turret was amidships, between the funnels and the rear superstructure. Close-range defence against torpedo boats was provided by a secondary armament of sixteen BL 6-inch Mk XVI guns. The ship was also fitted with six quick-firing (QF) six-pounder () Hotchkiss guns. As was typical for British capital ships of the period, she was equipped with four submerged torpedo tubes on the broadside. Erin was protected by a waterline armoured belt that was thick over the ship's vitals. Her decks ranged in thickness from . The main gun turret armour was thick and was supported by barbettes thick. Wartime modifications Four of the six-pounder guns were removed in 1915–1916, and a QF 20-cwt anti-aircraft (AA) gun was installed on the former searchlight platform on the aft superstructure. A fire-control director for the main guns was installed on the tripod mast between May and December 1916. A pair of directors for the secondary armament were fitted to the legs of the tripod mast in 1916–1917 and another three-inch AA gun was added on the aft superstructure. In 1918, a high-angle rangefinder was fitted and flying-off platforms were installed on the roofs of 'B' and 'Q' turrets. Construction and career Erin originally was ordered by the Ottoman Empire on 8 June 1911, at an estimated cost of £2,500,000, with the name of Reşad V in honour of Mehmed V Reşâd, the ruling Ottoman Sultan, but was renamed Reşadiye during construction. She was laid down at the Vickers shipyard in Barrow-in-Furness on 6 December 1911 with yard number 425, but construction was suspended in late 1912 during the Balkan Wars and resumed in May 1913. The ship was launched on 3 September and completed in August 1914. After the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand on 28 June, the British postponed delivery of Reşadiye on 21 July, despite the completion of payments and the arrival of the Ottoman delegation to collect Reşadiye and another dreadnought battleship, Sultan Osman I, after their sea trials. Churchill ordered the Royal Navy to detain the ships on 29 July and prevent Ottoman naval personnel from boarding them; two days later, soldiers from the Sherwood Foresters Regiment formally seized them and Reşadiye was renamed Erin, a dative name for Ireland. Churchill did this on his own initiative to augment the Royal Navy's margin of superiority over the German High Seas Fleet and to prevent them from being acquired by Germany