 Empress of India at anchor, 1906
| |
| History | |
|---|---|
 United Kingdom | |
| Name | HMS Empress of India |
| Namesake | Regnal title of Queen Victoria |
| Ordered | 1889 Naval Programme |
| Builder | Pembroke Dockyard |
| Cost | £912,612 |
| Laid down | 9 July 1889 |
| Launched | 7 May 1891 |
| Completed | August 1893 |
| Commissioned | 11 September 1893 |
| Out of service | Early 1912 |
| Fate | Sunk as target, 4 November 1913 |
| General characteristics (as built) | |
| Class and type | Royal Sovereign-class predreadnought battleship |
| Displacement | 14,150 long tons (14,380 t) (normal) |
| Length | 380 ft (115.8 m) (pp) |
| Beam | 75 ft (22.9 m) |
| Draught | 27 ft 6 in (8.4 m) |
| Installed power |
|
| Propulsion | 2 shafts; 2 Triple-expansion steam engines |
| Speed | 17.5 knots (32.4 km/h; 20.1 mph) |
| Range | 4,720 nmi (8,740 km; 5,430 mi) @ 10 knots (19 km/h; 12 mph) |
| Complement | 692 (as flagship, 1903) |
| Armament |
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| Armour | |
HMS Empress of India was one of seven Royal Sovereign-class pre-dreadnought battleships built for the Royal Navy during the 1890s. The ship was commissioned in 1893 and served as the flagship of the second-in-command of the Channel Fleet for two years. She was transferred to the Mediterranean Fleet in 1897, during which time Empress of India was assigned to the International Squadron blockading Crete during the uprising there. She returned home in 1901 and was briefly assigned as a coast guard ship in Ireland before she became the second flagship of the Home Fleet. The ship was reduced to reserve in 1905 and accidentally collided with the submarine HMS A10 the following year. Empress of India was taken out of service in early 1912 and accidentally struck a German sailing ship while under tow. She was sunk as a target ship in 1913.