HMS Hercules was a central-battery ironclad 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...

 in the Victorian era, and was the first warship to mount a main armament of 10 inches (254 mm) calibre guns.

She was designed by Sir Edward Reed

Edward James Reed

Sir Edward James Reed , KCB, FRS, was a British naval architect, author, politician, and railroad magnate. He was the Chief Constructor of the Royal Navy from 1863 until 1870...

, and was in all significant factors an enlarged version of his earlier creation with thicker armour and heavier guns. She had a pointed ram where previous ships had sported a rounded one; she was built with a forecastle

Forecastle

Forecastle refers to the upper deck of a sailing ship forward of the foremast, or the forward part of a ship with the sailors' living quarters...

, but had no poop until fitted with one as preparation for her role as Flagship, Mediterranean Fleet. She carried a balanced rudder

Balanced rudder

The balanced rudder was an innovation in warship construction used as early as 1862 in the USS Monitor, one of the Union's first ironclads during the American Civil War...

, which reduced the physical effort of turning the wheel. Steam-powered steering was installed in 1874.

The arrangement of the guns precluded the usual arrangement where the anchor cable led into the main deck; in Hercules these cables led into the upper deck; she was the first battleship to be so fitted.

Armament

She was the first warship to carry the new 10 inches (254 mm) muzzle-loading rifle, which were ranged four on either side in a box battery

Box battery

The box battery disposition of the main armament in a battleship was commonly used in ships built in the latter half of the nineteenth century; it was an interim disposition between full length broadside guns and turret-mounted artillery....

. The foremost and aftermost guns could be traversed to fire to within a few degrees of the line of the keel through recessed embrasures in the battery walls. These guns, each of which weighed 18 tons, fired a shell weighing 400 pounds with a muzzle velocity of 1380 ft/s (420.6 m/s). A well-trained crew could fire one shot every 70 seconds.

In 1872 three of the 10 inch guns were damaged.

A 9 inches (228.6 mm) gun was placed on the mid-line on the main at stem and stern to provide end-on fire, and the 7 inches (177.8 mm) guns were mounted either side fore and aft on the upper deck, with firing embrasures cut to allow either end-on or broadside fire.

She carried two torpedo carriages for 14 inches (355.6 mm) Whitehead torpedoes on the main deck from 1878.

Service history

She was commissioned at Chatham, and served in the Channel Fleet

Channel Fleet

The Channel Fleet was the Royal Navy formation of warships that defended the waters of the English Channel from 1690 to 1909.-History:The Channel Fleet dates back at least to 1690 when its role was to defend England against the French threat under the leadership of Edward Russell, 1st Earl of...

 until 1874. In July 1871 she successfully towed off Pearl Rock (Gibraltar

Gibraltar

Gibraltar is a British overseas territory located on the southern end of the Iberian Peninsula at the entrance of the Mediterranean. A peninsula with an area of , it has a northern border with Andalusia, Spain. The Rock of Gibraltar is the major landmark of the region...

). She rammed in a gale in 1872, sustaining damage to bottom and sides. After a refit from 1874 to 1875 she was posted as Flagship, Mediterranean Fleet until 1877. Paid off at Portsmouth, she was re-commissioned as Flagship of the Particular Service Squadron formed under the command of Admiral Astley Cooper Key

Astley Cooper Key

Admiral Sir Astley Cooper Key, GCB, ADC, FRS was a Royal Navy officer who became First Naval Lord.-Naval career:Born the son of Charles Aston Key , a well-known surgeon, Key joined the Royal Navy in 1833...

 at the time of the Russian war scare in 1878. She was then relegated to the post of guardship in the Clyde

River Clyde

The River Clyde is a major river in Scotland. It is the ninth longest river in the United Kingdom, and the third longest in Scotland. Flowing through the major city of Glasgow, it was an important river for shipbuilding and trade in the British Empire....

 until 1881. She was flagship of the reserve fleet from 1881 until 1890, with a short break in 1885 when she formed part of the second Particular Service Squadron formed under Admiral Geoffrey Hornby.

Modernised between 1892 and 1893, she was held in reserve at Portsmouth until 1904. Her name changed to Calcutta, she served as depot ship at Gibraltar

Gibraltar

Gibraltar is a British overseas territory located on the southern end of the Iberian Peninsula at the entrance of the Mediterranean. A peninsula with an area of , it has a northern border with Andalusia, Spain. The Rock of Gibraltar is the major landmark of the region...

 until 1914; she was then towed home, her engines being by this time inoperable, and became an artificers' training establishment at Portsmouth

Portsmouth

Portsmouth is the second largest city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire on the south coast of England. Portsmouth is notable for being the United Kingdom's only island city; it is located mainly on Portsea Island...

under the name of Fisgard II. By this time she was lacking masts, funnels, armament and superstructure, and was quite unrecognisable as the ship which had been widely regarded as Reed's masterpiece.