Pre-Dreadnought Battleships
The British Royal Navy built a series of pre-dreadnought battleships as part of a naval expansion programme that began with the Naval Defence Act 1889. These ships were characterised by a main battery of four heavy guns in two twin mounts, a secondary armament and a high freeboard. Primarily concerned with maintaining its “two-power standard” of numerical superiority over the combined French and Russian fleets, the Royal Navy built or purchased a total of fifty-two
battleships of this type prior to the 1906 completion of the revolutionary all-big-gun Dreadnought, which gave the pre-dreadnoughts their name.
The first class, the Royal Sovereign class, comprised eight ships and introduced the standard armament layout associated with pre-dreadnought type battleships. A trend toward larger secondary batteries in foreign battleships led to the eight-ship King Edward VII class. A final class of two ships was built while Dreadnought was being developed: the Lord Nelson class.
The ships built for the Royal Navy served in a variety of roles across the globe, seeing service in the Mediterranean, Home, and Atlantic Fleets, among others. The second-class ships generally operated abroad on the China Station or elsewhere in the British Empire. As newer ships came into service, older vessels were placed in reserve or converted for subsidiary duties, including serving as barracks ships and depot vessels. With the start of the First World War in 1914, many of the vessels were mobilised for combat, and many served in the Dardanelles campaign, where five were lost to torpedoes and mines. Another five were sunk elsewhere during the war. The surviving vessels were all broken up in the post-war reduction in naval strength. Only HMS Agamemnon was converted into a radio-controlled target ship. She served in this role until 1927.
Royal Sovereign class
Hull | Name | Class | Commissioned | Decommissioned | Status |
-- | HMS Royal Sovereign | Royal Sovereign | 31-05-1892 | 09-09-1909 | Sold for scrap, 07-10-1913 |
-- | HMS Hood | Royal Sovereign | 01-06-1893 | March 1911 | Sunk as a blockship in Portland Harbour 04-11-1914 |
-- | HMS Empress of India | Royal Sovereign | 11-09-1893 | Early 1912 | Sunk as target, 04-11-1913 |
-- | HMS Ramillies | Royal Sovereign | 17-10-1893 | August 1911 | Sold for scrap, 07-10-1913 |
-- | HMS Resolution | Royal Sovereign | 05-12-1893 | 08-08-1911 | Sold for scrap, 02-04-1914 |
-- | HMS Revenge | Royal Sovereign | March 1894 | October 1915 | Ren. Redoubtable, 1915, Sold for scrap, 06-11-1919 |
-- | HMS Repulse | Royal Sovereign | 25-04-1894 | February 1911 | Sold for scrap, 11-07-1911 |
-- | HMS Royal Oak | Royal Sovereign | 14-01-1896 | December 1911 | Sold for scrap, 14 -01-1914 |
Centurion class
Hull | Name | Class | Commissioned | Decommissioned | Status |
-- | HMS Centurion | Centurion class | 14-02-1894 | 01-04-1909 | Sold for scrap, 12-07-1910 |
-- | HMS Barfleur | Centurion class | 22-06-1894 | June 1909 | Sold for scrap, 12-07-1910 |
HMS Renown
Hull | Name | Class | Commissioned | Decommissioned | Status |
-- | HMS Renown | -- | 1897 | 31-01-1913 | Sold for scrap, 01-04-1914 |
Majestic class
Hull | Name | Class | Commissioned | Decommissioned | Status |
-- | HMS Magnificent | Majestic class | 12-12-1895 | April 1921 | Sold for scrapping 09-05-1921 |
-- | HMS Majestic | Majestic class | December 1895 | -- | Sunk, 27-05-1915 |
-- | HMS Victorious | Majestic class | 04-11-1896 | 28-03-1920 | Sold for scrapping 09-04-1923 |
-- | HMS Prince George | Majestic class | 26-11-1896 | 21-02-1920 | Sold for scrapping 22-09-1921 |
-- | HMS Jupiter | Majestic class | 08-06-1897 | February 1918 | Sold for scrapping 15-01-1920 |
-- | HMS Mars | Majestic class | 08-06-1897 | 07-07-1920 | Sold for scrapping 09-05-1921 |
-- | HMS Caesar | Majestic class | 13-01-1898 | 23-04-1920 | Sold for scrapping, 08-11-1921 |
-- | HMS Hannibal | Majestic class | April 1898 | April 1898 | Sold for scrapping 28-01-1920 |
-- | HMS Illustrious | Majestic class | 15-04-1898 | 21-04-1919 | Sold for scrapping 18-06-1920 |
Canopus class
Hull | Name | Class | Commissioned | Decommissioned | Status |
-- | HMS Canopus | Canopus class | 05-12-1899 | April 1919 | Sold for scrapping, 18-02-1920 |
-- | HMS Ocean | Canopus class | 20-02-1900 | -- | Sunk by mine, 18-03-1915 |
-- | HMS Goliath | Canopus class | 27-03-1900 | -- | Torpedoed and sunk, 13-05-1915 |
-- | HMS Glory | Canopus class | 01-11-1900 | 17-09-1921 | Sold for scrapping, 19-12-1922, ren.HMS Crescent |
-- | HMS Albion | Canopus class | 25-06-1901 | August 1919 | Sold for scrapping 11 December 1919 |
-- | HMS Vengeance | Canopus class | 08-04-1902 | 09-07-1920 | Sold for scrapping, 01-12-1921 |