
Accomodation ships Algiers, Akbar (former Temeraire), and Mars at Invergordon.
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