Lord Clive was laid down at Harland and Wolff's Belfast yard in January 1915, launched on 10 June, and completed on 10 July at an estimated cost of £260,000. The speed of the programme put her and two sisters into bombardment training in the Thames Estuary by August. Named for Robert Clive, the first British governor of the Bengal Presidency, she was the Royal Navy's only ship of that name. The name's political sensitivity may explain why it was never reused. The training ground reproduced the principal features of the Belgian coast near Zeebrugge so Lord Clive, Sir John Moore, and Prince Rupert could practice maneuvering and spotting. Their elderly battleship guns and turrets broke down when modified to fire near 30 degrees elevation, far above the low angles for which they had been designed.
Chapter · 13:34-16:11
HMS Lord Clive trains for coastal bombardment
HMS Lord Clive moved from laying down to bombardment training in seven months, but elderly 12-inch mountings struggled at the high elevations required ashore.