HMS Venerable (1899)  HMS Venerable (1899) was a member of the of pre-dreadnought battleships built for the British Royal Navy. The "London"s were near repeats of the preceding s, but with modified armour protection. "Venerable"s main battery consisted of four 12-inch (305-mm) guns, and she had top speed of . The ship was laid down in January 1899, was launched in November that year, and was completed in November 1902. Commissioned that month, "Venerable" served in the Mediterranean Fleet until 1908, and was subsequently recommissioned into the Channel Fleet. Following a major refit in 1909, she served with the Atlantic and Home Fleets. After the outbreak of World War I, she took part in defensive and offensive operations with the Channel Fleet, shelling German positions in Belgium through May 1915. Thereafter transferred to the Mediterranean, she saw service in the Dardanelles campaign in mid-1915, and then in the Adriatic through 1916. That December, she returned to England and was refitted as a depot ship in 1918. She was sold for scrap in 1921 and was ultimately broken up in 1922. The five ships of the "London" class were ordered in 1898 in response to increased naval construction for the Russian Navy. The design for the "London" class was prepared in 1898; it was a virtual repeat of the preceding , though with significant revision to the forward armour protection scheme. Rather than a traditional transverse bulkhead for the forward end of the main belt armour, the belt was carried further forward and gradually tapered in thickness. Deck armour was also strengthened. "Venerable" was long overall, with a beam of and a draught of . She displaced normally and up to fully loaded. Her crew numbered 714 officers and enlisted men. The "Formidable"-class ships were powered by a pair of 3-cylinder triple-expansion engines, with steam provided by twenty Belleville boilers. The boilers were trunked into two funnels located amidships. The "Formidable"-class ships had a top speed of from . "Venerable" had a main battery of four 40-calibre guns mounted in twin-gun turrets fore and aft; these guns were mounted in circular barbettes that allowed all-around loading or elevation. The ships also mounted a secondary battery of twelve 45-calibre guns mounted in casemates, in addition to sixteen 12-pounder guns and six 3-pounder guns for defence against torpedo boats.