HMS Centurion was a predreadnought second-class battleship

Battleship

A battleship is a large armored warship with a main battery consisting of heavy caliber guns. Battleships were larger, better armed and armored than cruisers and destroyers. As the largest armed ships in a fleet, battleships were used to attain command of the sea and represented the apex of a...

 of the Royal Navy

Royal Navy

The Royal Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Founded in the 16th century, it is the oldest service branch and is known as the Senior Service...

. She was part of the three-ship Centurion class

Centurion class battleship

The Centurion class battleships were second-class pre-dreadnought battleships of the Royal Navy designed for service on distant stations.-Description:...

, designed for long-range patrolling of the United Kingdom's far-flung empire.

Technical characteristics

HMS Centurion was laid down on 30 March 1890, launched on 3 August 1892, and completed for trials in September 1893. She commenced trials on 19 September 1893 and completed them in February 1894.

She displaced 10,500 tons, was 360 feet (109.7 m) in length and carried a complement of 620 officers and men. Her twin engines produced 13,000 ihp

IHP

IHP is a three letter acronym that can stand for:*International Hydrological Programme*Indicated horsepower*Innovations for High Performance Microelectronics, a German institute and part of the Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz Scientific Community...

.

She was armed with four 10 inches (254 mm) guns in two barbettes, had a 6 inches (152.4 mm) secondary armament and three torpedo tubes. She was protected by a 12 inches (304.8 mm) belt of compound armour, closed with 8 inches (203.2 mm) bulkheads. She stored 1,125 tons of coal, giving her a range of 6000 nautical miles (11,112 km) at 10 knots (19.6 km/h).

Operational history

HMS Centurion commissioned at Portsmouth on 14 February 1894 for service on the China Station

China Station

The China Station was a historical formation of the British Royal Navy. It was formally the units and establishments responsible to the Commander-in-Chief, China....

. She departed the United Kingdom on 2 March 1894, arriving at Port Said

Port Said

Port Said is a city that lies in north east Egypt extending about 30 km along the coast of the Mediterranean Sea, north of the Suez Canal, with an approximate population of 603,787...

, Egypt

Egypt

Egypt , officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, Arabic: , is a country mainly in North Africa, with the Sinai Peninsula forming a land bridge in Southwest Asia. Egypt is thus a transcontinental country, and a major power in Africa, the Mediterranean Basin, the Middle East and the Muslim world...

, on 15 March 1894 and at Singapore

Singapore

Singapore , officially the Republic of Singapore, is a Southeast Asian city-state off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, north of the equator. An island country made up of 63 islands, it is separated from Malaysia by the Straits of Johor to its north and from Indonesia's Riau Islands by the...

 on 11 April 1894. At Singapore, she rendezvoused with armored cruiser

Armored cruiser

The armored cruiser was a type of warship of the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Like other types of cruiser, the armored cruiser was a long-range, independent warship, capable of defeating any ship apart from a battleship, and fast enough to outrun any battleships it encountered.The first...

 HMS Imperieuse

HMS Imperieuse (1883)

HMS Imperieuse was the lead ship of the Imperieuse-class of first-class armoured cruiser, built at Portsmouth and launched on 18 December 1883. She was the flagship of the China Station from 1889 to 1894 and the Pacific Station from 1896 to 1899....

 and relieved her as flagship

Flagship

A flagship is a vessel used by the commanding officer of a group of naval ships, reflecting the custom of its commander, characteristically a flag officer, flying a distinguishing flag...

 of the China Station. She then proceeded to Hong Kong

Hong Kong

Hong Kong is one of two Special Administrative Regions of the People's Republic of China , the other being Macau. A city-state situated on China's south coast and enclosed by the Pearl River Delta and South China Sea, it is renowned for its expansive skyline and deep natural harbour...

, arriving there on 21 April 1894.

In June 1896, Centurion grounded on a sandbank at Shimonoseki, Japan, without damage. On 1 April 1897 she recommissioned at Hong Kong to continue her service as Flagship, China Station. From December 1897, she was the flagship of Sir Edward Seymour

Edward Hobart Seymour

Admiral of the Fleet Sir Edward Hobart Seymour, GCB, OM, GCVO , was a Royal Navy officer who became Commander-in-Chief, China Station.- Early life :...

.
Between 1897 and 1900, Centurion was actively engaged in Allied operations in northern China during the Boxer Rebellion

Boxer Rebellion

The Boxer Rebellion, also called the Boxer Uprising by some historians or the Righteous Harmony Society Movement in northern China, was a proto-nationalist movement by the "Righteous Harmony Society" , or "Righteous Fists of Harmony" or "Society of Righteous and Harmonious Fists" , in China between...

. On 31 May 1900, she put landing parties ashore which joined other forces in storming the Taku forts

Taku Forts

The Dagu Forts , also called the Peiho Forts are forts located by the Hai River estuary, in Tanggu District, Tianjin municipality, in northeastern China. They are located 60 km southeast of the Tianjin urban center.-History:The first fort was built during the reign of the Ming Jiajing...

 and in relieving the foreign legations at Tientsin.

On 10 April 1901, while at Shanghai

Shanghai

Shanghai is the largest city by population in China and the largest city proper in the world. It is one of the four province-level municipalities in the People's Republic of China, with a total population of over 23 million as of 2010...

, she parted her mooring cables during a storm and drifted across the bows of battleship

Battleship

A battleship is a large armored warship with a main battery consisting of heavy caliber guns. Battleships were larger, better armed and armored than cruisers and destroyers. As the largest armed ships in a fleet, battleships were used to attain command of the sea and represented the apex of a...

