Technical Description
The Duncan-class battleships were ordered in response to large French and Russian building programmes, including an emphasis on fast battleships in the Russian programme; they were designed as smaller, more lightly armoured, and faster versions of the preceding Formidable class. As it turned out, the Russian ships were not as heavily armed as initially feared, and the Duncans proved to be quite superior in their balance of speed, firepower, and protection. Although they were designed before the ships of the London subclass of the Formidable class, the first two Londons were laid down before the first Duncan.
The armour layout was similar to that of London, with reduced thickness in the barbettes and belt.
The Duncans had machinery of 3,000 more indicated horsepower than the Formidables and Londons and were the first British battleships with 4-cylinder triple-expansion engines. They also had a modified hull form to improve speed. The ships had a reputation as good steamers, with a designed speed of 19 knots (35 km/h) and an operational speed of 18 knots (33 km/h), good steering at all speeds, and an easy roll. They were the fastest battleships in the Royal Navy when completed, and the second fastest predreadnoughts ever built after the Swiftsure-class Swiftsure and Triumph.
They had the same armament as and a smaller displacement than the Formidables and Londons.
The ships of the class were named after famous admirals of the Royal Navy and were informally known as "the Admirals". Like all pre-dreadnoughts, they were outclassed by the dreadnought battleships that began to appear in 1906, but they nonetheless continued to perform frontline duties up through the early part of World War I.
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