page_title: HMS Anson (1886)
section_title: Construction and career
hierarchical_section_title: HMS Anson (1886) / Construction and career
caption_attribution_description: English: Wreck of the SS Utopia in Gibraltar Harbour
context_page_description: HMS Anson was the last of six Admiral-class ironclad battleships built for the Royal Navy during the 1880s. The ship was completed, except for her armament, in 1887, but had to wait two years for her guns to be installed.
  She was assigned to the Channel Fleet in mid-1889 as a flagship for the fleet's second-in-command. Two years later, the passenger ship SS Utopia sank with the loss of 562 lives after colliding with Anson in the Bay of Gibraltar. In mid-1893, Anson was transferred to the Mediterranean Fleet, subsequently returning home in 1900 when she was assigned to the Reserve Fleet. She recommissioned for the Home Fleet in early 1901. Anson was paid off three years later and then sold for scrap in 1909.
context_section_description: Anson, named after Admiral and First Lord of the Admiralty, George Anson, 1st Baron Anson, was the sixth ship of her name to serve in the Royal Navy. The ship was laid down at Pembroke Dockyard on 24 April 1883, launched on 17 February 1886 and was delivered at Portsmouth in March 1887, complete except for her main armament, at a cost of £662,582. She was finally commissioned on 28 May 1889 as the flagship of the second-in-command of the Channel Fleet. On 17 March 1891, the passenger steamer SS Utopia was accidentally blown onto the ram of the anchored Anson during a strong gale in the Bay of Gibraltar. 562 of Utopia's passengers and crew and two rescuers from the armoured cruiser Immortalité were killed in the accident. Anson did not report any injuries or damage.
  In September 1893, Anson was transferred to the Mediterranean, where she served until January 1900, with a refit at Malta in 1896. She returned home and paid off at Devonport in January 1901, re-commissioning for the newly formed Home Fleet in March of the same year. She served as guard ship at Queensferry under Captain William Fisher in 1902, and took part in the fleet review held at Spithead on 16 August 1902 for the coronation of King Edward VII. In May 1904, Anson finally paid off into reserve, where she remained until she was sold for scrap on 13 July 1909. The ship was sold for £21,200 and subsequently broken up at Upnor.
caption: Wreck of Utopia in Gibraltar Harbour
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