The ''Conqueror''-class

ships of the line A ship of the line was a type of naval warship constructed during the Age of Sail from the 17th century to the mid-19th century. The ship of the line was designed for the naval tactic known as the line of battle, which depended on the two colu ...

were a class of two 101-gun

first rate In the rating system of the British Royal Navy used to categorise sailing warships A warship or combatant ship is a naval ship that is built and primarily intended for naval warfare. Usually they belong to the armed forces of a state. A ...

screw propelled ships designed by the Surveyor’s Department for the

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Design

The ''Conqueror'' class ships were designed in 1852 as two-decker 101-gun first rates in a period when many under-construction sail ships of the line were being redesigned to use screw propulsion in addition to sail. Two ships were subsequently completed, and .

Careers

Both ships saw service in the

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, and later in the

Crimean War The Crimean War, , was fought from October 1853 to February 1856 between Russia and an ultimately victorious alliance of the Ottoman Empire, France, the United Kingdom and Piedmont-Sardinia. Geopolitical causes of the war included t ...

. Both were used to transport troops to

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in support of the

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there in 1861. HMS ''Conqueror'' was wrecked on

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whilst carrying this out, but without losses, and most of her machinery, guns and stores were subsequently salvaged. The advent of armoured

ironclads An ironclad is a steam-propelled warship protected by iron or steel armor plates, constructed from 1859 to the early 1890s. The ironclad was developed as a result of the vulnerability of wooden warships to explosive or incendiary shells. Th ...

, such as in the 1860s made the traditional ships of the line largely obsolete. HMS ''Donegal'' continued in service as a

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, in which role she took the last surrender of the

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. She was hulked in 1886, and became part of the torpedo training school . She served until the establishment moved on shore in 1923, and was broken up in 1925.

Ships

* :Builder: Devonport Dockyard :Ordered: 16 November 1852 :Laid down: 25 July 1853 :Launched: 2 May 1855 :Completed: 9 April 1856 :Fate: Wrecked at

on 13 December 1861 * :Builder: Devonport Dockyard :Ordered: 27 December 1854 :Laid down: 27 September 1855 :Launched: 23 September 1858 :Completed: 27 August 1859 :Fate: Renamed on 14 January 1886. Sold for breaking up on 18 May 1925

Notes

References

* * Lyon, David and Winfield, Rif, The Sail and Steam Navy List, All the Ships of the Royal Navy 1815-1889, pub Chatham, 2004, *

External links

{{Commons category, Conqueror class ship of the line Ship of the line classes Ship classes of the Royal Navy