HMS Lord Clyde

Last updated

Our Iron-Clad Fleet, HMS Lord Clyde - ILN 1867.jpg
Lord Clyde in 1867
History
Naval Ensign of the United Kingdom.svgUnited Kingdom
NameLord Clyde
Namesake Field Marshal Colin Campbell, 1st Baron Clyde
Ordered3 July 1863
Builder Pembroke Naval Dockyard
Laid down29 September 1863
Launched13 October 1864
Completed15 September 1866
CommissionedJune 1866
Decommissioned1872
FateSold for scrap, 1875
General characteristics (as completed)
Class and type Lord Clyde-class armoured frigate
Displacement7,842 long tons (7,968  t)
Tons burthen4,067 (bm)
Length280 ft (85.3 m) (p/p)
Beam59 ft (18 m)
Draught27 ft 11 in (8.5 m)
Installed power
Propulsion1 shaft; 1 horizontal return connecting rod-steam engine
Sail plan Ship rig
Speed13 knots (24 km/h; 15 mph)
Complement605
Armament

HMS Lord Clyde was the name ship of the wooden-hulled Lord Clyde class of two armoured frigates [Note 1] built for the Royal Navy (RN) during the 1860s. She and her sister ship, Lord Warden, were the heaviest wooden ships ever built and were also the fastest steaming wooden ships in the RN. [1] Lord Clyde was initially assigned to the Channel Fleet in 1866, but was transferred to the Mediterranean Fleet in 1868. The ship suffered engine problems throughout her career and it needed to be replaced after only two years of service. She rejoined the Mediterranean Fleet in 1871, but was badly damaged when she ran aground the next year. When Lord Clyde was under repair, her hull was found to be rotten and she was sold for scrap in 1875.

Contents

Design and description

HMS Lord Clyde was 280 feet (85.3 m) long between perpendiculars and had a beam of 58 feet 11 inches (18.0 m). The ship had a draught of 23 feet 9 inches (7.2 m) forward and 27 feet 2 inches (8.3 m) aft. She displaced 7,842 long tons (7,968  t ) and had a tonnage of 4,067 tons burthen. [2]

Lord Clyde had a very low centre of gravity which meant that she rolled very badly; she was said to be the worst roller 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", the Lord Clydes being beyond compare. Lord Clyde generally performed worse than did her sister ship, Lord Warden. [3] 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. She was, however, very handy and sailed well in all weathers under sail or steam; her first captain reported that she was "as handy as a frigate". [4] Her crew consisted of 605 officers and ratings. [1]

Propulsion

The ship had a single two-cylinder trunk steam engine, made by Ravenhill and Hodgson, that drove a single propeller [5] using steam provided by nine rectangular boilers. [6] The engine, the largest and most powerful yet built, [7] produced 6,064 indicated horsepower (4,522  kW ) which gave Lord Clyde a speed of 13.4 knots (24.8 km/h; 15.4 mph) under steam. [1] The severe vibration of the engine, coupled with the flexibility of the wooden hull, caused major problems during the ship's career. After only two years, the engine was worn out and everything but the condensers and shafting had to be replaced. She carried a maximum of 600 long tons (610 t) of coal. [8]

Lord Clyde was ship-rigged with three masts and had a sail area of 31,000 square feet (2,900 m2). [9] To reduce drag, the funnels were telescopic and could be lowered. Her best speed under sail alone was 10.5 knots (19.4 km/h; 12.1 mph), nearly the slowest of any British ironclad. The ship holds "the double record of being the largest ship of any type or of any nationality ever to enter Plymouth Sound or Spithead on sail alone". [4]

Armament

The ship was initially armed with 24 seven-inch 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 16 guns were mounted on the broadside amidships. [10] The seven-inch (178 mm) 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. [11]

Lord Clyde's original armament was replaced during her 1870 refit with a pair of RML nine-inch guns and 14 RML eight-inch guns; she only retained a pair of her original seven-inch guns. The latter guns remained in position as forward chase guns on the main deck; one of the nine-inch (229 mm) guns became the chase gun on the upper deck and the other replaced the pair of seven-inch aft chase guns on the main deck. Also on the upper deck were a pair of eight-inch (203 mm) guns on the broadside and the remaining 12 eight-inch guns were mounted on the main deck on the broadside amidships. [12]

