HMS ''Achilles'' was an armoured frigateIronclad is the all-encompassing term for armoured warships of this period. Armoured frigates were basically designed for the same role as traditional wooden frigates, but this later changed as the size and expense of these ships forced them to be used in the line of battle. built at Chatham 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 ...

in the 1860s to a design by Oliver Lang. Upon her completion in 1864 she was assigned to the

Channel Fleet The Channel Fleet and originally known as the Channel Squadron was the Royal Navy formation of warships that defended the waters of the English Channel from 1854 to 1909 and 1914 to 1915. History Throughout the course of Royal Navy's history th ...

. The ship 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 ...

in 1868 to refit and be re-armed. When she recommissioned in 1869, she was assigned as the guard ship of the Fleet Reserve in the Portland District until 1874. ''Achilles'' was refitted and re-armed again in 1874 and became the guard ship of the Liverpool District in 1875. Two years later, she was rejoined the Channel Fleet before going to the Mediterranean in 1878. The ship returned to the Channel Fleet in 1880 and served until she was paid off in 1885. ''Achilles'' was recommissioned in 1901 as a depot ship at

Malta Malta, officially the Republic of Malta, is an island country in Southern Europe located in the Mediterranean Sea, between Sicily and North Africa. It consists of an archipelago south of Italy, east of Tunisia, and north of Libya. The two ...

under a succession of different names. She was transferred to Chatham in 1914 and was again renamed multiple times before she was sold for

scrap Scrap consists of recyclable materials, usually metals, left over from product manufacturing and consumption, such as parts of vehicles, building supplies, and surplus materials. Unlike waste, scrap can have monetary value, especially recover ...

in 1923. ''Achilles'' had more changes of her

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 ...

and armament than any other British warship, before or since.

Design and description

''Achilles'' was the third member of the 1861 Naval Programme and was designed as an improved version of the earlier armoured frigates with a complete

waterline The waterline is the line where the hull of a ship meets the surface of the water. A waterline can also refer to any line on a ship's hull that is parallel to the water's surface when the ship is afloat in a level trimmed position. Hence, wate ...

armour belt.Parkes, p. 40 The ship was long between perpendiculars, had a beam of and a

draft Draft, the draft, or draught may refer to: Watercraft dimensions * Draft (hull), the distance from waterline to keel of a vessel * Draft (sail), degree of curvature in a sail * Air draft, distance from waterline to the highest point on a v ...

of .Ballard, p. 241 She displaced Parkes, p. 39 and had a tonnage of 6,121 bm. The hull was subdivided by watertight transverse bulkheads into 106 compartments and 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 ...

.Chesneau & Kolesnik, p. 9 ''Achilles'' was designed with a high centre of gravity and was very stiff. So much so that the ship only rolled 10 degrees during one storm that ripped the main and mizen topgallant masts off and split her

topsail A topsail ("tops'l") is a sail set above another sail; on square-rigged vessels further sails may be set above topsails. Square rig On a square rigged vessel, a topsail is a typically trapezoidal shaped sail rigged above the course sail and ...

s. Because of her great length she was not very manoeuvrable. ''Achilles'' had a crew of 709 officers and ratings.

Propulsion

The ship had a single two-cylinder trunk steam engine made by John Penn and Sons driving a single propeller. Ten rectangular

boiler A boiler is a closed vessel in which fluid (generally water) is heated. The fluid does not necessarily boil. The heated or vaporized fluid exits the boiler for use in various processes or heating applications, including water heating, centra ...

s provided steam to the engine at a working pressure of . During her

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 on 15 March 1865, ''Achilles'' had a maximum speed of from . The ship carried of coal, enough to steam at . As built, ''Achilles'' was ship-rigged with four masts, called bow, fore, main and mizen from fore to aft, and she was the only British warship ever to have four masts.Parkes, p. 42 They carried a total of of sail area, excluding the stunsails, the greatest area ever spread in a British warship. Her performance was unsatisfactory when the wind was before the beam and her

bowsprit The bowsprit of a sailing vessel is a spar (sailing), spar extending forward from the vessel's prow. The bowsprit is typically held down by a bobstay that counteracts the forces from the forestay, forestays. The bowsprit’s purpose is to create ...

