HMS ''Devastation'' was the first of two ''Devastation''-class mastless

turret ship Turret ships were a 19th-century type of warship, the earliest to have their guns mounted in a revolving gun turret, instead of a broadside arrangement. Background Before the development of large-calibre, long-range guns in the mid-19th centur ...

s built for the

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the naval warfare force of the United Kingdom. It is a component of His Majesty's Naval Service, and its officers hold their commissions from the King of the United Kingdom, King. Although warships were used by Kingdom ...

. This was the first class of ocean-going

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that did not carry

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s, and the first in which the entire main armament was mounted on top of the hull rather than inside it.

Design and construction

''Devastation'' was built at a time in which

steam power A steam engine is a heat engine that performs mechanical work using steam as its working fluid. The steam engine uses the force produced by steam pressure to push a piston back and forth inside a cylinder. This pushing force can be transf ...

was well-established among the world's larger naval powers. However, most ships built at this time were equipped not only with a

steam engine A steam engine is a heat engine that performs Work (physics), mechanical work using steam as its working fluid. The steam engine uses the force produced by steam pressure to push a piston back and forth inside a Cylinder (locomotive), cyl ...

, but also with masts and sails for auxiliary power. The presence of masts also prohibited the use of

gun turret A gun turret (or simply turret) is a mounting platform from which weapons can be fired that affords protection, visibility and ability to turn and aim. A modern gun turret is generally a rotatable weapon mount that houses the crew or mechanis ...

s since the

rigging Rigging comprises the system of ropes, cables and chains, which support and control a sailing ship or sail boat's masts and sails. ''Standing rigging'' is the fixed rigging that supports masts including shrouds and stays. ''Running rigg ...

would obstruct their

arc of fire The field of fire or zone of fire (ZF) of a weapon, or group of weapons, is the area around it that can easily and effectively be reached by projectiles from a given position. Field of fire The term originally came from the ''field of fire'' in f ...

. ''Devastation'', designed by Sir Edward J. Reed, represented a change from this pattern when she was built without masts and her primary armament, two turrets each with two 12-inch (305 mm)

muzzle-loading A muzzleloader is any firearm in which the user loads the projectile and the propellant charge into the muzzle end of the gun (i.e., from the forward, open end of the gun's barrel). This is distinct from the modern designs of breech-loading fire ...

guns, was placed on the top of the hull, allowing each turret a 280-degree arc of fire. ''Devastation'' was the first

built to an Admiralty design. She was long

between perpendiculars Length between perpendiculars (often abbreviated as p/p, p.p., pp, LPP, LBP or Length BPP) is the length of a ship along the summer load line from the forward surface of the stem, or main bow perpendicular member, to the after surface of the ster ...

, with a beam of , a mean draught of , and had a freeboard of only . She was armed with four RML 12 inch 25 ton guns, mounted in pairs in two turrets, protected by armour thick. Her breastworks and hull were protected by of armour, and she was also fitted with a spur bow. The ship had a

double bottom A double hull is a ship hull design and construction method where the bottom and sides of the ship have two complete layers of watertight hull surface: one outer layer forming the normal hull of the ship, and a second inner hull which is some di ...

, and was divided internally into watertight compartments. She was propelled by two four-bladed

screws A screw is an externally helical threaded fastener capable of being tightened or released by a twisting force (torque) to the screw head, head. The most common uses of screws are to hold objects together and there are many forms for a variety ...

, in diameter, each powered by two direct-acting

trunk engine A marine steam engine is a steam engine that is used to power a ship or boat. This article deals mainly with marine steam engines of the reciprocating type, which were in use from the inception of the steamboat in the early 19th century to thei ...

s built by John Penn and Sons of

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, providing a total of , with eight boilers, working at , giving a maximum speed of . ''Devastation'' could carry 1,350 tons of coal, giving her a range of at 12 knots or at . She also carried 30 tons of water, enough for three weeks, and 19 tons of provisions, six weeks' supply for her crew of 329. Following the loss of the masted turret ship , which capsized and sank on 6 September 1870 with the loss of 500 men, almost her entire crew, a special committee was appointed to examine the design of this type of vessel, and particularly the ''Devastation''. Although they found no reason for concern in the stability of the ship, as a safety precaution a number of changes were made to the design. The freeboard was increased to , and armour-plated bulkheads, between thick, provided additional protection to the

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and engines. The 25-ton guns were replaced with RML 12 inch 35 ton guns. This additional weight increased her mean draught to .