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. [11] 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. [11]

Armour

The entire side of Lord Clyde'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. [13]

Construction and service

Lord Clyde, named after the recently deceased Field Marshal Colin Campbell, 1st Baron Clyde, [14] was ordered on 3 July 1863 from Pembroke Naval Dockyard. She was laid down on 29 September 1863 and launched on 13 October 1864. The ship was commissioned in June 1866 to run her sea trials and completed on 15 September, [15] for the cost of £285,750 [16] or £294,481, exclusive of armament. [17]

Commanded by Captain Roderick Dew, the ship was initially assigned to the Channel Fleet where she spent three months as temporary flagship before she was transferred to the Mediterranean in 1868. Lord Clyde made one cruise with the Mediterranean Fleet during which she fractured her steel mainyard in a squall. Her engines continued to deteriorate and they were condemned as no longer safe to use by the fleet engineer when she arrived in Naples. The ship was sent to the Malta Dockyard under sail for repair, but they could only make temporary repairs that would enable her to reach home. [18]

Upon arrival at Plymouth, Lord Clyde was paid off and a new engine was built for her at Devonport Dockyard. In addition, her four-bladed propeller was replaced by a lighter, two-bladed propeller with less drag and the ship was rearmed. She remained in reserve until 1871 when she recommissioned under the command of Captain John Bythesea, an officer who had won the Victoria Cross during the Crimean War of 1854–1855. Lord Clyde rejoined the Mediterranean Fleet. [19]

The Lord Clyde ashore on the Island of Pantellaria, shows the Turkish screw-steamer Babel, which rendered assistance in laying out a bower anchor for the Lord Clyde to heave off with. The Raby Castle is seen lying beyond the rocks. Illustrated London News 1872 HMS 'Lord Clyde' ashore on the Island of Pantellaria - ILN-1872-0406-0020.jpg
The Lord Clyde ashore on the Island of Pantellaria, shows the Turkish screw-steamer Babel, which rendered assistance in laying out a bower anchor for the Lord Clyde to heave off with. The Raby Castle is seen lying beyond the rocks. Illustrated London News 1872

On 14 March 1872, [20] she ran aground herself whilst attempting to rescue the British steamship Raby Castle that had gone aground off the island of Pantellaria, Italy. The Lord Warden and several lighters were sent to her assistance. [21] [22] Attempts to lighten the ship enough to float her off were futile and she remained stuck fast taking damage from wave action that strained her back and wrenched off her sternpost, rudder post and rudder. Lord Warden was able to pull her off four days later and tow her to be repaired at Malta where the dockyard estimated repairs would take six months. Bythesea and his navigator were convicted during their court-martial and neither ever served at sea again. [19] [23]

The Admiralty ordered that Lord Clyde be only repaired enough to allow for a passage home; that required six months of work at a cost of £417, [19] [20] and the ship was escorted back to Plymouth by the ironclad Defence. She was again paid off upon arrival and her engines and boilers were removed to allow for her hull to be thoroughly inspected. The dockworkers found that her entire hull was colonized by a fungus, partly because unseasoned wood had been used in the ship's construction, and they spent the next three years attempting to kill the fungus and stop the continuing deterioration. All efforts failed and Lord Clyde was sold for scrap before she lost all value [19] in 1875 for £3,730. [9]

Notes

  1. ↑ Ironclad is the all-encompassing term for armoured warships of this period.

