Centurion class battleship
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| Class overview | |
|---|---|
| Name: | Centurion |
| Builders: | Chatham Dockyard, Portsmouth Dockyard, Pembroke Dockyard |
| Built: | 1890 to 1897 |
| In commission: | 1894 to 1913 |
| Planned: | 3 |
| Completed: | 3 |
| Lost: | 0 |
| Retired: | 3 |
| General characteristics | |
| Class and type: | Centurion |
| Type: | predreadnought battleship |
| Displacement: | Centurion and Barfluer 10,500 tons Renown 12,350 tons |
| Length: |
Centurion and Barfleur 360 ft (110 m) (between perpendiculars) |
| Beam: | Centurion and Barfleur 70 ft (21 m) Renown 72 ft (22 m) |
| Draft: | Centurion and Barfleur 25 ft 6 in (7.8 m) Renown 26 ft 9 in (8.2 m) |
| Speed: | Centurion and Barfleur 17 knots (31 km/h) (natural draft), 18.5 knots (34.3 km/h) (forced draft) Renown 17.5 knots (32.4 km/h) (natural draft), 18 knots (33 km/h) (forced draft) |
| Endurance: | 6000 nautical miles at 10 knots[1] |
| Complement: | Centurion and Barfleur 620 Renown 674 |
| Armament: | Centurion and Barfleur (as built) 4 x 10-inch (254-mm) breech-loading guns 10 x 4.7-inch (120-mm) quick-firing guns 8 x 6-pounder guns 12 x 3-pounder guns 7 x 18-inch (457-mm) torpedo tubs (5 athwartships, 2 submerged) Renown 4 x 10-inch (254-mm) breech-loading guns 10 x 6-inch (152-mm) quick-firing guns 12 x 12-pounder quick-firing guns 12 x 3-pounder quick-firing guns 7 x 18-inch (457-mm) torpedo tubs (5 above water, 2 submerged) |
| Armor: | Centurion and Barfleur Main belt 12-9 inches (305-229 mm) Upper belt 4 inches (102 mm) Bulkheads 8 inches (203 mm) Barbettes 9-5 inches (229-127 mm) Gunhouses 6 inches (152 mm) Casemates 6 inches (152 mm) Decks 2.5-2 inches (63.5-51 mm) Conning tower 12 inches (305 mm) Renown Belt 8-6 inches (203-152 mm) Upper belt 6 inches (152 mm) Bulkheads 10-6 inches (254-152 mm) Barbettes 10 inches (254 mm) Gunhouses 6 inches (152 mm) Casemates 6-4 inches (152-102 mm) Decks 3-2 inches (76.2-51 mm) Conning tower 9 inches (229 mm) |
| Notes: | Centurion and Barfleur later had their 4.7-inch (120-mm) guns replaced with 10 x 6-inch (152-mm) guns and had all five above-water torpedo tubes removed. |
The Centurion class battleships were second-class predreadnought battleships of the Royal Navy designed for service on distant stations.
Contents |
[edit] Technical Description
The Centurion class comprised three ships, HMS Centurion, HMS Barfleur, and the slightly later HMS Renown, the latter being built to a modified design. The ships were designed by Sir William White to be lightly armed battleships designed for service on the China Station and Pacific Station. Their relative lack of firepower enabled greater quantities of coal to be carried, extending their range, and it was not thought they would face the big guns of an enemy fleet. They were too lightly armed to slug it out with enemy battleships, but they could outrun them, and they were more than capable of dealing with armored cruisers that they were far more likely to meet on distant stations.[2]
They were considered good steamers and good seaboats, although the use of forced draft was discontinued because it damaged their boilers. Their draughts were designed to be shallow enough to allow passage through the Suez Canal and the navigation of rivers in China. Their hulls were sheathed with wood and copper to allow them to sail longer between docking.[3]
The ships were armed with four 10-inch (254-mm)guns in two barbettes covered by open-backed armored hoods and capable of all-around loading, a secondary armament of ten 4.7-inch (120-mm) guns, numerous smaller guns, and seven torpedo tubes. The previous Royal Sovereign-class battleships had allowed a comparison between high-freeboard ships with their main guns in open barbettes and low-freeboard ships equipped with old-style, heavy, circular turrets and had proven the superiority of the former in the rough waters of the Atlantic; the Centurions were the first barbette-type battleships with armored hoods over their barbettes, giving rise to the armored gunhouses that would be mounted on later ships and themselves come to be known as "turrets."
Centurion in 1901-1903 and Barfleur in 1902-1904 underwent a reconstruction in which their 4.7-inch (120-mm)guns were replaced by 6-inch (152-mm) guns in armored casemates, the additional weight being compensated for by reductions in their masts and the removal of all five of their above-water torpedo tubes. They were slightly slower, at about 16.75 knots, after these refits.[4]
Renown was an enlarged version of the earlier ships, with better armor, a improved armor layout, greater speed and endurance, and a heavier secondary armament. She also proved to be a good steamer and seaboat, with an easy roll.[5]
Like all predreadnoughts, the Centurions were completely outclassed by the new dreadnought battleships that began to appear in 1906, and were scrapped a few years later after a period in reserve.
[edit] Ships in Class
[edit] HMS Centurion
HMS Centurion was launched in 1892 and completed in 1894. She served extensively on the China Station until 1905, then spent her last years in commissioned reserve before being scrapped in 1910.[6]
[edit] HMS Barfleur
HMS Barfleur was launched in 1892 and completed in 1894. She served in the Mediterranean Fleet and on the China Station until 1901, then spent her last years in commissioned reserve before being scrapped in 1910.[7]
[edit] HMS Renown
HMS Renown was launched in 1895 and completed in 1897. She served in home waters and with the Mediterranean Fleet, and quickly became a favorite as a flagship because her design was especially congenial for entertaining visitors. By late 1902 she had begun to serve as an occasional royal yacht, and, after time in reserve was converted for that purpose in 1905. She became a stoker's training ship in 1909 and was scrapped in 1914.[8]
[edit] Notes
- ^ Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships 1860-1905, p. 33
- ^ Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships 1860-1905, p. 33
- ^ Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships 1860-1905, p. 33
- ^ Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships 1860-1905, p. 33
- ^ Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships 1860-1905, p. 34
- ^ Burt, pp. 94, 97-98
- ^ Burt, pp. 94, 97-98
- ^ Burt, p. 105, 109-110; Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships 1906-1921, p. 7
[edit] References
- Burt, R. A. British Battleships 1889-1904. Annapolis, Maryland: Naval Institute Press, 1988. ISBN 0870210610.
- Chesneau, Roger, and Eugene M. Kolesnik, Eds. Conway's All The World's Fighting Ships 1860-1905. New York, New York: Mayflower Books Inc., 1979. ISBN 0831703024.
- Gray, Randal, Ed. Conway's All The World's Fighting Ships 1906-1921. Annapolis, Maryland: Naval Institute Press, 1985. ISBN 0870219073.
[edit] External links
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