The main waterline belt, made of Harvey armor, had a maximum thickness of 12 inches and tapered to at its lower edge. It was long and covered the machinery spaces. It was high, of which was above the design waterline. It angled inwards for at each end, thinning to , to provide protection against raking fire. It sloped downwards to meet the top of the protective deck. It was thick and sloped downwards at the ends of the ship. It also sloped downwards to the sides, but its thickness increased to . A 12-inch-thick diagonal armored citadel on the gun deck protected the turret machinery and the supports of the conning tower. The deck above it was two inches thick.