Central Battery Ships of the Royal Navy, 1865-1873
H.M.S. Bellerophon (1865)
A logical development from the armored frigate or broadside ironclad, the central battery ship combined some guns ranged along the sides as in a broadside ship with an armored box battery located on the ship's beam. The combination of prominence of the battery structure with cutouts in the hull theoretically allowed massive straight-ahead (or axial) fire, allowing a warship to pepper its prey with heavy shot while rushing forward to ram. In practice the harmful effects of blast from its own guns limited the application to shooting at an angle close to the axial. Ship masters were accustomed to maneuvering to get in a shot, or even a broadside, during a chase, then returning to their course. Another disadvantage the came to the fore as the cutaways in the hull grew more elaborate and more deeply concave, was the great amount of spray thrown up, making forward-facing gunnery a very wet affair. Nonetheless, these ships were closer to the traditional sailing-ship design than many other models being tried, and they were very popular with tradition-minded seamen and officers in the service.
At top, HMS Bellerophon of 1865 was Chief Naval Constructor Edward J. Reed's first successful essay in the craft, derived from a drawing he brought with him when interviewing for the job at the Admiralty. Reed presided over the latter half of the "Era of Uncertainty," when many widely disparate designs were contending. Although central battery ships were Reed's first love, he was also a prolific producer of masted turret ships, turret rams, and breastwork monitors. At the time, the central battery ship provided the most economical and sensible solution to the many problems posed by new technologies and mission requirements in the frantic 1860s. This was a practical ocean-going vessel that handled fairly well under sail, giving her a range steamships of the time could only envy; yet her guns were so disposed that the rigging did not interfere with their operation. Sorting not only the "shape of things to come" but the best practices in the new art of iron shipbuilding proved quite a tall order. Somehow Reed and the Admiralty managed it, but it would be foolish to pretend it was not a sloppy process.
At top, HMS Bellerophon of 1865 was Chief Naval Constructor Edward J. Reed's first successful essay in the craft, derived from a drawing he brought with him when interviewing for the job at the Admiralty. Reed presided over the latter half of the "Era of Uncertainty," when many widely disparate designs were contending. Although central battery ships were Reed's first love, he was also a prolific producer of masted turret ships, turret rams, and breastwork monitors. At the time, the central battery ship provided the most economical and sensible solution to the many problems posed by new technologies and mission requirements in the frantic 1860s. This was a practical ocean-going vessel that handled fairly well under sail, giving her a range steamships of the time could only envy; yet her guns were so disposed that the rigging did not interfere with their operation. Sorting not only the "shape of things to come" but the best practices in the new art of iron shipbuilding proved quite a tall order. Somehow Reed and the Admiralty managed it, but it would be foolish to pretend it was not a sloppy process.
H.M.S. Hercules (1868)
The Hercules was an improved version of the Bellerophon.
The Hercules was an improved version of the Bellerophon.
H.M.S. Sultan (1871)
The Sultan was a further improvement on the Hercules model, incorporating a two-level structure to the central battery. This was perhaps Reed's masterpiece: his fastest, most powerful ironclad battleship. She was the first British battleship to adopt 10" rifled guns (25 cm) as her main armament. While many of her generation survived a bit past the turn of the century in one capacity or another, few equaled Sultan's longevity: she endured until 1946, albeit in very humble guise.
Specifications for HMS Sultan:
Displacement: 9,290 long tons. Dimensions: 325' x 59' x 25'6" (99m x 18m x 7.8m) Deep laden, draft 28'9" (8.8m) Propulsion: 8 coal-fired boilers, 7,720-IHP Penn Trunk engine, single screw. 3-mast ship rig; 49,400 sf of sail (4,590 m2). Maximum speed: 14.13 kts under steam; 6 kts under sail alone. Armament: (8) 10" MLR, (4) 9" MLR, (7) 20-pdr BLR. Armor: 9"/6" belt (230/150mm); 9" main deck battery (230mm); 8" upper deck battery (200mm); 6"/4.5" bulkheads (150/110mm). Crew: 633.
Specifications for HMS Sultan:
Displacement: 9,290 long tons. Dimensions: 325' x 59' x 25'6" (99m x 18m x 7.8m) Deep laden, draft 28'9" (8.8m) Propulsion: 8 coal-fired boilers, 7,720-IHP Penn Trunk engine, single screw. 3-mast ship rig; 49,400 sf of sail (4,590 m2). Maximum speed: 14.13 kts under steam; 6 kts under sail alone. Armament: (8) 10" MLR, (4) 9" MLR, (7) 20-pdr BLR. Armor: 9"/6" belt (230/150mm); 9" main deck battery (230mm); 8" upper deck battery (200mm); 6"/4.5" bulkheads (150/110mm). Crew: 633.
