Built for Brazil as Rio de Janeiro and then sold to the Ottoman Empire as Sultan Osman I, the ship was taken over by Britain as war approached. The decision responded to the prospect of a highly capable capital ship entering a navy close to Germany. Export warships could rapidly become alliance and security problems.
Notable Point · 58:50-59:18
From Rio de Janeiro to HMS Agincourt
The changing ownership of Agincourt shows how a powerful export battleship became a strategic issue on the eve of the First World War.