HMS Illustrious c. 1905
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History | |
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United Kingdom | |
Builder | Chatham Dockyard |
Laid down | 11 March 1895 |
Launched | 17 September 1896 |
Completed | April 1898 |
Commissioned | 15 April 1898 |
Decommissioned | 21 April 1919 |
Fate | Sold for scrapping 18 June 1920 |
General characteristics | |
Class and type | Majestic-class pre-dreadnought battleship |
Displacement | 16,060 long tons (16,320 t) |
Length | 421 ft (128 m) |
Beam | 75 ft (23 m) |
Draught | 27 ft (8.2 m) |
Installed power |
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Propulsion | |
Speed | 16 kn (30 km/h; 18 mph) |
Complement | 672 |
Armament | |
Armour |
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The third HMS Illustrious of the British Royal Navy was a Majestic-class pre-dreadnought battleship. The ship was built at the Chatham Dockyard; her keel was laid down in March 1895, her completed hull was launched in September 1896, and she was commissioned into the fleet in April 1898. She was armed with a main battery of four 12-inch (305 mm) guns and a secondary battery of twelve 6-inch (152 mm) guns. The ship had a top speed of 16 knots (30 km/h; 18 mph).
Illustrious was assigned to the Mediterranean Fleet until 1904. Transferred to the Channel Fleet (which was subsequently reorganised to the Atlantic Fleet) she underwent a refit which was duly completed in early 1906. Rendered obsolete by the emergence of the new dreadnoughts, she served with the Home Fleet from 1908. One of the oldest battleships in the Royal Navy when the First World War broke out, she served as a guard ship at various regions around Northern England until late 1915. Her main armament was removed and she then served as a store ship for the remainder of the war. She was decommissioned in 1919 and scrapped the following year.