 The design of the Royal Sovereign @-@ class ships was derived from that of the Admiral @-@ class ironclad battleships , greatly enlarged to improve seakeeping and to provide space for a secondary armament as in the preceding Trafalgar @-@ class ironclad battleships . The ships displaced 14 @,@ 150 long tons ( 14 @,@ 380 t ) at normal load and 15 @,@ 580 long tons ( 15 @,@ 830 t ) at deep load . They had a length between perpendiculars of 380 feet ( 115 @.@ 8 m ) and an overall length of 410 feet 6 inches ( 125 @.@ 1 m ) , a beam of 75 feet ( 22 @.@ 9 m ) , and a draught of 27 feet 6 inches ( 8 @.@ 4 m ) . As a flagship , Empress of India 's crew consisted of 692 officers and ratings in 1903 . 