and bowmast were removed in June 1865 in an attempt to correct this problem. However, now she had too much

weather helm Weather helm is the tendency of sailing vessels to turn towards the source of wind, creating an unbalanced helm that requires pulling the tiller to windward (i.e. 'to weather') in order to counteract the effect. Weather helm is the opposite of ...

so the bowsprit was replaced and the foremast was moved forward in July 1866. This reduced her sail area to . In 1877 ''Achilles'' was rerigged as a

barque A barque, barc, or bark is a type of sailing ship, sailing vessel with three or more mast (sailing), masts of which the fore mast, mainmast, and any additional masts are Square rig, rigged square, and only the aftmost mast (mizzen in three-maste ...

. Both of her

funnel A funnel is a tube or pipe that is wide at the top and narrow at the bottom, used for guiding liquid or powder into a small opening. Funnels are usually made of stainless steel, aluminium, glass, or plastic. The material used in its constructi ...

s were retractable to reduce wind resistance while under sail alone.

Armament

The intended armament of ''Achilles'' changed no less than five times before it was finally mounted. She received four rifled 110-pounder breech-loading guns mounted on the upper deck, two of which served as chase guns at the bow and stern, and 16 smoothbore, muzzle-loading 100-pounder Somerset cannon, eight on each side on the main deck. The breech-loading guns were a new design from Armstrong and much was hoped for them. Firing tests carried out in September 1861 against an armoured target, however, proved that the 110-pounder was inferior to the 68-pounder smoothbore gun in armour penetration and repeated incidents of breech explosions during the Battles for Shimonoseki and the

Bombardment of Kagoshima The Bombardment of Kagoshima, also known as the , was a military engagement fought between United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, Britain and the Satsuma Domain in Kagoshima from 15 to 17 August 1863. The British were attempting to extract ...

in 1863–1864 caused the navy to withdraw the gun from service shortly afterwards. In 1865, six 68-pounder smoothbores were added, three on each side of the main deck, although she was not comprehensively rearmed until her 1868 refit. Detailed data for the Somerset cannon is not available, but the

solid shot A round shot (also called solid shot or simply ball) is a solid spherical projectile without explosive charge, launched from a gun. Its diameter is slightly less than the caliber, bore of the gun barrel, barrel from which it is shot. A round s ...

of the 68-pounder gun weighed approximately while the gun itself weighed . The gun had a

muzzle velocity Muzzle velocity is the speed of a projectile (bullet, pellet, slug, ball/ shots or shell) with respect to the muzzle at the moment it leaves the end of a gun's barrel (i.e. the muzzle). Firearm muzzle velocities range from approximately t ...

of and had a range of at an elevation of 12°. The shell of the 110-pounder Armstrong breech-loader weighed . It had a muzzle velocity of and, at an elevation of 11.25°, a maximum range of . The 110-pounder gun weighed . All of the guns could fire both

and explosive shells. ''Achilles'' was rearmed during her 1867–68 refit with 22 seven-inch and eight rifled muzzle-loading guns. The eight-inch guns and 18 seven-inch guns were mounted on the main deck and the remaining seven-inch guns replaced the 110-pounders on the upper deck. The shell of the 15-

calibre In guns, particularly firearms, but not artillery, where a different definition may apply, caliber (or calibre; sometimes abbreviated as "cal") is the specified nominal internal diameter of the gun barrel bore – regardless of how or wher ...

