HMS Illustrious (1896)

HMS Illustrious (1896)

The third HMS Illustrious of the British Royal Navy was a Majestic-class pre-dreadnought battleship. Commissioned in 1898, she 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 removed, she served as a store ship for the remainder of the war. She was decommissioned in 1919 and scrapped the following year.