HMS Condor was the name-ship of the Royal Navy

Royal Navy

The Royal Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Founded in the 16th century, it is the oldest service branch and is known as the Senior Service...

 Condor-class

Condor class gunvessel

The Condor-class gunvessel was a class of four Royal Navy composite gunvessels of 3 guns, built between 1876 and 1877. They were all hulked or sold before 1893, giving them an active life of less than 15 years.-Design:...

 composite gunvessel of 3 guns.

Construction

Designed by Nathaniel Barnaby

Nathaniel Barnaby

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

, the Royal Navy Director of Naval Construction

Director of Naval Construction

The Director of Naval Construction was a senior British civil servant post in the Admiralty, that part of the British Civil Service that oversaw the Royal Navy. The post existed from 1860 to 1966....

, her hull was of composite construction; that is, iron keel, frames, stem and stern posts with wooden planking. She was fitted with a 2-cylinder horizontal compound expansion steam engine driving a single screw, produced by John Elder & Co. She was rigged with three masts, with square rig on the fore- and main-masts, making her a barque

Barque

A barque, barc, or bark is a type of sailing vessel with three or more masts.- History of the term :The word barque appears to have come from the Greek word baris, a term for an Egyptian boat. This entered Latin as barca, which gave rise to the Italian barca, Spanish barco, and the French barge and...

-rigged vessel. Her keel was laid at Devonport Royal Dockyard

HMNB Devonport

Her Majesty's Naval Base Devonport , is one of three operating bases in the United Kingdom for the Royal Navy . HMNB Devonport is located in Devonport, in the west of the city of Plymouth in Devon, England...

 on 15 December 1875 and she was launched on 28 December 1876.

Mediterranean Fleet

After commissioning on 17 July 1877, Condor joined the Mediterranean Fleet

Mediterranean Fleet

Several countries have or have had a Mediterranean Fleet in their navy. See:* Mediterranean Fleet * French Mediterranean Fleet* Mediterranean Squadron * United States Sixth Fleet...

 in 1879, remaining there until at least 1886.

Bombardment of Alexandria

After rioting in Alexandria in which Europeans were killed, Admiral Seymour

Beauchamp Seymour, 1st Baron Alcester

Admiral Frederick Beauchamp Paget Seymour, 1st Baron Alcester, GCB was a British naval commander. He was Commander-in-Chief of the Channel Fleet between 1874 and 1877 and of the Mediterranean Fleet between 1880 and 1883....

 aboard HMS Invincible

HMS Invincible (1869)

HMS Invincible was an Audacious-class ironclad battleship of the Royal Navy. She was built at the Napier shipyard and completed in 1870. Completed just 10 years after , she still carried sails as well as a steam engine.-Armament:...

 in company with a fleet of 15 ironclads arrived at Alexandria to protect the lives and property of British subjects. The local forces began work to improve the fortifications, and when they failed to respond to Seymour's ultimatum to stop work, a bombardment was begun.

Seymour signaled to Alexandra

HMS Alexandra (1875)

HMS Alexandra was a central battery ironclad of the Victorian Royal Navy, whose seagoing career was from 1877 to 1900. She spent much of her career as a flagship, and took part in operations to deter Russian aggression against Turkey in 1878 and the bombardment of Alexandria in 1882.-Background:At...

 to commence firing at the Ras-el-Tin fortifications at 7:00 a.m. on 11 July 1882, followed by the general order to attack the enemy's batteries. The offshore squadron at first conducted the attack while underway, but this proved difficult, and by 9:40, Sultan

HMS Sultan (1870)

HMS Sultan was a broadside ironclad of the Royal Navy of the Victorian era, who carried her main armament in a central box battery. She was named for Sultan Abdülâziz of the Ottoman Empire, who was visiting England when she was laid down. Abdülâziz cultivated, good relations with the Second French...

, Superb

HMS Superb (1875)

HMS Superb was an ironclad battleship designed by Sir Edward Reed for the Ottoman Navy, and was built in Britain by Thames Ironworks under the name of Hamidieh. She had both engines and sails....

 and Alexandra had anchored off the Lighthouse Fort and concentrated their fire on Ras-el-Tin. By 12:30, Inflexible had joined the attack and the fort's guns were silenced.
Meanwhile, Temeraire

HMS Temeraire (1876)

HMS Temeraire was an ironclad battleship of the Victorian Royal Navy which was unique in that she carried her main armament partly in the traditional broadside battery, and partly in barbettes on the upper deck.-Design and construction:...

 had taken on the Mex Forts and was causing damage to Mex when she grounded on a reef. Condor, commanded by Lord Charles Beresford

Lord Charles Beresford

Charles William de la Poer Beresford, 1st Baron Beresford GCB GCVO , styled Lord Charles Beresford between 1859 and 1916, was a British Admiral and Member of Parliament....

, went to her assistance and she was refloated and resumed the attack. While the offshore squadron was engaging the forts at long-range, Monarch

HMS Monarch (1868)

HMS Monarch was the first sea-going warship to carry her guns in turrets, and the first British warship to carry guns of calibre.-Design:...

, Penelope

HMS Penelope (1867)

HMS Penelope was the last small ironclad to be commissioned in the Royal Navy.Because of the absence through illness of the Chief Constructor, Sir Edward Reed, the design of this ship was entrusted to his brother-in-law and the future Chief Constructor, Nathaniel Barnaby.-Design:She was...

and Condor were ordered into close engagements with the forts at Maza-el-Kanat and Fort Marabout. Condor sailed to within 1,200 feet of Fort Marabout and began furiously firing at the fort. When Fort Marabout's guns were disabled, the flagship signaled "Well Done, Condor." Condors action allowed the ships to finish off Fort Mex.