from excessive weight and fittings." In the view of the maritime historian R. A. Burt, they were "highly successful; at that time, they were probably unequalled in all-round fighting efficiency." Resolution was armed with four breech-loading 13.5-inch guns on two barbettes with armour ranging from 11 to 17 inches in thickness. Resolution also carried ten quick-fire (QF) 6-inch guns, four of which were mounted in casemates on the main deck, plus sixteen QF 6-pounder () guns of an unknown type and a dozen QF 3-pounder () Hotchkiss guns. She was also equipped with seven 18-inch torpedo tubes, two of which were submerged. Between 1899 and 1902, the 3-pounder guns were removed from the upper tops; the above-water torpedo tubes were removed in 1902–1905. The remaining 6-inch guns on the upper deck were mounted on 5-inch armoured casemates between 1902 and 1904. All of the armour was supplied by the builders, Palmers Shipbuilding and Iron Company. The waterline belt was 252 ft long by 8 ft 8in deep, and its armour varied in thickness between 14 and 18 inches; the bulkheads were protected by 14 to 16 inches of armour. The middle deck covering the belt was 3 inches thick and the lower deck forward and aft of the belt was 2.5 inches thick, while the upper belt between the middle and main decks was coated in 3 to 4 inches of armour. The casemates for the 6-inch guns were protected by an equal thickness of armour and the conning tower was protected with 14 inch armour on the forward side, and 3 inches of armour on the aft. The ship's armoured deck was 2.5 to 3 inches thick. Operational history Resolution was built by Palmer Shipbuilding and Iron Company, at a cost of £875,522, plus £78,295 for guns. She was laid down on 14 June 1890, launched on 28 May 1892 and completed the following November. She underwent trials in December 1893, and was commissioned at Portsmouth on 5 December of that year for service in the Channel Squadron. On a voyage to Gibraltar shortly after commissioning, she suffered heavy rolling in bad weather and was forced to return to Ireland, and then to Devonport for repairs. Questions were raised in Parliament about her stability and endurance. In early August 1894, Resolution was a unit of "Fleet Red" in the annual manoeuvres held in the Southwest Approaches. She was recommissioned