The Audacious Class (1869)
The Invincible of 1869 was one of the Audacious class of light central battery ironclads. Considerably shorter and more maneuverable than the huge Agincourt class broadside ironclads, they were intended for colonial service and closer in-shore operations. They were built following the lines of HMS Defence, a wooden frigate retrofitted as an ironclad in 1867, but it was grudgingly permitted to enlarge the hull slightly. The iron-hulled vessels were equipped with a towering ship rig, and handled notably better than the big ironclad frigates, the emphasis on seaworthiness and stability being well borne out in performance. The 4 ships of the Audacious class were the first homogeneous class of battleships produced since the days of sail, and the last until the Admiral class of the mid-1880s. However, they were built as two pairs rather than all at once, and the second pair was made 60 feet longer and half a knot faster. There was talk of making them masted turret ships and bids were solicited as such; but in the end Reed prevailed and they mounted their guns in broadside.
Invincible, at right, was selected as Sir Ralph Seymour's flagship during the Bombardment of Alexandria in 1882 because of her moderate draft, allowing her to close the forts and observe the effects of the naval cannonade. The Vanguard was sunk in collision with the Iron Duke in 1875. Otherwise these ships lived to a ripe old age, remaining useful to their service shortly into the new century.
Specifications for the Audacious class:Dimensions: 280' x 54' x 22'7" -- 26'1" draft at maximum load -- for first two ships. (Metric: 85m x 17m x 7.4m) Iron Duke & Vanguard: 341'3" x 54' x 23'2" (104m x 16m x 7.1m) Displacement: 6,106 tons std (1st two); 6,034 tons (Iron Duke & Vanguard). Hull: Iron. Propulsion: 6 coal-fired boilers; (2) reciprocating steam engines, twin screw. Speed: 13-13.5 kts under steam. Sails: 3-mast ship rig. Armament: (10) 9" MLR (23 cm), (4) 6" MLR (15 cm) mounted as chasers; (6) 20-pdr. (Iron Duke & Vanguard only). Wrought-iron armor: 8"/6" belt (200/150mm); 8"/6" battery (200/152mm) with 10" (254mm) teak backing - 1st 2; 6"/4" (152/102mm) - Iron Duke & Vanguard, also with teak backing; 5"/4" bulkheads (127/102mm) - Iron Duke & Vanguard only. Crew: 450.
The Triumph and Swiftsure (1872)
The Triumph and Swiftsure of 1870 were somewhat enlarged and improved versions of the Audacious class. They were still second-class battleships, less than 300 feet long, with lighter armament and armor than the Sultan and other first-string battleships of the time.
Specifications for the Swiftsure class:Dimensions: 280' x 55' x 24'5" -- 26'1" draft at maximum load. (Metric: 85m x 17m x 7.4m) Displacement: 7,020 tons std. Hull: Iron. Propulsion: 6 coal-fired boilers; single-shaft Maudslay 2-cylinder horizontal-return connecting rod engine developing 4,910 IHP. Speed: 13.75 kts under steam. Sail rig: 3-mast ship rig, 41,900 sf of sail (later modified to barque rig). Armament: (10) 9" MLR (23 cm), (4) 6" MLR (15 cm), (6) 20-pdr. (4) torpedo carriages. Wrought-iron armor: 8"/6" belt (200/150mm); 6"/4" battery (150/100mm); 5"/4" bulkheads (130/100mm). Crew: 450.
The Triumph and Swiftsure of 1870 were somewhat enlarged and improved versions of the Audacious class. They were still second-class battleships, less than 300 feet long, with lighter armament and armor than the Sultan and other first-string battleships of the time.Specifications for the Swiftsure class:Dimensions: 280' x 55' x 24'5" -- 26'1" draft at maximum load. (Metric: 85m x 17m x 7.4m) Displacement: 7,020 tons std. Hull: Iron. Propulsion: 6 coal-fired boilers; single-shaft Maudslay 2-cylinder horizontal-return connecting rod engine developing 4,910 IHP. Speed: 13.75 kts under steam. Sail rig: 3-mast ship rig, 41,900 sf of sail (later modified to barque rig). Armament: (10) 9" MLR (23 cm), (4) 6" MLR (15 cm), (6) 20-pdr. (4) torpedo carriages. Wrought-iron armor: 8"/6" belt (200/150mm); 6"/4" battery (150/100mm); 5"/4" bulkheads (130/100mm). Crew: 450.
