Ordered under the
Naval Defence Act 1889,
Iphigenia was laid down in 1891 at the yard of the
London and Glasgow Shipbuilding Company. She was ordered with
HMS Sutlej to monitor the Russian fleeting sailing through the
Singapore Strait on the way to the
Battle of Tsushima. They arrived too late to this although they did meet the Russian fleet the following day with Sutlej greeting them with a 17 gun salute. Along with and she was selected to be used as a
blockship during the
Zeebrugge Raid. She was sunk at the entrance to the Bruges Canal to try to prevent its use by German U-boats. She was subsequently broken up when the canal was cleared. File:Aerial photograph after Zeebrugge Raid IWM Q 20648B.jpg|Aerial photograph showing the blockships sunk after the Zeebrugge Raid. HMS
Iphigenia is second from left File:The Capture of Zeebrugge, October 1918 Q7148.jpg|Wrecks of
Iphigenia and HMS
Intrepid blocking the mouth of the Bruges Ship Canal at Zeebrugge, 24 October 1918. ==References==