HMS Illustrious (1896)
HMS Illustrious c. 1905
|
|
| History | |
|---|---|
 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 t (15,810 long tons; 17,700 short tons) |
| Length: | 421 ft (128 m) |
| Beam: | 75 ft (23 m) |
| Draught: | 27 ft (8.2 m) |
| Propulsion: | 2 × 3-cylinder triple expansion steam engines, twin screws |
| Speed: | 16 kn (30 km/h; 18 mph) |
| Complement: | 672 |
| Armament: |
|
| Armour: |
|
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 (300 mm) guns and a secondary battery of twelve 6-inch (150 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 World War I 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.
Illustrious was 421 feet (128 m) long overall and had a beam of 75 ft (23 m) and a draft of 27 ft (8.2 m). She displaced up to 16,060 t (15,810 long tons; 17,700 short tons) at full combat load. Her propulsion system consisted of two 3-cylinder triple expansion engines powered by eight coal-fired cylindrical boilers. By 1907–1908, she was re-boilered with oil-fired models. Her engines provided a top speed of 16 knots (30 km/h; 18 mph) at 10,000 indicated horsepower (7,500 kW). The Majestics were considered good seaboats with an easy roll and good steamers, although they suffered from high fuel consumption. She had a crew of 672 officers and enlisted men.
...
Wikipedia