Centurion-class battleship

Barfleur, 1895
Class overview
NameCenturion-class battleship
Operators Royal Navy
Preceded byRoyal Sovereign class
Succeeded byHMS Renown
Built1890–1894
In commission1894–1909
Completed2
Scrapped2
General characteristics (as built)
TypePre-dreadnought battleship
Displacement10,634 long tons (10,805 t)
Length390 ft 9 in (119.1 m) (o/a)
Beam70 ft (21.3 m)
Draught25 ft 8 in (7.82 m)
Installed power
Propulsion
Speed17 knots (31 km/h; 20 mph)
Range5,230 nmi (9,690 km; 6,020 mi) at 10 knots (19 km/h; 12 mph)
Complement606–620
Armament
Armour

The Centurion-class battleships were a pair of pre-dreadnought battleships built for the Royal Navy in the 1890s. They were rated as second-class battleships because they were less heavily armed and armoured than the first-class battleships. They were designed for service abroad and were given higher speed and longer range to counter the armoured cruisers then being built as commerce raiders.

Completed in 1894, Centurion and Barfleur spent most of their careers assigned to the China Station or the Mediterranean Fleet, with Centurion usually serving as the flagship of the former. The sister ships participated in the suppression of the Boxer Rebellion in mid-1900. They were rebuilt from 1901 to 1905 and assigned to the Reserve Fleet in 1905 as increasing cruiser speeds made them obsolete. Barfleur served as the flagship of the Portsmouth Division of the Reserve Fleet for several years. They were decommissioned in 1909 and sold for scrap the following year.