Nation: Great Britain - Royal Navy
Ship: HMS Iron Duke
Type: Iron Duke class Battleship
Date: Between April 1919 to March 1926
When World War 1 ended, the former Royal Navy flagship was serving in the 4th Battle-squadron. After the surrender of Germany’s High Seas Fleet, the battleship would become the flagship of the reconstituted Mediterranean Fleet. Arriving in April 1919, she would take part in actions over seven years against Bolsheviks in the Black Sea, shelled Turkish Nationalists, protected British citizens in Greece, and even escorted the deposed Turkish Sultan Mahommed VI.
In September 1924, she was replaced as flagship by the HMS Queen Elizabeth. On March 26th, 1926, she would steam home. In May paid off, the battleship would be converted to a gunnery firing ship. Iron Duke would serve as gunnery ship until the start of World War 2. During the war, she would serve as a base ship in Scapa Flow. On October 17th, 1939, she was attacked & damaged by four Luftwaffe bombers. By mid-August, 1946, she was tugged to the breakers at Faslane.
The three photos were taken in Egypt. During seven years, she would visit Alexandria & Port Said on multiple occasions for sometimes weeks at a time.
*photos from a private collection
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Between 1919 to 1926, HMS Iron Duke served in the Mediterranean. She often anchored in Alexandria. A trio of snapshots from a member of her crew in Egypt.
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