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HMS Victoria (1859)
Encyclopedia
HMS Victoria was the last British
wooden first-rate
three-decked ship of the line
commissioned for sea service.
With a displacement of 6,959 tons, she was the largest wooden battleship which ever entered service. She was also the world's largest warship until the completion of HMS Warrior
, Britain's first ironclad battleship, in 1861.
Victoria´s hull was 79.2 metres (260 ft) long and 18.3 metres (60 ft) wide. She had a medium draught
of 8.4 metres (27.5 ft). Her hull was heavily strapped with diagonal iron riders for extra stability. Victoria was the first British battleship with two funnels.
She was armed with a total of 121 guns (32 8 inches (203.2 mm) guns on the lower gun deck, 30 8 inches (203.2 mm) guns on the central gun deck, 32 32-pounders on the upper gun deck, 26 32-pounders and one 68-pounder on the upper deck).
Victoria was ordered on 6 January 1855, laid down on 1 April 1856 at Portsmouth
, and launched on 12 November 1859. She cost a total of £150,578 (2010: £) and had a complement of 1,000.
During trials in Stokes Bay on 5 July 1860 Victoria reached a top speed of 11.797 knots (23.1 km/h), making her the fastest three decker worldwide. Her Maudslay engine was powered by 8 boilers and developed 4,403 ihp
.
After completion Victoria was laid up as part of the reserve fleet at Portsmouth from 1860 to 1864.
She first entered active service on 2 November 1864, when she became Flagship of the Mediterranean fleet under Vice-Admiral Smart and Captain Goodenough (from 1865: Rear-Admiral Lord Clarence Paget, Captain Gardner). Victoria was based in Malta until 1867 when she returned home. Her armament had been reduced to 102 guns.
Her last public appearance came at the 1867 Spithead Review and she was paid off on 7 August 1867. She became part of the reserve fleet at Portsmouth again, eventually had her armament reduced to 12 guns, and was sold for scrapping on 31 May 1893 without ever having entered service again.
Victoria´s slightly enlarged sister ship, HMS Howe
, was launched on 7 March 1860, and achieved 13.565 knots (26.6 km/h) on her sea trials on 1 June 1861 (not masted or stored) for an engine power of 4,564 ihp, but was never completed for sea as a line-of-battle ship. She first entered service in 1885 as a training ship at Plymouth, renamed Bulwark (6,557 tons, 12 Guns). She was moved to Devonport and renamed Impregnable in 1886. Renamed Bulwark again in 1919, she was finally sold for scrap in 1921.
United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland was the formal name of the United Kingdom during the period when what is now the Republic of Ireland formed a part of it....
wooden first-rate
First-rate
First rate was the designation used by the Royal Navy for its largest ships of the line. While the size and establishment of guns and men changed over the 250 years that the rating system held sway, from the early years of the eighteenth century the first rates comprised those ships mounting 100...
three-decked ship of the line
Ship of the line
A ship of the line was a type of naval warship constructed from the 17th through the mid-19th century to take part in the naval tactic known as the line of battle, in which two columns of opposing warships would manoeuvre to bring the greatest weight of broadside guns to bear...
commissioned for sea service.
With a displacement of 6,959 tons, she was the largest wooden battleship which ever entered service. She was also the world's largest warship until the completion of HMS Warrior
HMS Warrior (1860)
HMS Warrior was the first iron-hulled, armour-plated warship, built for the Royal Navy in response to the first ironclad warship, the French Gloire, launched a year earlier....
, Britain's first ironclad battleship, in 1861.
Victoria´s hull was 79.2 metres (260 ft) long and 18.3 metres (60 ft) wide. She had a medium draught
Draft (hull)
The draft of a ship's hull is the vertical distance between the waterline and the bottom of the hull , with the thickness of the hull included; in the case of not being included the draft outline would be obtained...
of 8.4 metres (27.5 ft). Her hull was heavily strapped with diagonal iron riders for extra stability. Victoria was the first British battleship with two funnels.
She was armed with a total of 121 guns (32 8 inches (203.2 mm) guns on the lower gun deck, 30 8 inches (203.2 mm) guns on the central gun deck, 32 32-pounders on the upper gun deck, 26 32-pounders and one 68-pounder on the upper deck).
Victoria was ordered on 6 January 1855, laid down on 1 April 1856 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...
, and launched on 12 November 1859. She cost a total of £150,578 (2010: £) and had a complement of 1,000.
During trials in Stokes Bay on 5 July 1860 Victoria reached a top speed of 11.797 knots (23.1 km/h), making her the fastest three decker worldwide. Her Maudslay engine was powered by 8 boilers and developed 4,403 ihp
Horsepower
Horsepower is the name of several units of measurement of power. The most common definitions equal between 735.5 and 750 watts.Horsepower was originally defined to compare the output of steam engines with the power of draft horses in continuous operation. The unit was widely adopted to measure the...
.
After completion Victoria was laid up as part of the reserve fleet at Portsmouth from 1860 to 1864.
She first entered active service on 2 November 1864, when she became Flagship of the Mediterranean fleet under Vice-Admiral Smart and Captain Goodenough (from 1865: Rear-Admiral Lord Clarence Paget, Captain Gardner). Victoria was based in Malta until 1867 when she returned home. Her armament had been reduced to 102 guns.
Her last public appearance came at the 1867 Spithead Review and she was paid off on 7 August 1867. She became part of the reserve fleet at Portsmouth again, eventually had her armament reduced to 12 guns, and was sold for scrapping on 31 May 1893 without ever having entered service again.
Victoria´s slightly enlarged sister ship, HMS Howe
HMS Howe (1860)
HMS Howe was built as a 121-gun screw first-rate ship of the line of the Royal Navy. She and her sister HMS Victoria were the first and only British three-decker ships of the line to be designed from the start for screw propulsion, but the Howe was never completed for sea service as she had...
, was launched on 7 March 1860, and achieved 13.565 knots (26.6 km/h) on her sea trials on 1 June 1861 (not masted or stored) for an engine power of 4,564 ihp, but was never completed for sea as a line-of-battle ship. She first entered service in 1885 as a training ship at Plymouth, renamed Bulwark (6,557 tons, 12 Guns). She was moved to Devonport and renamed Impregnable in 1886. Renamed Bulwark again in 1919, she was finally sold for scrap in 1921.