Footnotes

  1. 1 2 3 Parkes, p. 94
  2. ↑ Ballard, p. 241
  3. ↑ Parkes, pp. 57, 97
  4. 1 2 Ballard, p. 82
  5. ↑ Ballard, p. 80
  6. ↑ Roberts, p. 13
  7. ↑ Ballard, p. 81
  8. ↑ Ballard, pp. 81, 246
  9. 1 2 Parkes, p. 97
  10. ↑ Ballard, p. 79
  11. 1 2 3 Roberts, p. 6
  12. ↑ Parkes, pp. 93–96
  13. ↑ Ballard, pp. 77–78
  14. ↑ Silverstone, p. 248
  15. ↑ Ballard, p. 240
  16. ↑ Parkes, p. 93
  17. ↑ Reed, p. 218
  18. ↑ Ballard, pp. 83–84
  19. 1 2 3 4 Ballard, p. 84
  20. 1 2 "Naval Disasters Since 1860". Hampshire Telegraph. No. 4250. Portsmouth. 10 May 1873.
  21. ↑ "Latest Shipping Intelligence". The Times. No. 27324. London. 14 March 1872. col F, p. 11.
  22. ↑ "News in Brief". The Times. No. 27326. London. 16 March 1872. col B, p. 11.
  23. ↑ "(untitled)". The Times. No. 27362. London. 27 April 1872. col D, p. 9.

Related Research Articles

HMS <i>Enterprise</i> (1864) Armoured sloop from UK

The seventh HMS Enterprise of the Royal Navy was an armoured sloop launched in 1864 at Deptford Dockyard. Originally laid down as a wooden screw sloop of the Camelion class, she was redesigned by Edward Reed and completed as a central battery ironclad. The ship spent the bulk of her career assigned to the Mediterranean Fleet before returning to England in 1871 where she was paid off. Enterprise was sold for scrap in 1885.

HMS <i>Warrior</i> (1860) Warrior-class ironclad steamship of the Royal Navy (in service 1861–83)

HMS Warrior is a 40-gun steam-powered armoured frigate built for the Royal Navy in 1859–1861. She was the name ship of the Warrior-class ironclads. Warrior and her sister ship HMS Black Prince were the first armour-plated, iron-hulled warships, and were built in response to France's launching in 1859 of the first ocean-going ironclad warship, the wooden-hulled Gloire. Warrior conducted a publicity tour of Great Britain in 1863 and spent her active career with the Channel Squadron. Obsolescent following the 1873 commissioning of the mastless and more capable HMS Devastation, she was placed in reserve in 1875, and was "paid off" – decommissioned – in 1883.

HMS <i>Devastation</i> (1871) Devastation-class turret ship

HMS Devastation was the first of two Devastation-class mastless turret ships built for the Royal Navy. This was the first class of ocean-going capital ship that did not carry sails, and the first whose entire main armament was mounted on top of the hull rather than inside it.

HMS <i>Dreadnought</i> (1875) 1875 ironclad turret ship of the Royal Navy

HMS Dreadnought was an ironclad turret ship built for the Royal Navy during the 1870s. Construction was halted less than a year after it began and she was redesigned to improve her stability and buoyancy. Upon completion in 1879, the ship was placed in reserve until she was commissioned in 1884 for service with the Mediterranean Fleet. Upon her return 10 years later, she became a coast guard ship in Ireland for two years. The ship then became a depot ship in 1897 before she was reclassified as a second-class battleship in 1900. Dreadnought participated in the annual fleet manoeuvres for the next two years before she became a training ship in 1902. The ship was taken out of service three years later and sold for scrap in 1908.

HMS <i>Agincourt</i> (1865) Minotaur-class armoured frigate of the Royal Navy

HMS Agincourt was a Minotaur-class armoured frigate built for the Royal Navy during the 1860s. She spent most of her career as the flagship of the Channel Squadron's second-in-command. During the Russo-Turkish War of 1877–1878, she was one of the ironclads sent to Constantinople to forestall a Russian occupation of the Ottoman capital. Agincourt participated in Queen Victoria's Golden Jubilee Fleet Review in 1887. The ship was placed in reserve two years later and served as a training ship from 1893 to 1909. That year she was converted into a coal hulk and renamed as C.109. Agincourt served at Sheerness until sold for scrap in 1960.

HMS <i>Black Prince</i> (1861) 1861 Warrior-class ironclad ship

HMS Black Prince was the third ship of that name to serve with the Royal Navy. She was the world's second ocean-going, iron-hulled, armoured warship, following her sister ship, HMS Warrior. For a brief period the two Warrior-class ironclads were the most powerful warships in the world, being virtually impregnable to the naval guns of the time. Rapid advances in naval technology left Black Prince and her sister obsolete within a short time, however, and she spent more time in reserve and training roles than in first-line service.

