Lord Clyde-class ironclad
_from_Army_and_Navy_Illustrated.jpg)
| |
| Class overview | |
|---|---|
| Builders | |
| Operators |  Royal Navy |
| Preceded by | Royal Oak |
| Built | 1863–1867 |
| In commission | 1866–1889 |
| Completed | 2 |
| Scrapped | 2 |
| General characteristics | |
| Displacement |
|
| Length | 280 ft (85 m) |
| Beam | 59 ft (18 m) |
| Draught | 27 ft 11 in (8.5 m) |
| Installed power | |
| Propulsion | 1 shaft; 1 horizontal return connecting rod-steam engine |
| Sail plan | Ship rig |
| Speed | |
| Complement | 605 |
| Armament |
|
| Armour |
|
The Lord Clyde-class ironclads were a pair of wooden-hulled armoured frigates built for the Royal Navy in the 1860s. They were designed by Edward Reed and built to make use of the large stocks of seasoned timber available in the royal shipyards. The ships hold a number of records for the navy, including being the largest wooden-hulled warships, equipped with the largest and most powerful engines placed in a wooden hull and the worst rollers in the force. The lead ship, Lord Clyde, initially had a main armament of 7 in (180 mm) rifled muzzle-loading (RML) guns but had a short career, curtailed by problems with her engine and deterioration of her hull due to the use of unseasoned timber. The second ship of the class, Lord Warden, armed with a mixture of 7 in (180 mm), 8 in (200 mm) and 9 in (230 mm) RML guns, served as the flagship of the Mediterranean Fleet and was mobilised during the Russo-Turkish War, although she did not see active service.
Design and description
[edit]The Lord Clyde were a class of ironclad frigates constructed for the Royal Navy in the 1860s. Unlike other similar iron-cased ships that were built for the navy at the time, they were not conversions but rather new wooden hulls that were encased in iron. They were built to use up the stocks of timber at Chatham and Pembroke Dockyards.[1] They were designed by Edward Reed and were the largest wooden-hulled warships in the Royal Navy.[2]
The Lord Clyde class were 280 feet (85.3 m) long between perpendiculars and had a beam of 58 feet 11 inches (18.0 m). The ships had a draught of 23 feet 9 inches (7.2 m) forward and 27 feet 2 inches (8.3 m) aft. Lord Clyde displaced 7,842 long tons (7,968 t) and had a tonnage of 4,067 tons burthen. Lord Warden displaced 7,842 long tons (7,968 t) and had a tonnage of 4,080 tons burthen.[3]
The ships had a very low centre of gravity which meant that they rolled very badly. They was said to be the worst rollers in the Victorian fleet. This characteristic was so dramatic that when the rolling propensities of ships were compared, it was usual to say "as bad a roller as the Prince Consort" as these vessels were in a different league to the remainder of the fleet. Lord Clyde generally performed worse than did her sister ship, Lord Warden.[4] In sea trials in 1867 with Bellerophon, Lord Clyde was rolling her gun ports under, while Bellerophon could have fought her main armament in safety. They were, however, very handy and sailed well in all weathers under sail or steam.[5] They complement consisted of 605 officers and ratings.[6]
Propulsion
[edit]The ships were each powered by a single two-cylinder trunk steam engine, which was made by Ravenhill and Hodgson for Lord Clyde and Maudslay, Sons and Field for Lord Warden, that drove a single propeller.[7] Steam was provided by nine rectangular boilers. They were designed for a maximum speed of 13 knots (24 km/h; 15 mph).[8] Under trials, Lord Clyde achieved 13.4 knots (24.8 km/h; 15.4 mph) from 6,064 indicated horsepower (4,522 kW) and Lord Warden achieved 13.5 knots (25.0 km/h; 15.5 mph) from 6,706 indicated horsepower (5,001 kW).[6] The engines were the largest and most powerful placed in a wooden hull for the Royal Navy.[9] The ships carried a maximum of 600 long tons (610 t) of coal.[10]
They were ship-rigged with three masts and had a sail area of 31,000 square feet (2,900 m2).[11] To reduce drag, the funnels were telescopic and could be lowered. Their best speed under sail alone was 10.5 knots (19.4 km/h; 12.1 mph), one of the slowest of British ironclads.[5]
Armament and armour
[edit]Lord Clyde was initially armed with 24 7 in (178 mm) rifled muzzle-loading (RML) guns. Four pairs of guns were positioned as fore and aft chase guns on the upper and main decks. The remaining sixteen guns were mounted on the broadside amidships.[12] Lord Warden was designed to carry an armament of fourteen 8 in (203 mm) and two 7 in RML guns.[6] The ship was completed with two 9 in (229 mm) RML, fourteen RML eight-inch (200 mm) guns, and two RML 7 in (178 mm) guns. The last guns served as forward chase guns on the main deck where they were very wet and useless in a head sea. One of the 9 in (229 mm) guns was the forward chase gun on the upper deck and the other became the stern chase gun on the main deck. Twelve 8 in (203 mm) guns were mounted on the main deck on the broadside amidships and the remaining pair were positioned on the quarterdeck on the broadside. Lord Clyde's original armament was replaced during her 1870 refit with a similar fit.[13]
