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

HMS Black Prince (1861)

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, . For a brief period the two s were the most powerful warships in the world, being virtually impregnable to the naval guns...

. The class consisted of two ships, and .

Background

In 1859 the Admiralty was as yet not convinced that the cost of the 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 (21 km/h), which would leave the French ironclad La Gloire

French battleship La Gloire

The French Navy's La Gloire was the first ocean-going ironclad battleship in history.She was developed following the Crimean War, in response to new developments in naval gun technology, especially the Paixhans guns and rifled guns, which used explosive shells with increased destructive power...

 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

Henry Temple, 3rd Viscount Palmerston

Henry John Temple, 3rd Viscount Palmerston, KG, GCB, PC , known popularly as Lord Palmerston, was a British statesman who served twice as Prime Minister in the mid-19th century...

, was not convinced that the day of the wooden line-of-battle ship had passed.

Sir Nathaniel Barnaby

Nathaniel Barnaby

Sir Nathaniel Barnaby, KCB was Chief Constructor of the Royal Navy from 1872 to 1885....

, 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
	Palmers Palmers Shipbuilding and Iron Company Palmers Shipbuilding and Iron Company Limited, often referred to simply as Palmers, was a British shipbuilding company. The Company was based in Jarrow, in Northeast England and also had operations in Hebburn and Willington Quay on the River Tyne.... , Jarrow Jarrow Jarrow is a town in Tyne and Wear, England, located on the River Tyne, with a population of 27,526. From the middle of the 19th century until 1935, Jarrow was a centre for shipbuilding, and was the starting point of the Jarrow March against unemployment in 1936.-Foundation:The Angles re-occupied...	December 1859	24 April 1861	4 December 1861	Scrapped 1935	£252,422
	Westwood, Baillie Westwood, Baillie Westwood, Baillie and Co was a Victorian engineering and shipbuilding company based at London Yard in Cubitt Town, London.The company was set up in 1856 by Robert Baillie and Joseph Westwood, previously managers of Ditchburn and Mares shipyard.... , Cubitt Town Cubitt Town Cubitt Town is an area on the Isle of Dogs in Tower Hamlets in London, England. It is on the east of the Isle, facing Greenwich across the River Thames. To the west is Millwall, to the northwest Canary Wharf and to the north, across the Blue Bridge, Blackwall... , London	December 1859	11 April 1861	2 July 1862	Sold 1898, foundered under tow 1899	£258,120

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