HMS Bellerophon was a central battery ironclad built for the Royal Navy in the mid-1860s.
HMS Bellerophon as she appeared when completed in 1866.
Right elevation drawing. The shaded areas represent the ship's armour.
Cutaway view of Bellerophon's trunk engine
Bellerophon's officers at Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada, while with the North America and West Indies Squadron, circa. 1889–1892
The central battery ship, also known as a centre battery ship in the United Kingdom and as a casemate ship in European continental navies, was a development of the (high-freeboard) broadside ironclad of the 1860s, given a substantial boost due to the inspiration gained from the Battle of Hampton Roads, the first battle between ironclads fought in 1862 during the American Civil War. One of the participants was the Confederate casemate ironclad CSS Virginia, essentially a central battery ship herself, albeit a low-freeboard one. The central battery ships had their main guns concentrated in the middle of the ship in an armoured citadel. The concentration of armament amidships meant the ship could be shorter and handier than a broadside type like previous warships. In this manner the design could maximize the thickness of armour in a limited area while still carrying a significant broadside. These ships meant the end of the armoured frigates with their full-length gun decks.
Plan of HMS Alexandra
24 cm gun model 1884 in an ironclad
Central battery ironclad of the Royal Navy at anchor, ca.1860