Victoria and Sans Pareil formed a two-ship class built on the Tyne, with Victoria coming from Armstrong Mitchell's Elswick yard. Each displaced about 10,000 tons and measured roughly 340 feet long by 70 feet in beam. They were steel ships and the first Royal Navy vessels powered by triple-expansion engines, with two engines driving twin propellers. Their main battery consisted of two turret-mounted 16.25-inch guns, each weighing about 111 tons and firing an 818-kilogram projectile. The barrels were expected to survive only about 75 full-power rounds before replacement. A modern cost comparison presents the experimental machinery, armour, and giant ordnance as a major national investment rather than simply the price of two ships.
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HMS Victoria joined new machinery to enormous guns
The two-ship class combined steel construction and triple-expansion machinery with costly 16.25-inch guns of limited barrel life.