Vasco da Gama was a central battery ironclad which entered service with the Portuguese Navy in 1876, serving until 1935. She was built by the Thames Iron Works in London, launched in 1876, and completed in 1878. She served as the flagship of the Portuguese fleet for the majority of her long and peaceful career. She was rebuilt and heavily modernized between 1901 and 1903. Long-since obsolete by the 1930s, Vasco da Gama was finally sold for scrapping in 1935.