HMS <i>Minotaur</i> (1863) Lead ship of the British Minotaur-class armoured frigates

HMS Minotaur was the lead ship of the Minotaur-class armoured frigates built for the Royal Navy during the 1860s. Minotaur took nearly four years between her launching and commissioning because she was used for evaluations of her armament and different sailing rigs.

HMS <i>Iron Duke</i> (1870) Audacious-class central battery ironclad (1870)

HMS Iron Duke was the last of four Audacious-class central battery ironclads built for the Royal Navy in the late 1860s. Completed in 1871, the ship was briefly assigned to the Reserve Fleet as a guardship in Ireland, before she was sent out to the China Station as its flagship. Iron Duke returned four years later and resumed her duties as a guardship. She accidentally rammed and sank her sister ship, Vanguard, in a heavy fog in mid-1875 and returned to the Far East in 1878. The ship ran aground twice during this deployment and returned home in 1883. After a lengthy refit, Iron Duke was assigned to the Channel Fleet in 1885 and remained there until she again became a guardship in 1890. The ship was converted into a coal hulk a decade later and continued in that role until 1906 when she was sold for scrap and broken up.

HMS <i>Thunderer</i> (1872) Royal Navy Devastation-class turret ship

HMS Thunderer was one of two Devastation-class ironclad turret ships built for the Royal Navy in the 1870s. She suffered two serious accidents before the decade was out and gained a reputation as an unlucky ship for several years afterward. The ship was assigned to the Mediterranean Fleet in 1878 and was reduced to reserve in 1881 before being recommissioned in 1885. Thunderer returned home in 1887 and was again placed in reserve. She rejoined the Mediterranean Fleet in 1891, but was forced to return to the UK by boiler problems the following year. The ship became a coast guard ship in Wales in 1895 and was again placed in reserve in 1900. Thunderer was taken out of service in 1907 and sold for scrap in 1909.

HMS <i>Royal Oak</i> (1862) Prince Consort-class armoured frigate

HMS Royal Oak was a Prince Consort-class armoured frigate built for the Royal Navy in the 1860s. The lead ship of her class, she is sometimes described as a half-sister to the other three ships because of her different engine and boiler arrangements. Like her sisters, she was converted into an ironclad from a wooden ship of the line that was still under construction.

HMS <i>Defence</i> (1861) 1861 ship of the Royal Navy

HMS Defence was the lead ship of the Defence-class armoured frigates ordered by the Royal Navy in 1859. Upon completion in 1862 she was assigned to the Channel Fleet. The ship was paid off in 1866 to be refitted and rearmed and was briefly reassigned to the Channel Fleet when she recommissioned in 1868. Defence had short tours on the North Atlantic and Mediterranean Stations, relieving other ironclads, from 1869 to 1872 before she was refitted again from 1872 to 1874. She became guard ship on the River Shannon when she recommissioned. The ship was transferred to the Channel Fleet again in 1876 and then became guard ship on the River Mersey until 1885. Defence was placed in reserve until 1890, when she was assigned to the mechanical training school in Devonport in 1890. She was renamed Indus when the school adopted that name and served there until sold for scrap in 1935.

HMS <i>Resistance</i> (1861) British defence-class ironclads

HMS Resistance was the second of two Defence-class ironclads built for the Royal Navy in the 1860s. She was the first capital ship in the Royal Navy to be fitted with a ram and was given the nickname of Old Rammo. Resistance was initially assigned to the Channel Fleet upon commissioning, but was transferred to the Mediterranean Fleet in 1864, the first ironclad to be assigned to that fleet. She was rearmed in 1867 and became a guardship when recommissioned in 1869. The ship was reassigned to the Channel Fleet in 1873 before reverting to her former duties in 1877. Resistance was decommissioned in 1880 and was used for gunnery and torpedo trials beginning in 1885. The ship was sold for scrap in 1898 and foundered in 1899 en route to the breaker's yard. She was salvaged and later scrapped.

