HMS Exmouth was a British Royal Navy pre-dreadnought battleship that served during World War I. Commissioned in 1903, it was part of the King Edward VII-class battleships. The ship was named after Edward Pellew, 1st Viscount Exmouth. During its service, Exmouth underwent various modifications and upgrades, including being fitted with anti-torpedo nets and undergoing a major refit in 1912. The ship saw action during World War I, primarily serving in the Mediterranean and later in the Dardanelles Campaign in 1915. On January 1, 1916, while on patrol in the North Sea, HMS Exmouth was torpedoed and sunk by a German U-boat, resulting in the loss of almost the entire crew. This incident was one of the deadliest losses of life for the Royal Navy during the war. HMS Exmouth's sinking highlighted the vulnerability of battleships to submarine attacks and led to increased efforts to develop anti-submarine warfare tactics. The ship's wreck was discovered in 2001 off the coast of the Orkney Islands. The sinking of HMS Exmouth remains a significant event in naval history, emphasizing the changing nature of naval warfare during the early 20th century and the increasing threat posed by submarines.

This description has been generated using GPT-3.5-TURBO based on the Vessel's wikidata information and then modified by ShipIndex.org staff.