- HMS Sir Thomas Picton
HMS "Sir Thomas Picton" was a First World War
Royal Navy "Lord Clive"-class monitor. "Sir Thomas Picton" was the only Royal Navy ship ever named forSir Thomas Picton , a British general of thePeninsula War who was killed at theBattle of Waterloo . The ship's original 12" main battery was stripped from an obsolete "Majestic" class battleship.The "Lord Clive" class monitors were originally built in 1915 to engage German shore artillery in occupied
Belgium during theFirst World War . "Sir Thomas Picton", however was differently employed, being dispatched to the EasternMediterranean upon completion for service with the fleet there alongside her sister HMS "Earl of Peterborough". Early in 1916 she shelled Turkish positions at theDardanelles and during the remainder of the war was active against Turkish units in Egypt, Palestine and Turkey itself.Following the armistice in November 1918, "Sir Thomas Picton" and her sisters were put into reserve pending scrapping, as the reason for their existence ended with the liberation of Central Power-held coastlines. In 1921 "Sir Thomas Picton" was scrapped along with all her sisters.
References
* Dittmar, F. J. & Colledge, J. J., "British Warships 1914-1919", (Ian Allen, London, 1972), ISBN 0-7110-0380-7
* Gray, Randal (ed), "Conway's All The Worlds Fighting Ships, 1906-1921", (Conway Maritime Press, London, 1985), ISBN 0-85177-245-5
Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.