HMS <i>Achilles</i> (1863) Armoured frigate of the Royal Navy

HMS Achilles was an armoured frigate built for the Royal Navy in the 1860s. Upon her completion in 1864 she was assigned to the Channel Fleet. The ship was paid off in 1868 to refit and be re-armed. When she recommissioned in 1869, she was assigned as the guard ship of the Fleet Reserve in the Portland District until 1874. Achilles was refitted and re-armed again in 1874 and became the guard ship of the Liverpool District in 1875. Two years later, she was rejoined the Channel Fleet before going to the Mediterranean in 1878. The ship returned to the Channel Fleet in 1880 and served until she was paid off in 1885.

HMS <i>Ocean</i> (1863) 1860s Prince Consort-class ironclad of the Royal Navy

HMS Ocean was the last of the Royal Navy's four Prince Consort-class ironclads to be completed in the mid-1860s. She was originally laid down as a 91-gun second-rate ship of the line, and was converted during construction to an armoured frigate. The ship spent the bulk of her career on the China Station and served as flagship there for a time. Upon her return to Great Britain in 1872 her hull was found to be partly rotten and she was placed in reserve until she was sold for scrap in 1882.

HMS <i>Northumberland</i> (1866) 1866 ship

HMS Northumberland was the last of the three Minotaur-class armoured frigates built for the Royal Navy during the 1860s. She had a different armour scheme and heavier armament than her sister ships, and was generally regarded as a half-sister to the other ships of the class. The ship spent her career with the Channel Squadron and occasionally served as a flagship. Northumberland was placed in reserve in 1890 and became a training ship in 1898. She was converted into a coal hulk in 1910 [see below] and sold in 1927, although the ship was not scrapped until 1935.

HMS <i>Zealous</i> (1864) British Bulwark-class armoured frigates

HMSZealous was one of the three ships forming the second group of wooden steam battleships selected in 1860 for conversion to ironclads. This was done in response to the perceived threat to Britain offered by the large French ironclad building programme. The ship was ordered to the West Coast of Canada after she was completed to represent British interests in the Eastern Pacific Ocean. Zealous became the flagship for the Pacific Station for six years until she was relieved in 1872. She was refitted upon her arrival and subsequently became the guard ship at Southampton until she was paid off in 1875. The ship was in reserve until she was sold for scrap in 1886.

HMS <i>Lord Warden</i> Ship of the Lord Clyde class of armoured frigates

HMS Lord Warden was the second and last ship of the wooden-hulled Lord Clyde class of armoured frigates built for the Royal Navy (RN) during the 1860s. She and her sister ship, Lord Clyde, were the heaviest wooden ships ever built and were also the fastest steaming wooden ships. They were also the slowest-sailing ironclads in the RN.

HMS <i>Bellerophon</i> (1865)

HMS Bellerophon was a central battery ironclad built for the Royal Navy in the mid-1860s.

HMS <i>Inconstant</i> (1868) British screw frigate

HMS Inconstant was an unarmored, iron-hulled, screw frigate built for the Royal Navy in the late 1860s. Upon completion in 1869, she was the fastest warship in the world and was assigned to the Channel Squadron. Two years later the ship was transferred to the Detached Squadron for a brief time before she was paid off into reserve in 1872. Inconstant was recommissioned in 1880 for service with the Flying Squadron that circumnavigated the world in 1880–82. On the return voyage, the ship was diverted to Egypt during the Anglo-Egyptian War of 1882 and played a minor role supporting operations ashore. She was reduced to reserve again after her return and was served as an accommodation ship in 1897. Inconstant was hulked in 1904 and became a training ship in 1906. She continued in that role, under a variety of names, until she was sold for scrap in 1955 and subsequently broken up, the second-to-last surviving Pembroke-built warship in existence.

HMS <i>Undaunted</i> (1886) Cruiser of the Royal Navy

HMS Undaunted was one of seven Orlando-class armoured cruisers built for the Royal Navy in the mid-1880s.

References

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.