HMS Centurion was the second of the four ships of the King George V-class dreadnoughts. The King George V class was designed as an enlarged version of the previous Orion class, featuring a revised armour scheme and an improved fire-control system. Centurion was laid down on 16 January 1911 at HM Dockyard, Devonport, launched on 18 November that year, and commissioned on 22 May 1913.

Aside from minor action during the Battle of Jutland, during which she only managed to inflict light damage on the battlecruiser SMS Lützow before being blocked by the friendly HMS Orion, Centurion saw routine and relatively uneventful service during the Great War. She was later deployed during the Allied intervention in the Russian Civil War and was relegated to the reserve fleet upon her return home in 1924. Due to her obsolescence, Centurion was converted into a target ship in 1926 and served in this capacity until the outbreak of World War II. She was returned to active service in 1942, ironically as a decoy ship disguised as HMS Anson of the later King George V-class battleships. She was finally scuttled during the Normandy landings on 7 June 1944 as a breakwater protecting the landing forces off Omaha Beach.

Introduced in Update 2.51 "Spearhead", HMS Centurion is quite similar to her real-life predecessor, HMS Orion, featuring similar armament. Her survivability is somewhat mixed: on one hand, most of her critical compartments are located deep below the waterline, making them difficult to damage; on the other hand, she has a relatively low crew complement of 854, most of whom are positioned close to the deck. As with other Great War-era ships, Centurion completely lacks anti-aircraft armament. This, combined with her poor mobility, leaves her defenceless against air attacks.