 HMS Glory

HMS Glory (1899)

HMS Glory was a Royal Navy battleship of the Canopus class.-Technical Characteristics:HMS Glory and her five sister ships were designed for service in the Far East, where the new rising power Japan was beginning to build a powerful and dangerous navy, and to able to transit the Suez Canal...

. Glory's bow punched a hole in Centurion's hull below the waterline, but the damage was not serious and was repaired at Hong Kong.

Centurion ended her China Station service in June 1901. Glory relieved Centurion as flagship on 10 June 1901. Centurion departed Hong Kong on 3 July 1901 and arrived at Portsmouth on 19 August 1901. On 19 September 1901 she paid off into reserve there.

Centurion underwent a reconstruction at Portsmouth, including a partial rearmament, between September 1901 and November 1903. On 3 November 1903 she commissioned there for another period of service on the China Station. Departing Portsmouth on 10 November 1903, she called at Malta

Malta

Malta , officially known as the Republic of Malta , is a Southern European country consisting of an archipelago situated in the centre of the Mediterranean, south of Sicily, east of Tunisia and north of Libya, with Gibraltar to the west and Alexandria to the east.Malta covers just over in...

 on 17 November 1903, at Port Said on 25 November 1903, at Aden

Aden

Aden is a seaport city in Yemen, located by the eastern approach to the Red Sea , some 170 kilometres east of Bab-el-Mandeb. Its population is approximately 800,000. Aden's ancient, natural harbour lies in the crater of an extinct volcano which now forms a peninsula, joined to the mainland by a...

 on 6 December 1903, at Colombo

Colombo

Colombo is the largest city of Sri Lanka. It is located on the west coast of the island and adjacent to Sri Jayawardenapura Kotte, the capital of Sri Lanka. Colombo is often referred to as the capital of the country, since Sri Jayawardenapura Kotte is a satellite city of Colombo...

, Ceylon, on 15 December 1903, and at Singapore on 27 December 1903 before arriving at Hong Kong on 31 December 1903.

In 1905, the United Kingdom and Japan ratified a treaty of alliance, reducing the need for a large Royal Navy presence on the China Station. The British squadron there was reduced, and all its battleships were withdrawn. Accordingly, on 7 June 1905, Centurion, in company with battleship HMS Ocean

HMS Ocean (1898)

The fourth HMS Ocean was a Canopus-class battleship of the British Royal Navy.-Technical Description:HMS Ocean was laid down at Devonport Dockyard on 15 December 1897, launched on 5 July 1898, and completed in February 1900...

, departed Hong Kong. At Singapore, they rendezoused with battleships HMS Albion

HMS Albion (1898)

HMS Albion was a British Canopus-class predreadnought battleship.-Technical Description:HMS Albion was laid down by Thames Iron Works at Leamouth, London on 3 December 1896...

 and HMS Vengeance

HMS Vengeance (1899)

HMS Vengeance was a Royal Navy predreadnought battleship of the Canopus class.-Technical Characteristics:HMS Vengeance was laid down by Vickers at Barrow-in-Furness on 23 August 1898 and launched on 25 July 1899. Her completion was delayed by damage to the fitting-out dock, and she was not...

. The four battleships departed Singapore on 20 June 1905 and steamed in company to Plymouth, where they arrived on 2 August 1905.
Centurion paid off at Portsmouth on 25 August 1905. She recommissioned on 26 August 1905 with a nucleus crew as a unit of the Portsmouth Division of the Reserve Fleet. She participated in combined exercises of the Reserve Fleet, Atlantic Fleet, and Channel Fleet

Channel Fleet

The Channel Fleet was the Royal Navy formation of warships that defended the waters of the English Channel from 1690 to 1909.-History:The Channel Fleet dates back at least to 1690 when its role was to defend England against the French threat under the leadership of Edward Russell, 1st Earl of...

 in June 1906.

On 24 May 1907, Centurion transferred her crew to battleship HMS Exmouth

HMS Exmouth (1901)

HMS Exmouth was a Duncan class predreadnought battleship of the Royal Navy. HMS Exmouth was laid down by Cammell Laird at Birkenhead in August 1899, launched in August 1901 and finally completed in May 1903...

. On 25 May 1907, she recommissioned with a new nucleus crew to serve as a special service vessel with the Portsmouth Division of the Home Fleet. By April 1909, she was part of the 4th Division, Home Fleet, at Portsmouth.

Impressive as they were upon their completion, ships such as Centurion were entirely outclassed by the new dreadnought

Dreadnought

The dreadnought was the predominant type of 20th-century battleship. The first of the kind, the Royal Navy's had such an impact when launched in 1906 that similar battleships built after her were referred to as "dreadnoughts", and earlier battleships became known as pre-dreadnoughts...

s that began to appear in 1906. Centurion paid off at Portsmouth on 1 April 1909 and was placed on the sale list. By the end of June 1909 she was anchored at the Motherbank

Motherbank

The Motherbank is a shallow sandbar off the northeast coast of the county Isle of Wight in the United Kingdom. It lies in The Solent between Cowes and Ryde....

, awaiting disposal. She was sold for scrapping on 12 July 1910, and arrived at Morecambe

Morecambe

Morecambe is a resort town and civil parish within the City of Lancaster in Lancashire, England. As of 2001 it has a resident population of 38,917. It faces into Morecambe Bay...

for scrapping on 4 September 1910.