HMS Resolution (1892) - Technical Characteristics

Technical Characteristics

Resolution was laid down by Palmers on 14 June 1890, launched on 28 May 1892, and completed in November 1893. She was 410 feet (120 m) long and had a maximum cruising speed of 17 knots (31 km/h). Her armament included four 67-ton 13.5-inch (343-mm) guns and several smaller calibre guns.

The Royal Sovereign class battleships were designed by Sir William White and were the most potent battleships in the world until HMS Dreadnought rendered them obsolete overnight in 1906. In their day the Royal Sovereigns had also embodied revolutionary improvements in firepower, armour and speed. The main armament of four 13.5-inch (343-mm) guns was housed in two barbettes, rather than turrets, at either end of the ship which allowed a high freeboard, greatly increasing their capacity for fighting in rough weather; however, they tended to roll heavily in certain conditions, and after Resolution rolled badly in heavy seas in 1893, the Royal Sovereign class was nicknamed the "Rolling Ressies," a name which stuck even though the problem quickly was corrected by the installation of bilge keels. The secondary armament was designed to provide potent, quick firing support for the main battery. Despite their greatly increased weight, thanks to a main armour belt which ran for two thirds of their length, they were the fastest capital ships in the world in their time.

In 1906, the Royal Sovereigns, like every other battleship in the world, were made obsolete with the launch of the revolutionary HMS Dreadnought, the first all-big-gun battleship.