HMS Mars was a Royal Navy pre-dreadnought battleship of the Majestic class, the seventh member of a class of nine ships. The ship was laid down in the Laird Brothers shipyard in June 1894, she was launched in March 1896, and she was commissioned into the fleet in June 1897. She was armed with a main battery of four 12-inch (305 mm) guns and a secondary battery of twelve 6-inch (152 mm) guns. The ship had a top speed of 16 knots.
HMS Mars at anchor
Right elevation, deck plan, and hull section as depicted in Brassey's Naval Annual 1902
Mars underway c. 1898
Majestic-class battleship
The Majestic class of nine pre-dreadnought battleships were built for the Royal Navy in the mid-1890s under the Spencer Programme, named after the First Lord of the Admiralty, John Poyntz Spencer. With nine units commissioned, they were the most numerous class of battleships. The nine ships, HMS Majestic, Caesar, Hannibal, Illustrious, Jupiter, Magnificent, Mars, Prince George, and Victorious, were built between 1894 and 1898 as part of a programme to strengthen the Royal Navy versus its two traditional rivals, France and Russia. This continued the naval re-armament initiatives begun by the Naval Defence Act 1889.
HMS Mars
HMS Royal Sovereign, upon which the design for the Majestic class was based
Right elevation, deck plan, and hull section as depicted in Brassey's Naval Annual 1902; the shaded areas represent the ship's armour protection.
Majestic's forward 12 in gun turret; note the 12-pounder mounted atop the turret
