The Audacious-classironclad battleships were designed by Sir Edward Reed at the request of the Board of Admiralty to serve as second-class battleships on distant foreign stations.
A 9-inch (229 mm) muzzle-loadingrifle aboard HMS Iron Duke c. 1870s. Hanging from the deckhead above the gun are its ramming staff and its sponging-out staff. One of the gun's shells, partially obscured by the glare from outside, is hanging in the gunport in front of the gun.
The principal motivation driving the Admiralty was the French policy, already well advanced, of dispatching their own small ironclads to these same distant stations. HMS Monarch was under construction, and HMS Captain had been authorised. Both of these were turret-armed ships, and the press agitated for a turret-mounted armament in these newly ordered ships. The Admiralty, however, decided that as there had been built a long succession of successful broadside ironclads, and no turret-armed ships had been produced other than some coastal defence ships of low displacement and limited range, it would be better to await the assessment of Monarch and Captain before departing from the broadside principle.
As the ships were intended for service in waters far distant from Britain, and given the limited efficiency of the steam engines of the period, it was necessary to equip them with a full sailing rig. Reed never wavered from his belief that in a fully rigged ship armament carried in a central broadside battery was the superior method, being unobstructed by masts and rigging. Both the designer and the Admiralty were therefore in total agreement that these ships should not be armed with turret-mounted artillery. The rig was later converted to a barque-rig, which required fewer hands to manage.[1]
The ships were designed following the lines of HMS Defence, by then, more than five years old. Reed found that, on the dimensions of the older ship, the armament, armour and machinery would all be insufficient for the stated requirements, and asked for an increase in tonnage, which was reluctantly granted by the Board.
Although four ships were required, initially only two, HMS Audacious and HMS Invincible were laid down. The Admiralty, following a commitment made to Parliament by the First Lord of the Admiralty, put the other two ships out to tender. Submissions of various designs were received: a broadside and turret ship from Mare & Company, a broadside ship from Palmers, a different broadside ship from Thames Ironworks, and turret ships from Napiers, Samudas and Lairds Co & Sons. All were determined to be in some way inadequate, and ultimately the third and fourth ships were built, with some delay, to the Admiralty design.
This class was the first homogeneous class of battleships to be launched since the Prince Consort class, and the last until the Admiral class.
Shipsedit
Audacious : Launched 27 February 1869. Renamed HMS Fisgard in 1902 and reclassified as a Depot ship. Renamed HMS Imperieuse in 1914 and reclassified as a Repair ship. Sold for breaking up 12 March 1927.
Invincible : Launched 29 May 1869. Reclassified as a Depot ship in 1901. Renamed HMS Erebus in 1904. Renamed HMS Fisgard II and reclassified as a Training ship in 1906. Sank while under tow on 17 September 1914.
Iron Duke : Launched 1 March 1870. Put into Reserve 1890, converted to coal hulk 1900. Sold for scrap 15 May 1906.
Vanguard : Launched 3 January 1870. Sunk after accidental collision with Iron Duke on 1 September 1875.
Beeler, John (2001). Birth of the Battleship: British Capital Ship Design 1870–1881. Annapolis, Maryland: Naval Institute Press. ISBN1-55750-213-7.
Brown, David K. (1997). Warrior to Dreadnought: Warship Development 1860–1905. London: Chatham Publishing. ISBN1-86176-022-1.
Dodson, Aidan (2015), "The Incredible Hulks: The Fisgard Training Establishment and Its Ships", Warship 2015, London: Conway, pp. 29–43, ISBN978-1-84486-276-4
Lyon, David & Winfield, Rif (2004). The Sail & Steam Navy List: All the Ships of the Royal Navy 1815–1889. London: Chatham Publishing. ISBN1-86176-032-9.
Preston, Antony (1985). "Great Britain and Empire Forces". In Gray, Randal (ed.). Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships 1906–1921. Annapolis, Maryland: Naval Institute Press. pp. 1–104. ISBN0-85177-245-5.
Silverstone, Paul H. (1984). Directory of the World's Capital Ships. New York: Hippocrene Books. ISBN0-88254-979-0.
External linksedit
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Audacious class battleship.