The shell of the nine-inch gun weighed 254 pounds (115.2 kg) while the gun itself weighed 12 long tons (12 t). It had a muzzle velocity of 1,420 ft/s (430 m/s) and was rated with the ability to penetrate 11.3 inches (287 mm) of wrought-iron armour. The eight-inch gun weighed nine long tons (9.1 t); it fired a 175-pound (79.4 kg) shell at a muzzle velocity of 1,410 ft/s (430 m/s) and was credited with the ability to penetrate 9.6 inches (244 mm) of armour. The seven-inch gun weighed 6.5 long tons (6.6 t) and fired a 112-pound (50.8 kg) shell that was able penetrate 7.7-inch (196 mm) of armour.[14]
The entire side of each ship's hull, except for the side of the upper deck, was protected by wrought-iron armour that tapered from 4.5 inches (114 mm) at the ends to 5.5 inches (140 mm) amidships. It extended 6 feet (1.8 m) below the waterline. The forward chase guns on the upper deck were protected by 4.5-inch armour plates on the sides of the hull and a 4.5-inch transverse bulkhead to their rear protected them from raking fire. The armour was backed by 30 inches (762 mm) of oak and the 1.5 inches (38 mm) iron skin of the ship.[15]
Ships
[edit]| Ship | Builder[16] | Laid down[17] | Launched[17] | Completed[17] | Commissioned[17] | Fate[8] | Cost[16][18] |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lord Clyde | Pembroke Dockyard | 29 September 1863 | 115 September 1866 | 13 October 1864 | June 1866 | Sold to be broken up, 1875 | £285,750 or £294,481 |
| Lord Warden | Chatham Dockyard | 24 December 1863 | 27 May 1865 | 30 August 1867 | July 1867 | Sold to be broken up, 1889 | £328,998 or £322,843 |
Service
[edit]On commissioning, the ships were initially assigned to the Channel Fleet where Lord Clyde spent three months as temporary flagship before she was transferred to the Mediterranean Fleet in 1868. Lord Clyde made one cruise with the Mediterranean Fleet during which she fractured her steel mainyard in a squall.[19] Due to a shortage of seasoned timber In Pembroke Dockyard, green timber had been used in her construction. This, along with the torque produced by her trunk engines, meant that she wore out her engines very quickly.[20] They were condemned as no longer safe to use by the fleet engineer when she arrived in Naples so the ship was sent to the Malta Dockyard under sail for temporary repair. Upon being re-engined and rearmed, she remained in reserve until 1871 when she rejoined the Mediterranean Fleet.[21]
On 30 January 1868, Lord Warden was damaged by being hit by the wooden steam frigate HMS Endymion and then, on 3 May, she ran aground and had to be refloated.[22][23] The ship served as flagship for the fleet between 1869 and 1875. On 14 March 1872, Lord Clyde ran aground whilst attempting to rescue a British steamship that had gone aground off the island of Pantellaria,[24] Lord Warden was able to pull her off four days later, but, on returning to Plymouth, it was discovered that the unseasoned timber was infected with fungus and Lord Clyde was sold to be broken up.[11] Lord Warden was mobilised during the Russo-Turkish War and assigned to the Particular Service Squadron but saw no service, being decommissioned in 1885 and broken up in 1889.[11][8]
Notes
[edit]References
[edit]Citations
[edit]- ^ Archibald 1971, p. 10.
- ^ Sondhaus 2012, p. 88.
- ^ Ballard 1980, p. 241.
- ^ Parkes 1990, pp. 57, 97.
- ^ a b Ballard 1980, p. 82.
- ^ a b c Parkes 1990, p. 94.
- ^ Ballard 1980, p. 80.
- ^ a b c Roberts 1979, p. 13.
- ^ Ballard 1980, p. 81.
- ^ Ballard 1980, p. 246.
- ^ a b c Parkes 1990, p. 97.
- ^ Ballard 1980, p. 79.
- ^ Parkes 1990, pp. 93–96.
- ^ Roberts 1979, p. 6.
- ^ Ballard 1980, pp. 77–78.
- ^ a b Parkes 1990, p. 93.
- ^ a b c d Ballard 1980, p. 240.
- ^ Reed 1869, p. 218.
- ^ Ballard 1980, p. 83.
- ^ Archibald 1971, p. 12.
- ^ Ballard 1980, pp. 83–84.
- ^ "Naval and Military Intelligence". The Times. No. 26041. 7 February 1868. p. 12.
- ^ "Naval and Military Intelligence". The Times. No. 26041. 7 February 1868. p. 12.
- ^ "News in Brief". The Times. No. 27326. 16 March 1872. p. 11.
Bibliography
[edit]- Archibald, Edward H. H. (1971). The Metal Fighting Ship in the Royal Navy, 1860-1970. London: Blandford Press. ISBN 978-0-71370-551-5.
- Ballard, G. A. (1980). The Black Battlefleet. Annapolis, Maryland: Naval Institute Press. ISBN 978-0-24553-030-2.
- Friedman, Norman (2018). British Battleships of the Victorian Era. Annapolis, Maryland: Naval Institute Press. ISBN 978-1-68247-329-0.
- Parkes, Oscar (1990) [1957]. British Battleships. Annapolis, Maryland: Naval Institute Press. ISBN 978-1-55750-075-5.
- Reed, E. J. (1869). Our Iron-Clad Ships: Their Qualities, Performance and Cost. London: John Murray. OCLC 7944535.
- Roberts, John (1979). "Great Britain (including Empire Forces)". In Chesneau, Roger & Kolesnik, Eugene M. (eds.). Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships 1860–1905. New York: Mayflower Books. pp. 1–113. ISBN 978-0-83170-302-8.
- Silverstone, Paul H. (1984). Directory of the World's Capital Ships. London: Ian Allan. ISBN 978-0-71101-222-6.
- Sondhaus, Lawrence (2012). Naval Warfare, 1815–1914. London: Taylor and Francis. ISBN 978-0-20313-223-4.
External links
[edit]