World War II Database

Contributor: C. Peter Chen

ww2dbaseUpon commissioning, Centurion was assigned to the 2nd Battle Squadron. During WW1, she served in the North Sea and the Mediterranean; she was a participant of the Battle of Jutland on 31 May 1916. During the inter-war years, she was dispatched to the Black Sea during the Russian Civil War, served in the Mediterranean Sea between 1919 and 1924, and was decommissioned in 1924. Upon decommissioning, she became a remote-controlled target ship. In 1940, she was reactivated after being fitted with a false superstructure to make her look like the battleship Anson in an effort to confuse German intelligence. She began her new career as a false battleship in Apr 1941 based out of Gibraltar. She made a troublesome voyage from Gibraltar to Port Said around the southern tip of Africa, then participated in Operation Vigorous, one of the Malta-bound convoys, in Jun 1942. She also spent time off Suez to provide additional anti-aircraft weaponry to British task forces. She left the Mediterranean Sea in Jan 1944 for a return trip to Britain, where she ran aground and required repairs. On 9 Jun 1944, during the Normandy Campaign, she was sunk off the beaches as breakwater for the newly established beachheads.

Photographs

Centurion Operational Timeline