HMS Barfleur (1892)
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| History | |
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| Name: | HMS Barfleur |
| Builder: | Chatham Dockyard |
| Laid down: | 12 October 1890 |
| Launched: | 10 August 1892 |
| Completed: | June 1894 |
| Commissioned: | 22 June 1894 |
| Decommissioned: | June 1909 |
| Nickname(s): | "Farbluer" |
| Fate: | Sold for scrapping 12 July 1910 |
| General characteristics | |
| Class and type: | Centurion-class battleship |
| Displacement: | 10,500 tons |
| Length: | 360 ft (110 m) p/p |
| Beam: | 70 ft (21 m) |
| Draught: | 25 ft 6 in (7.77 m) |
| Propulsion: | 2 shaft Greenock Foundry Triple Expansion, 9,000 ihp |
| Speed: | 17 knots (31 km/h) |
| Complement: | 620 |
| Armament: |
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| Armour: | |
HMS Barfleur was a predreadnought second-class battleship of the Royal Navy. She was part of the two-ship Centurion class, designed for long-range patrolling of the United Kingdom's far-flung empire. She mainly saw service in the Mediterranean and Home Fleet, along with Service at China Station, where she participated in ending the Boxer Rebellion. Her white painted hull had a curiously blue hue, leading to her nickname of the "Farbluer". She was flagship of the Home Fleet from 1906 to 1907, and was scrapped in 1910. However, on her way to the scrapyard, she got jammed underneath the pylons of a drawbridge, forcing it to remain open and blocking traffic while she had to be freed.
HMS Barfleur was laid down at Chatham Dockyard on 12 October 1890 and launched on 10 August 1892. She completed trials in June 1894.
She was armed with four 10-inch (254-mm) guns in two barbettes, had ten 4.7-inch (120-mm) secondary armament and seven torpedo tubes. She was protected by a 12-inch (305-mm) belt of compound armour, closed with 8-inch (203-mm) bulkheads. She stored 1,125 tons of coal, giving her a range of 6,000 nautical miles (11,000 km) at 10 knots (19 km/h).
Barfleur underwent a reconstruction between 1902 and 1904 in which her 4.7-inch (120-mm) guns were replaced by 6-inch (152-mm) guns in armored casemates, the additional weight being compensated for by reductions in her masts and the removal of all five of her above-water torpedo tubes. She was slightly slower, capable of about 16.75 knots (31.02 km/h), after this refit.
HMS Barfleur commissioned at Chatham on 22 June 1894 for Fleet Reserve service. She fully commissioned at Chatham temporarily in July 1894, and participated in annual fleet maneuvers in July and August 1894. On 1 September 1894, she paid off into reserve.
Barfleur commissioned at Chatham on 26 February 1895 for a tour of duty with the Mediterranean Fleet. She departed England on 19 March 1895 and arrived at Gibraltar on 23 March 1895, where she relieved battleship HMS Sans Pareil in the Mediterranean Fleet. She was temporarily based at Gibraltar to undergo work-ups, then proceeded to Malta where she arrived on 27 July 1895 to begin her Mediterranean service. On 15 February 1897 she assisted in the Allied occupation of Candia, Crete, and thereafter was part of the International Squadron blockading Crete during the Greco-Turkish uprising there.
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