&sq=&lang=&file=File:HMS_Vengeance_(ca._1899).jpg) HMS Vengeance in harbour, prior to the Royal Navy's 1903 adoption of the overall grey warship colour scheme.
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| History | |
|---|---|
 United Kingdom | |
| Name | HMS Vengeance |
| Ordered | 1897 Programme |
| Builder | Vickers, Barrow-in-Furness |
| Laid down | 23 August 1898 |
| Launched | 25 July 1899 |
| Completed | April 1902 |
| Commissioned | 8 April 1902 |
| Decommissioned | 9 July 1920 |
| Fate | Sold for scrapping 1 December 1921 |
| General characteristics | |
| Class and type | Canopus-class pre-dreadnought battleship |
| Displacement | Full load: 14,300 long tons (14,500 t) |
| Length | 421 ft 6 in (128.5 m) (loa) |
| Beam | 74 ft (22.6 m) |
| Draught | 26 ft (7.9 m) |
| Installed power |
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| Propulsion | |
| Speed | 18 knots (33 km/h) |
| Complement | 682 |
| Armament |
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| Armour | |
HMS Vengeance was a pre-dreadnought battleship of the British Royal Navy and a member of the Canopus class. Intended for service in Asia, Vengeance and her sister ships were smaller and faster than the preceding Majestic-class battleships, but retained the same battery of four 12-inch (305 mm) guns. She also carried thinner armour, but incorporated new Krupp steel, which was more effective than the Harvey armour used in the Majestics. Vengeance was laid down in August 1898, launched in July 1899, and commissioned into the fleet in April 1902.
On entering service, Vengeance was assigned to the China Station, but the Anglo-Japanese Alliance rendered her presence there unnecessary, and she returned to European waters in 1905. Late that year, she underwent a refit that lasted into 1906. She then served in the Channel Fleet until 1908, when she moved to the Home Fleet, thereafter serving in secondary roles, including as a tender and a gunnery training ship. In 1913, she was transferred to the 6th Battle Squadron of the Second Fleet.
Following Britain's entrance into the First World War in August 1914, Vengeance patrolled the English Channel with the 8th Battle Squadron before moving to Alexandria to protect the Suez Canal in November 1914. She then joined the Dardanelles Campaign in January 1915, where she saw extensive action trying to force the Dardanelles strait in February and March and later supporting the fighting ashore during the Gallipoli Campaign in April and May. Worn out from these operations, she returned to Britain for a refit. She was recommissioned in December 1915 for service in East Africa, during which she supported the capture of Dar es Salaam in German East Africa. She returned to Britain again in 1917 and was decommissioned, thereafter serving in subsidiary roles until 1921, when she was sold for scrap. Vengeance was broken up the following year.