HMS Hero (1885)
Painting of HMS Hero by William Frederick Mitchell | |
| History | |
|---|---|
| United Kingdom | |
| Name | HMS Hero |
| Builder | Chatham Dockyard |
| Laid down | 11 April 1884 |
| Launched | 27 October 1885 |
| Commissioned | May 1888 |
| Fate | Sunk as target, 18 February 1908 |
| General characteristics | |
| Class & type | Conqueror-class ironclad battleship |
| Displacement | 6,440 long tons (6,540 t) |
| Length | 270 ft (82 m) |
| Beam | 58 ft (18 m) |
| Draught |
|
| Installed power | 4,500 ihp (3,400 kW) |
| Propulsion |
|
| Speed | 14 kn (16 mph; 26 km/h) |
| Complement | 330 |
| Armament |
|
| Armour |
|
HMS Hero was the second and final Conqueror-class battleship. She was an ironclad who served in the Victorian Royal Navy.
The Conqueror-class ships were designed to be improved versions of Rupert with a ram as their main armament. It was assumed by the Board of Admiralty and within Naval Architecture circles, that the supremacy of armour over artillery would allow such a ship to ram an enemy vessel without being seriously damaged by enemy gunfire. This assumption was never tested in action.