H.M.S. Téméraire (1877)
Let no one beat the old saw that the Royal Navy resisted change and experimentation as new technologies moved in during the 19th century. A case in point is HMS Téméraire, an experimental ironclad battleship designed by Nathaniel Barnaby and built at the Royal Chatham Dockyard in 1871-7. The Téméraire was fundamentally a central battery ship in shape, but added two 11-inch muzzle-loading rifles in barbettes on the upper deck. These were not only barbettes, but barbettes with disappearing mounts. To protect the gun crews during reloading, the guns used their own recoil to power a mechanism that folded up the guns and indeed, the entire barbette below deck level. When the guns were reloaded, they were brought back upp to firing position by a series of springs and counterweights (see diagram).
While the disappearing guns worked admirably, they were extremely heavy, counteracting the chief benefit of the barbette mount, its reduced weight. Because of teh number of extra steps involved in repositioning the guns from their loading position, they had a slow rate of fire. While disappearing mounts were quite often used in land forts of the time, very few battleships adopted the technology (the Russian Black Sea battleship Yekaterina Veliky comes to mind). However, ordinary barbettes were adopted with good success for many of the Royal Navy's battleships during the 1880s. They were also popular in the French, Italian, Austro-Hungarian, amd Russian fleets.
Because of the need to provide adequate arcs of fire for the two 11" guns, Téméraire was rigged as a brig -- the largest vessel ever to bear that rig. Thus, she was known as "The Great Brig" in the service. A prominent member of the Mediterranean Fleet for years, she participated in the bombardment of Alexandria in 1882, lobbing 136 11-inch (280 mm) shells and 84 10-inch (250 mm) at the rebel-held forts. Nor were those sails carried for appearance only; in 1890 the entire Mediterranean Fleet watched her beat into harbor on Crete under sail alone, an exercise that took nearly 6 hours. Téméraire was paid off in 1891 and became a Reserve Fleet ship. In 1904 she was renamed Indus and became a training ship for firemen, and later served as a reformatory at Liverpool. By WWI, she was being used as a depot ship, under the name Akbar II. She was sold out of the service in 1921 and scrapped the following year.
Specifications for the Téméraire:
Dimensions: 285' x 62' x 27' (Metric: 87m x 19m x 8.4m) Displacement: 8,677 tons std. Hull: Iron. Armament: (4) 11" MLR (28 cm), (4) 10" MLR (254 mm); (6) 20-pdr BLR; (2) torpedo carriages. Wrought-iron armor: 11"/5½" belt (280/140mm); 8" battery (200 mm) with 10" (254mm) teak backing; 10"(250mm) forward barbette, 8" (200 mm) aft barbette; 8"/5" bulkheads (127/102mm); 1½"/1" (35/25 mm) deck. Propulsion: 8 coal-fired boilers; (2) Humphreys & Tennant vertical inverted compound engines developing 7,697 IHP (5,740 kW), shafted to twin screw. Speed: 14.65 knots (27.13 km/hr). Sail plan: Brig, with sail area of 25,000 sf (2,300 m2). Crew: 580.
H.M.S. Téméraire (1877)
Let no one beat the old saw that the Royal Navy resisted change and experimentation as new technologies moved in during the 19th century. A case in point is HMS Téméraire, an experimental ironclad battleship designed by Nathaniel Barnaby and built at the Royal Chatham Dockyard in 1871-7. The Téméraire was fundamentally a central battery ship in shape, but added two 11-inch muzzle-loading rifles in barbettes on the upper deck. These were not only barbettes, but barbettes with disappearing mounts. To protect the gun crews during reloading, the guns used their own recoil to power a mechanism that folded up the guns and indeed, the entire barbette below deck level. When the guns were reloaded, they were brought back upp to firing position by a series of springs and counterweights (see diagram).
While the disappearing guns worked admirably, they were extremely heavy, counteracting the chief benefit of the barbette mount, its reduced weight. Because of teh number of extra steps involved in repositioning the guns from their loading position, they had a slow rate of fire. While disappearing mounts were quite often used in land forts of the time, very few battleships adopted the technology (the Russian Black Sea battleship Yekaterina Veliky comes to mind). However, ordinary barbettes were adopted with good success for many of the Royal Navy's battleships during the 1880s. They were also popular in the French, Italian, Austro-Hungarian, amd Russian fleets.
