H.M.S. Dreadnought lying at anchor in the Bay of Naples

H.M.S. Dreadnought, 10,866 tons, was laid down in 1872, launched in 1875 and finally completed in 1879 at a cost of £619,739. The last British battleship to have overall armour as a true 'ironclad', she was acclaimed as a highly successful design and even managed to sustain her reputation as the best protected ship in the Fleet long after her once impenetrable armour had ceased to be so. She served in the Mediterranean for ten years from 1884 during which time this portrait must have been executed since it shows her as she appeared before her unflattering refit of 1898.