Lewin of Greenwich Naval History & Forum

Lead Ship, Second Class Battleship HMS Colossus pictured in 1905...Launched at Portsmouth Dockyard in 1882 and commissioned in 1886. She had a displacement of 9,520 tons, and an armament of 4 ×12-inch breechloaders, 5× 6-inch guns and had a respectable speed of 15.5 knots. She was one of the first, if not the first, modern Battleship. She had several features which would be standard for all gun warships up to the Second World War including all steel construction, a main battery of breech loading major caliber guns (ie. 10 inches or greater) mounted in turrets and was propelled only by steam engines instead of a combination of steam and sails - as was common in the mid-19th century....She was sold for breaking up in 1908.

Hydraulic loading system for BL 12 inch main armament on Colossus Class Pre-Dreadnought Battleship HMS Edinburgh.

Lead ship Pre-Dreadnought Battleship HMS Devastation pictured sporting her ram in dry dock at Plymouth c1877 and an interior view of one of her two 12 inch 35 ton muzzle loading guns. These guns were replaced in 1891 by 10 inch breech loaders. This was the first Class of ocean-going capital ship that did not carry sails, and the first whose entire main armament was mounted on top of the hull rather than inside it. She was broken up in May 1908.