The Conqueror class battleships were ironclad warships which served in the Victorian Royal Navy, and whose main weapon was designed to be the ram.

At the time of their inception and design, it appeared to naval architects that armour plate could be made resistant enough to protect the essential areas of warships from incoming artillery fire, and that therefore an alternative method of offence was needed in order to achieve a decisive outcome in any future naval combat.

These ships were of only moderate size, and were intended to be adequately fast, and manoeuvrable enough to be able to catch and strike a fleeing or manoeuvering enemy.

They carried a single turret with two large guns, which were intended to engage on either beam an enemy who had evaded a ramming attack.

They had approximately nine feet of freeboard forward, and could not make more than ten knots in rough weather.