eight-inch gun weighed while the gun itself weighed . It had a muzzle velocity of and was credited with the ability to penetrate of

wrought iron Wrought iron is an iron alloy with a very low carbon content (less than 0.05%) in contrast to that of cast iron (2.1% to 4.5%), or 0.25 for low carbon "mild" steel. Wrought iron is manufactured by heating and melting high carbon cast iron in an ...

armour at the muzzle. The 16-calibre seven-inch gun weighed and fired a shell. It was credited with the ability to penetrate armour.Chesneau & Kolesnik, p. 6 In 1874 the ship was rearmed with 16 nine-inch rifled muzzle-loaders replacing the 4 eight-inch and 20 of the 22 seven-inch guns. Fourteen of the guns were mounted on the main deck and the other two replaced the seven-inch chase guns. The two remaining seven-inch guns stayed in their position on the

quarterdeck The quarterdeck is a raised deck behind the main mast of a sailing ship. Traditionally it was where the captain commanded his vessel and where the ship's colours were kept. This led to its use as the main ceremonial and reception area on bo ...

. As the nine-inch guns were considerably bigger than their predecessors, the gun ports had to be widened to accommodate them. The shell of the 14-calibre nine-inch gun weighed while the gun itself weighed . It had a muzzle velocity of and was rated with the ability to penetrate a of wrought iron armour at the muzzle.

Armour

The ship had a wrought-iron waterline armour belt that ran the full length of the ship. Amidships, it was thick for a length of and tapered to a thickness of to the ends of the ship. The armour extended below the waterline. The main deck was protected by a

strake On a vessel's Hull (watercraft), hull, a strake is a longitudinal course of Plank (wood), planking or Plate (metal), plating which runs from the boat's stem (ship), stempost (at the Bow (ship), bows) to the stern, sternpost or transom (nautica ...

of armour, also 4.5-inch thick and 212 feet long. To protect against

raking fire In naval warfare during the Age of Sail, raking fire was Naval artillery in the Age of Sail, cannon fire directed parallel to the long axis of an enemy ship from ahead (in front of the ship) or astern (behind the ship). Although each shot was d ...

the upper strake was closed off by 4.5-inch transverse bulkheads at each end.

Construction and career

''Achilles'', named after the Greek mythological

hero A hero (feminine: heroine) is a real person or fictional character who, in the face of danger, combats adversity through feats of ingenuity, courage, or Physical strength, strength. The original hero type of classical epics did such thin ...

,Silverstone, p. 207 was ordered on 10 April 1861 from the

Chatham Dockyard Chatham Dockyard was a Royal Navy Dockyard located on the River Medway in Kent. Established in Chatham, Kent, Chatham in the mid-16th century, the dockyard subsequently expanded into neighbouring Gillingham, Kent, Gillingham; at its most extens ...

. She was the first iron-hulled warship to be built at a royal dockyard and her construction was delayed by the need to acquire the necessary machinery to handle iron and to train the workers to use it. The ship was

laid down Laying the keel or laying down is the formal recognition of the start of a ship's construction. It is often marked with a ceremony attended by dignitaries from the shipbuilding company and the ultimate owners of the ship. Keel laying is one ...

on 1 August 1861 in a

drydock A dry dock (sometimes drydock or dry-dock) is a narrow basin or vessel that can be flooded to allow a load to be floated in, then drained to allow that load to come to rest on a dry platform. Dry docks are used for the construction, maintenance, ...

and was floated out rather than being launched on 23 December 1863. ''Achilles'' was completed on 26 November 1864 at the cost of £469,572. She served in the

until 1868. After a refit and her first major re-armament, ''Achilles'' became the guardship at Portland until 1874 when she was again re-armed. Upon its completion in 1875, the ship became guardship at

Liverpool Liverpool is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. It is situated on the eastern side of the River Mersey, Mersey Estuary, near the Irish Sea, north-west of London. With a population ...

until 1877 when

Captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader or highest rank officer of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police depa ...

