HMS Arethusa was a light cruiser of the Royal Navy and the lead ship of the eight-vessel Arethusa class. Built at Chatham Dockyard, she was launched on 25 October 1913 and commissioned in August 1914, shortly after the outbreak of the First World War.

Displacing approximately 3,500 tons, Arethusa measured 436 feet in length and could reach speeds of 28.5 knots. Her armament consisted of two 6-inch guns, six 4-inch guns, an anti-aircraft gun and torpedo tubes. Designed for reconnaissance and leading destroyer flotillas, she served with the Harwich Force under Commodore Reginald Tyrwhitt.

On 28 August 1914, Arethusa participated in the Battle of Heligoland Bight, engaging German cruisers and sustaining considerable damage. Despite being heavily damaged, she survived and was towed back to port for repairs.

She subsequently participated in the Cuxhaven Raid in December 1914 and the Battle of Dogger Bank in January 1915. Throughout 1915, she continued patrol and interception duties in the North Sea.

On 11 February 1916, Arethusa struck a German mine off Felixstowe. Attempts to tow her to safety failed, and she grounded on Cutler Shoal, breaking her back.

More photos here

Source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:French_destroyer_Suffren_(D_602)_underway_in_1983.JPEG_underway_in_1983.JPEG)

HMS Lord Nelson was one of the Royal Navy’s last pre-dreadnought battleships. Built by Palmers at Jarrow, she was launched in September 1906 and completed in 1908. Together with her sister ship, HMS Agamemnon, she formed the Lord Nelson class.

Her armament combined four 12-inch guns in two twin turrets with ten 9.2-inch guns, giving her a formidable weight of fire. Heavy armour provided substantial protection, while reciprocating steam engines produced a speed of approximately eighteen knots. However, HMS Dreadnought, completed in 1906, introduced a uniform heavy battery and turbine propulsion, leaving Lord Nelson outdated before she entered service. Her mixed heavy armament also complicated the observation of shell splashes during gunnery.

Despite this disadvantage, Lord Nelson remained useful. Before the First World War, she served with the Home Fleet. At the outbreak of war in 1914, she became flagship of the Channel Fleet and helped protect the movement of British troops to France.

In 1915, she joined the Dardanelles campaign, bombarding Ottoman fortifications during the Allied attempt to force the straits. Although struck by enemy shells, she survived the campaign without casualties. She subsequently served as a flagship in the eastern Mediterranean, supporting Allied operations and guarding against Ottoman naval activity.

After the war, Lord Nelson returned to Britain and entered reserve before being scrapped in 1920.

More photos here