HMS Illustrious (1896)

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Career Royal Navy Ensign
Builder: Chatham Dockyard
Laid down: 11 March 1895
Launched: 17 September 1896
Commissioned: 10 May 1898
Decommissioned: 1919
Status: Scrapped 1920
General Characteristics
Displacement: 14,900 tons
Length: 390 feet (118.87 m)
Beam: 75 ft (22.86 m)
Draught: 26 ft 6 inches (7.92 m)
Speed: 19.75 kt
Complement: 318
Armament: 4 × 12 inch BL guns

12 × 6 inch QF guns
18 × 12 pounder QF
12 × 3 pounder QF

5 × 18 inch torpedo tubes

The third HMS Illustrious of the Royal Navy was a Majestic-class pre-dreadnought, launched in 1896.

She had a displacement of 14,900 tonnes and an armament of four 12 inch guns and twelve 6 inch guns. She served in the Channel Fleet from her commission into the Royal Navy to September 1908. She went into reserve and was transferred to the 3rd Fleet in 1912. At the outbreak of war in 1914 she was recommissioned as a guard-ship for Loch Aye, Lough Swilly, Tyne and the Humber, and 2 of her 12" guns were re-used in the Tyne Turrets. Due to obsolescence, she was used as an ammunition store ship for the remainder of the war, finally being scrapped in 1920.

See HMS Illustrious for other RN ships of the same name.

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Majestic-class battleship

Caesar | Hannibal | Illustrious | Jupiter | Magnificent | Majestic | Mars | Prince George | Victorious

List of battleships of the Royal Navy