HMS Agamemnon (1879)

Depiction of the launch of HMS Agamemnon from the Illustrated London News.
History
United Kingdom
NameHMS Agamemnon
NamesakeAgamemnon
BuilderChatham Dockyard
Laid down9 May 1876
Launched17 September 1879
Commissioned29 March 1883
FateBroken up 1903
General characteristics
Class and typeAjax-class ironclad
Displacement8,510 tons
Length
  • 300 ft 9 in (91.67 m) o/a
  • 280 ft (85 m) p/p
Beam66 ft (20 m)
Draught23 ft 6 in (7.16 m)
Propulsion
  • Two-shaft Penn inverted compound Penn engines
  • 6,000 ihp (4,500 kW)
Speed13 knots (24 km/h; 15 mph)
Complement345
Armament
Armour
  • Citadel: 18 in (460 mm) tapering to 15 in (380 mm)
  • Turret: 16 in (410 mm) faces, 14 in (360 mm) sides
  • Conning tower: 12 in (300 mm)
  • Bulkheads: 16.5 to 13.5 in (420 to 340 mm)
  • Deck: 3 in (76 mm)

HMS Agamemnon was a Victorian Royal Navy Ajax-class ironclad turret battleship, the sister ship of HMS Ajax. Agamemnon and Ajax were built to the same design, and were smaller and less expensive versions of Inflexible. The class is known as the Ajax class because Ajax was laid down first although Agamemnon was completed one day before her sister.