Sans Pareil Class Battleship (1887)
The Sans Pareil Class of two battleships was constructed for the Royal Navy in the 1880s. They were the last British battleships to mount their main armament in one turret, and the first to have triple-expansion engines. H.M.S. Victoria famously sank after collision with another battleship in 1893, and H.M.S. Sans Pareil had an uneventful career, being shortly rendered obsolescent by other battleships coming into service.
Design History
As noted by naval architect and historian D. K. Brown, the design history of this class is "obscure."[1] Parkes suggests that the Director of Naval Construction, Nathaniel Barnaby, had little input into the designs and worked from instructions issued by the Board of Admiralty.[2] Brown comments that this is somewhat strange since the First Naval Lord, Sir Astley Cooper Key, was an advocate of the layout of the "Admiral" class, which the Sans Pareil and her sister contradicted with their single turret arranged for end-on fire.[3]
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