William Hewett, VC, assumed command. In 1878 she was one of the ships in the Particular Service Squadron which

Admiral Admiral is one of the highest ranks in many navies. In the Commonwealth nations and the United States, a "full" admiral is equivalent to a "full" general in the army or the air force. Admiral is ranked above vice admiral and below admiral of ...

Geoffrey Hornby took through the

Dardanelles The Dardanelles ( ; ; ), also known as the Strait of Gallipoli (after the Gallipoli peninsula) and in classical antiquity as the Hellespont ( ; ), is a narrow, natural strait and internationally significant waterway in northwestern Turkey th ...

at the time of the Russian war scare in June–August 1878 during the

Russo-Turkish War The Russo-Turkish wars ( ), or the Russo-Ottoman wars (), began in 1568 and continued intermittently until 1918. They consisted of twelve conflicts in total, making them one of the longest series of wars in the history of Europe. All but four of ...

. ''Achilles'' accidentally collided with the

flagship A flagship is a vessel used by the commanding officer of a group of navy, naval ships, characteristically a flag officer entitled by custom to fly a distinguishing flag. Used more loosely, it is the lead ship in a fleet of vessels, typically ...

of the

Mediterranean Fleet The British Mediterranean Fleet, also known as the Mediterranean Station, was a formation of the Royal Navy. The Fleet was one of the most prestigious commands in the navy for the majority of its history, defending the vital sea link between ...

, , on 4 October 1879, but was only lightly damaged by ''Alexandra''s propeller. The ship rejoined the Channel Fleet in 1880 and was paid off in 1885. She lay derelict in the Hamoaze until April 1901, when she was sent to

as a depot ship. To release her name for the new

armoured cruiser The armored cruiser was a type of warship of the late 19th and early 20th centuries. It was designed like other types of cruisers to operate as a long-range, independent warship, capable of defeating any ship apart from a pre-dreadnought battles ...

, ''Achilles'' was renamed ''Hibernia'' in 1902. She was renamed ''Egmont'' in March 1904, and remained in Malta until 1914. Her role in Malta was assumed by the

stone frigate A stone frigate is a naval establishment on land. 'Stone frigate' is an informal term which has its origin in Britain's Royal Navy (RN), after its use of Diamond Rock, an island off Martinique, as a 'sloop of war' to harass the First French ...

Fort St Angelo.Fort St Angelo
in the

Lonely Planet Lonely Planet is a travel guide book publisher. Founded in Australia in 1973, the company has printed over 150 million books. History 20th century Lonely Planet was founded by married couple Maureen Wheeler, Maureen and Tony Wheeler. In 19 ...

Guide for Malta and Gozo. She was brought home to Chatham that year, and served there as a depot ship under the successive names of ''Egremont'' (19 June 1916) and ''Pembroke'' (6 June 1919). The ship was sold for scrap on 26 January 1923 to the Granton Shipbreaking Co.

The ''Achilles'' in Literature

Charles Dickens Charles John Huffam Dickens (; 7 February 1812 – 9 June 1870) was an English novelist, journalist, short story writer and Social criticism, social critic. He created some of literature's best-known fictional characters, and is regarded by ...

offered a short meditation on the construction of HMS ''Achilles'' following a visit to

in 1863, first published in the weekly magazine ''

All the Year Round ''All the Year Round'' was a British weekly literary magazine founded and owned by Charles Dickens, published between 1859 and 1895 throughout the United Kingdom. Edited by Dickens, it was the direct successor to his previous publication '' Ho ...

'' on 29 August 1863, and then included in his collection '' The Uncommercial Traveller''. Dickens came away impressed by the experience, and the idea that such a large iron construction could float or move. "To think that this Achilles, monstrous compound of iron tank and oaken chest, can ever swim or roll! To think that any force of wind and wave could ever break her!"

Notes

Footnotes

References

* * * * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Achilles (1863) Battleships of the Royal Navy Ships built in Chatham 1863 ships Victorian-era battleships of the United Kingdom Maritime incidents in October 1879