January 01, 1970
audacious, class, ironclad, this, article, needs, additional, citations, verification, please, help, improve, this, article, adding, citations, reliable, sources, unsourced, material, challenged, removed, find, sources, news, newspapers, books, scholar, jstor,. This article needs additional citations for verification Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources Unsourced material may be challenged and removed Find sources Audacious class ironclad news newspapers books scholar JSTOR January 2013 Learn how and when to remove this message The Audacious class ironclad battleships were designed by Sir Edward Reed at the request of the Board of Admiralty to serve as second class battleships on distant foreign stations HMS Vanguard with the later barque rigClass overview NameAudacious class Built1867 1870 In commission1870 1927 Completed4 Lost2 General characteristics TypeIronclad warship DisplacementAudacious Invincible 6 106 tons Iron Duke Vanguard 6 034 tons LengthAudacious Invincible 280 ft 85 m Iron Duke Vanguard 341 ft 3 in 104 01 m Beam54 ft 16 m DraughtAudacious Invincible 22 ft 7 in 6 88 m Iron Duke Vanguard 23 ft 2 in 7 06 m PropulsionCoal fired reciprocating steam engines 6 boilers 2 shafts Sail planFull rigged ship later converted to barque rig 1 SpeedAudacious Invincible 13 5 knots 25 0 km h 15 5 mph Iron Duke Vanguard 13 knots 24 km h 15 mph Complement450 ArmamentAudacious Invincible 10 9 inch guns 4 64 pounder guns Iron Duke Vanguard 10 12 ton 9 inch 229 mm RML guns 4 6 in 150 mm 64 pounder 29 kg RML chaser guns 2 at bows 2 at stern 6 20 pounder 9 kg guns Ram ArmourAudacious Invincible 8 ft 2 4 m waterline belt 6 to 8 in 150 to 200 mm thick Central battery 6 to 8 in 150 to 200 mm armour 10 in 250 mm teak backing Iron Duke Vanguard Iron plating with teak backing Belt 6 to 8 in 150 to 200 mm Battery 4 to 6 in 100 to 150 mm Bulkheads 4 to 5 in 100 to 130 mm Contents 1 Background and design 2 Ships 3 References 4 Bibliography 5 External linksBackground and design edit nbsp A 9 inch 229 mm muzzle loading rifle aboard HMS Iron Duke c 1870s Hanging from the deckhead above the gun are its ramming staff and its sponging out staff One of the gun s shells partially obscured by the glare from outside is hanging in the gunport in front of the gun The principal motivation driving the Admiralty was the French policy already well advanced of dispatching their own small ironclads to these same distant stations HMS Monarch was under construction and HMS Captain had been authorised Both of these were turret armed ships and the press agitated for a turret mounted armament in these newly ordered ships The Admiralty however decided that as there had been built a long succession of successful broadside ironclads and no turret armed ships had been produced other than some coastal defence ships of low displacement and limited range it would be better to await the assessment of Monarch and Captain before departing from the broadside principle As the ships were intended for service in waters far distant from Britain and given the limited efficiency of the steam engines of the period it was necessary to equip them with a full sailing rig Reed never wavered from his belief that in a fully rigged ship armament carried in a central broadside battery was the superior method being unobstructed by masts and rigging Both the designer and the Admiralty were therefore in total agreement that these ships should not be armed with turret mounted artillery The rig was later converted to a barque rig which required fewer hands to manage 1 The ships were designed following the lines of HMS Defence by then more than five years old Reed found that on the dimensions of the older ship the armament armour and machinery would all be insufficient for the stated requirements and asked for an increase in tonnage which was reluctantly granted by the Board Although four ships were required initially only two HMS Audacious and HMS Invincible were laid down The Admiralty following a commitment made to Parliament by the First Lord of the Admiralty put the other two ships out to tender Submissions of various designs were received a broadside and turret ship from Mare amp Company a broadside ship from Palmers a different broadside ship from Thames Ironworks and turret ships from Napiers Samudas and Lairds Co amp Sons All were determined to be in some way inadequate and ultimately the third and fourth ships were built with some delay to the Admiralty design This class was the first homogeneous class of battleships to be launched since the Prince Consort class and the last until the Admiral class Ships editAudacious Launched 27 February 1869 Renamed HMS Fisgard in 1902 and reclassified as a Depot ship Renamed HMS Imperieuse in 1914 and reclassified as a Repair ship Sold for breaking up 12 March 1927 Invincible Launched 29 May 1869 Reclassified as a Depot ship in 1901 Renamed HMS Erebus in 1904 Renamed HMS Fisgard II and reclassified as a Training ship in 1906 Sank while under tow on 17 September 1914 Iron Duke Launched 1 March 1870 Put into Reserve 1890 converted to coal hulk 1900 Sold for scrap 15 May 1906 Vanguard Launched 3 January 1870 Sunk after accidental collision with Iron Duke on 1 September 1875 References edit a b Lyon amp Winfield p 250Bibliography editBallard G A Admiral 1980 The Black Battlefleet Annapolis Maryland Naval Institute Press ISBN 0 87021 924 3 a href Template Cite book html title Template Cite book cite book a CS1 maint multiple names authors list link Beeler John 2001 Birth of the Battleship British Capital Ship Design 1870 1881 Annapolis Maryland Naval Institute Press ISBN 1 55750 213 7 Brown David K 1997 Warrior to Dreadnought Warship Development 1860 1905 London Chatham Publishing ISBN 1 86176 022 1 Dodson Aidan 2015 The Incredible Hulks The Fisgard Training Establishment and Its Ships Warship 2015 London Conway pp 29 43 ISBN 978 1 84486 276 4 Friedman Norman 2018 British Battleships of the Victorian Era Annapolis Maryland Naval Institute Press ISBN 978 1 68247 329 0 Lyon David amp Winfield Rif 2004 The Sail amp Steam Navy List All the Ships of the Royal Navy 1815 1889 London Chatham Publishing ISBN 1 86176 032 9 Parkes Oscar 1990 1957 British Battleships Annapolis Maryland Naval Institute Press ISBN 1 55750 075 4 Preston Antony 1985 Great Britain and Empire Forces In Gray Randal ed Conway s All the World s Fighting Ships 1906 1921 Annapolis Maryland Naval Institute Press pp 1 104 ISBN 0 85177 245 5 Silverstone Paul H 1984 Directory of the World s Capital Ships New York Hippocrene Books ISBN 0 88254 979 0 External links edit nbsp Wikimedia Commons has media related to Audacious class battleship Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Audacious class ironclad amp oldid 1209000897, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
