HMS Bellerophon was a central battery ironclad built for the Royal Navy in the mid-1860s. Design and description In this ship, designed by Sir Edward Reed, the power-to-weight ratio was increased; the long rows of guns on the broadside were replaced by a small number of guns, centrally placed, of the largest possible calibre; the armour was increased in thickness but reduced in length, and a sharp beak ram was combined with a classical style plough bow. This double bottom had the added advantage of allowing the engine to be carried higher, raising the centre of gravity of the whole ship and making her thereby a steadier gun platform. Unlike earlier classes, Bellerophon'''s bow and stern had a "U" shaped profile, giving increased buoyancy at the ends noticeably absent in some earlier battleships.Bellerophon carried the first balanced rudder in Royal Navy service. Full helm could be applied by eight men in about 27 seconds, whereas in HMS Warrior it took forty men 90 seconds to perform the same manoeuvre. HMS Bellerophon was long between perpendiculars. She had a beam of and a maximum draught of . Propulsion Bellerophon had one 2-cylinder trunk steam engine made by John Penn and Sons driving a single propeller. Eight rectangular boilers provided steam to the engine at a working pressure of . The engine produced a total of during the ship's sea trials in August 1864 and the ship had a maximum speed . Bellerophon carried of coal, enough to steam at . The ironclad was ship rigged and had a sail area of . Bellerophon was "dull under canvas" and only made under sail in a moderate gale. The ship's propeller could be disconnected to reduce drag while under sail. ArmamentBellerophon was the first British ironclad to carry the 9-inch rifled muzzle-loading gun. All ten of the guns were mounted on the main deck, five on each side. Five 7-inch rifled muzzle-loaders were mounted outside the battery as chase guns. Four of these were mounted in pairs fore and aft on the main deck; the last gun was mounted on the upper deck at the stern. The ship also had four breech-loading 12-pounder Armstrong guns for use as saluting guns. The shell of the 14-calibre 9-inch gun weighed while the gun itself weighed . It had a muzzle velocity of and was credited with the ability to penetrate a nominal of wrought iron