HMS Centurion as decoy and anti-aircraft escort

What did HMS Centurion do in the Mediterranean and during the Second World War?

She served as a mobile battleship decoy and anti-aircraft escort rather than returning to front-line gunnery.

Centurion moved from target-ship duties into wartime service as an armed decoy made to resemble a modern King George V-class battleship. Her large hull could carry many anti-aircraft weapons and accompany movements where that firepower was useful. The arrangement resembled the American practice of loading older battleships with anti-aircraft guns in the Pacific. Centurion's career demonstrates how disguise, deck space, and survivability could give an obsolete capital ship a second operational life without restoring its main battery.