Sea trial A sea trial or trial trip is the testing phase of a watercraft (including boats, ships, and submarines). It is also referred to as a "shakedown cruise" by many naval personnel. It is usually the last phase of construction and takes place on op ...

s were made in mid-1873 and generated an unusual amount of public interest; not just for the novelty of her appearance, but as the successor to the ''Captain''. In time trials she recorded a speed of , the engines producing . Gunnery trials were made off the

Isle of Wight The Isle of Wight (Help:IPA/English, /waɪt/ Help:Pronunciation respelling key, ''WYTE'') is an island off the south coast of England which, together with its surrounding uninhabited islets and Skerry, skerries, is also a ceremonial county. T ...

, firing Palliser shells. To judge her behaviour in various sea conditions she was then accompanied by the armoured ships and in a voyage from Plymouth to Castletownbere in southern Ireland, and from there she made two cruises out into the Atlantic. Apart from a tendency for her low

forecastle The forecastle ( ; contracted as fo'c'sle or fo'c's'le) is the upper deck (ship), deck of a sailing ship forward of the foremast, or, historically, the forward part of a ship with the sailors' living quarters. Related to the latter meaning is t ...

to be swept by the sea, she performed slightly better than her companions in both pitch and roll.

Service history

''Devastation'' was deployed to serve in the waters of the United Kingdom and the

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. In 1891, the 12-inch guns were replaced with 10-inch

breech-loading A breechloader is a firearm in which the user loads the ammunition from the breech end of the barrel (i.e., from the rearward, open end of the gun's barrel), as opposed to a muzzleloader, in which the user loads the ammunition from the ( muzzle ...

guns and she was refitted with new triple-expansion steam engines. In November 1898 Captain Frederick Inglefield was appointed as her commander. In March 1900 she is reported to have visited

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. In 1901 she was

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at the port of

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, until relieved as such by newly commissioned in February 1902. She left the

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headquarters at

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, homebound, on 19 February 1902, and after a last visit to Gibraltar arrived in

Plymouth Plymouth ( ) is a port city status in the United Kingdom, city and unitary authority in Devon, South West England. It is located on Devon's south coast between the rivers River Plym, Plym and River Tamar, Tamar, about southwest of Exeter and ...

on 2 April. She was

paid off Ship commissioning is the act or ceremony of placing a ship in active service and may be regarded as a particular application of the general concepts and practices of project commissioning. The term is most commonly applied to placing a warship i ...

at Devonport on 18 April, and proceeded to

Portsmouth Portsmouth ( ) is a port city status in the United Kingdom, city and unitary authority in Hampshire, England. Most of Portsmouth is located on Portsea Island, off the south coast of England in the Solent, making Portsmouth the only city in En ...

. On 21 June 1902 she was recommissioned as a tender to the torpedo school ship HMS ''Vernon''. She took part in the fleet review held at

Spithead Spithead is an eastern area of the Solent and a roadstead for vessels off Gilkicker Point in Hampshire, England. It is protected from all winds except those from the southeast, with the Isle of Wight lying to the south-west. Spithead and the ch ...

on 16 August 1902 for the

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of King

Edward VII Edward VII (Albert Edward; 9 November 1841 – 6 May 1910) was King of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions, and Emperor of India, from 22 January 1901 until Death and state funeral of Edward VII, his death in 1910. The second child ...

. Later, she was refitted again and assigned to the First Reserve Fleet based in Scotland. The ship was broken up in 1908.

Popular culture

* HMS ''Devastation'' is the ship depicted on " England's Glory" matchboxes. * Her badge was also issued by publishers for use in Monogram and Crest Albums – a popular collecting hobby of the second half of the 19th century. File:England's Glory.jpg, England's Glory matchbox Image:HMS Devastation.jpg, Heraldic badge used on

stationery Stationery refers to writing materials, including cut paper, envelopes, continuous form paper, and other office supplies. Stationery usually specifies materials to be written on by hand (e.g., letter paper) or by equipment such as computer p ...

Citations

References

* * * * Ross, David. Great Warships From The Age of Steam. New York: Metro Books, 2014. pp. 22–23

External links

* *
HMS ''Devastation'' (1871)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Devastation (1871) Devastation-class ironclads Ships built in Portsmouth 1871 ships Victorian-era battleships of the United Kingdom