Because of the need to provide adequate arcs of fire for the two 11" guns, Téméraire was rigged as a brig -- the largest vessel ever to bear that rig. Thus, she was known as "The Great Brig" in the service. A prominent member of the Mediterranean Fleet for years, she participated in the bombardment of Alexandria in 1882, lobbing 136 11-inch (280 mm) shells and 84 10-inch (250 mm) at the rebel-held forts. Nor were those sails carried for appearance only; in 1890 the entire Mediterranean Fleet watched her beat into harbor on Crete under sail alone, an exercise that took nearly 6 hours. Téméraire was paid off in 1891 and became a Reserve Fleet ship. In 1904 she was renamed Indus and became a training ship for firemen, and later served as a reformatory at Liverpool. By WWI, she was being used as a depot ship, under the name Akbar II. She was sold out of the service in 1921 and scrapped the following year.
While the disappearing guns worked admirably, they were extremely heavy, counteracting the chief benefit of the barbette mount, its reduced weight. Because of teh number of extra steps involved in repositioning the guns from their loading position, they had a slow rate of fire. While disappearing mounts were quite often used in land forts of the time, very few battleships adopted the technology (the Russian Black Sea battleship Yekaterina Veliky comes to mind). However, ordinary barbettes were adopted with good success for many of the Royal Navy's battleships during the 1880s. They were also popular in the French, Italian, Austro-Hungarian, amd Russian fleets.
Because of the need to provide adequate arcs of fire for the two 11" guns, Téméraire was rigged as a brig -- the largest vessel ever to bear that rig. Thus, she was known as "The Great Brig" in the service. A prominent member of the Mediterranean Fleet for years, she participated in the bombardment of Alexandria in 1882, lobbing 136 11-inch (280 mm) shells and 84 10-inch (250 mm) at the rebel-held forts. Nor were those sails carried for appearance only; in 1890 the entire Mediterranean Fleet watched her beat into harbor on Crete under sail alone, an exercise that took nearly 6 hours. Téméraire was paid off in 1891 and became a Reserve Fleet ship. In 1904 she was renamed Indus and became a training ship for firemen, and later served as a reformatory at Liverpool. By WWI, she was being used as a depot ship, under the name Akbar II. She was sold out of the service in 1921 and scrapped the following year.
Specifications for the Téméraire:
Dimensions: 285' x 62' x 27' (Metric: 87m x 19m x 8.4m) Displacement: 8,677 tons std. Hull: Iron. Armament: (4) 11" MLR (28 cm), (4) 10" MLR (254 mm); (6) 20-pdr BLR; (2) torpedo carriages. Wrought-iron armor: 11"/5½" belt (280/140mm); 8" battery (200 mm) with 10" (254mm) teak backing; 10"(250mm) forward barbette, 8" (200 mm) aft barbette; 8"/5" bulkheads (127/102mm); 1½"/1" (35/25 mm) deck. Propulsion: 8 coal-fired boilers; (2) Humphreys & Tennant vertical inverted compound engines developing 7,697 IHP (5,740 kW), shafted to twin screw. Speed: 14.65 knots (27.13 km/hr). Sail plan: Brig, with sail area of 25,000 sf (2,300 m2). Crew: 580.
Dimensions: 285' x 62' x 27' (Metric: 87m x 19m x 8.4m) Displacement: 8,677 tons std. Hull: Iron. Armament: (4) 11" MLR (28 cm), (4) 10" MLR (254 mm); (6) 20-pdr BLR; (2) torpedo carriages. Wrought-iron armor: 11"/5½" belt (280/140mm); 8" battery (200 mm) with 10" (254mm) teak backing; 10"(250mm) forward barbette, 8" (200 mm) aft barbette; 8"/5" bulkheads (127/102mm); 1½"/1" (35/25 mm) deck. Propulsion: 8 coal-fired boilers; (2) Humphreys & Tennant vertical inverted compound engines developing 7,697 IHP (5,740 kW), shafted to twin screw. Speed: 14.65 knots (27.13 km/hr). Sail plan: Brig, with sail area of 25,000 sf (2,300 m2). Crew: 580.
H.M.S. Alexandra (1877)
Britain's greatest central battery ship, designed by Nathaniel Barnaby; built at Chatham 1873-7.
Click image to access our article on this memorable Mediterranean Fleet flagship.
More Central Battery Ships:
More Central Battery Ships: