Defence class ironclad

Defence as she appeared after 1866
Class overview
Builders:	Palmer Brothers, Jarrow Westwood, Baillie, Cubitt Town
Preceded by:	Warrior class ironclad
Built:	1859–1862
In commission:	1861–1935
Completed:	2
General characteristics
Type:	Ironclad battleships
Displacement:	Resistance: 6,070 tons Defence: 6,150 tons
Length:	302 ft (92 m) o/a 280 ft (85 m) p/p
Beam:	54 ft 2 in (16.51 m)
Draught:	24 ft 6 in (7.47 m) forward 26 ft (7.9 m)aft
Installed power:	2,540 ihp (1,890 kW)
Propulsion:	Single-shaft Penn trunk engine
Sail plan:	Barque rig, sail area 24,500 sq ft (2,280 m2)
Speed:	10.75 kn (19.91 km/h) under power 10.5 kn (19.4 km/h) under sail
Complement:	460
Armament:	6 × 7 in (180 mm) Armstrong breech-loaders 10 × 68 pounder guns 2 × 32 pounders After 1867 refit: 2 × 8 in (200 mm) muzzle-loading rifles 14 × 7 in (180 mm) 6½ ton muzzle-loading rifles
Armour:	4.5 in (110 mm) with 18-inch (460 mm) teak backing 4.5 inch bulkheads

The Defence class of ironclad battleships were the class which historically immediately followed the first two British ironclads, HMS Warrior and HMS Black Prince. The class consisted of two ships, HMS Defence and HMS Resistance.

Background

In 1859 the Admiralty was as yet not convinced that the cost of the HMS Warrior class, which had significantly exceeded the costs of all previous warships, had to be accepted as the norm. It had been noted that the armour plate of 4.5 inches (110 mm) thickness as fitted to these vessels was adequate to deflect all ordnance currently afloat, and Their Lordships therefore requested a class of ships which, while carrying the same armour as the Warriors, was cheaper and smaller.

Design

The designer, Isaac Watts, submitted a plan on November 24, 1859, in which he made it clear that he could only incorporate enough engine power for 10.75 knots (20 km/h), which would leave the French ironclad La Gloire some two knots faster, and able to avoid action if she so chose.

In view of the French programme of ironclad construction, which showed signs of overtaking the British, the Admiralty proposed that six ships of this design be constructed. Political considerations however ultimately ensured that only two were ordered on 14 December 1859. The Prime Minister of the day, Lord Palmerston, was not convinced that the day of the wooden line-of-battle ship had passed.

Sir Nathaniel Barnaby, a future Constructor of the Navy, considered that in terms of combat a Defence-class ship was worth one quarter of a Warrior.

Construction

Ship	Builder	Laid down	Launched	Commissioned	Fate	Cost
Defence	Palmers, Jarrow	December 1859	24 April 1861	4 December 1861	Scrapped 1935	£252,422[1]
Resistance	Westwood, Baillie, Cubitt Town, London	December 1859	11 April 1861	2 July 1862	Sold 1898, foundered under tow 1899	£258,120[1]

Notes

1. ^ ^{a b} Parkes, p. 25

References

• Ballard, G. A., Admiral (1980). The Black Battlefleet. Annapolis, MD: Naval Institute Press. ISBN 0-87021-924-3. 
• Gardiner, Robert, ed (1979). Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships 1860-1905. Greenwich: Conway Maritime Press. ISBN 0-8317-0302-4. 
• Parkes, Oscar (1990). British Battleships (reprint of the 1957 ed.). Annapolis, MD: Naval Institute Press. ISBN 1-55750-075-4. 
• Silverstone, Paul H. (1984). Directory of the World's Capital Ships. New York: Hippocrene Books. ISBN 0-88254-979-0. 

External links