'Pinnace' was the British naval undertaking to pass the obsolete battleship Centurion from the UK to India and then Egypt for service as a floating anti-aircraft battery (June 1942).

The ship sailed with the 'Vigorous' convoy in the eastern Mediterranean to simulate an operational battleship and thus deter Italian warship attack, and then, between 1942 and 1944, was stationed off Suez as an anti-aircraft ship and also to deter Italian naval operations in the area: the Italians thought that her false 13.5-in (343-mm) guns, actually made of wood, were real and kept their battleships away from the area.

Centurion's final service was to be sunk on 7 June 1944 as a 'Mulberry' harbour blockship at Avranches off the Normandy beaches after the start of 'Overlord'.