HMS Audacious (1869)
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

HMS ''Audacious'' was the
lead ship The lead ship, name ship, or class leader is the first of a series or class of ships that are all constructed according to the same general design. The term is applicable to naval ships and large civilian vessels. Large ships are very comple ...
of the 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 ...
in the late 1860s. They were designed as second-class ironclads suitable for use on foreign stations and the ship spent the bulk of her career on the
China Station The Commander-in-Chief, China, was the admiral in command of what was usually known as the China Station, at once both a British Royal Navy naval formation and its admiral in command. It was created in 1865 and deactivated in 1941. From 1831 to 1 ...
. She was decommissioned in 1894 and
hulk The Hulk is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer Stan Lee and artist Jack Kirby, the character first appeared in the debut issue of ''The Incredible Hulk (comic book), The Incredible Hulk ...
ed in 1902 for use as a training ship. The ship was towed to
Scapa Flow Scapa Flow (; ) is a body of water in the Orkney Islands, Scotland, sheltered by the islands of Mainland, Graemsay, Burray,S. C. George, ''Jutland to Junkyard'', 1973. South Ronaldsay and Hoy. Its sheltered waters have played an impor ...
after the beginning of the First World War to be used as a
receiving ship A hulk is a ship that is afloat, but incapable of going to sea. 'Hulk' may be used to describe a ship that has been launched but not completed, an abandoned wreck or shell, or a ship whose propulsion system is no longer maintained or has been r ...
and then to
Rosyth Rosyth () is a town and Garden City in Fife, Scotland, on the coast of the Firth of Forth. Scotland's first Garden city movement, Garden City, Rosyth is part of the Greater Dunfermline Area and is located 3 miles south of Dunfermline city cen ...
after the war ended. ''Audacious'' 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 1929.


Design and description

The ''Audacious''-class ironclads were laid out as central battery ironclads with the armament concentrated amidships. They were the first British ironclads to have a two-deck
battery Battery or batterie most often refers to: * Electric battery, a device that provides electrical power * Battery (crime), a crime involving unlawful physical contact Battery may also refer to: Energy source * Battery indicator, a device whic ...
with the upper deck guns
sponson Sponsons are projections extending from the sides of land vehicles, aircraft or watercraft to provide protection, Instantaneous stability, stability, storage locations, mounting points for weapons or other devices, or equipment housing. Watercra ...
ed out over the sides of the hull. The ships were fitted with a short, plough-shaped
ram Ram, ram, or RAM most commonly refers to: * A male sheep * Random-access memory, computer memory * Ram Trucks, US, since 2009 ** List of vehicles named Dodge Ram, trucks and vans ** Ram Pickup, produced by Ram Trucks Ram, ram, or RAM may also ref ...
and their crew numbered 450 officers and men. HMS ''Audacious'' 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 stern ...
. She had a
beam Beam may refer to: Streams of particles or energy *Light beam, or beam of light, a directional projection of light energy **Laser beam *Radio beam *Particle beam, a stream of charged or neutral particles **Charged particle beam, a spatially lo ...
of and a draught of .Ballard, p. 241 The ship was first British ironclad to be completed below her designed displacement; this meant that she was top heavy and required of cement
ballast Ballast is dense material used as a weight to provide stability to a vehicle or structure. Ballast, other than cargo, may be placed in a vehicle, often a ship or the gondola of a balloon or airship, to provide stability. A compartment within ...
to raise her
metacentric height The metacentric height (GM) is a measurement of the initial static stability of a floating body. It is calculated as the distance between the centre of gravity of a ship and its '' metacentre''. A larger metacentric height implies greater initial ...
. ''Audacious'', and her
sisters A sister is a woman or a girl who shares parents or a parent with another individual; a female sibling. The male counterpart is a brother. Although the term typically refers to a familial relationship, it is sometimes used endearingly to r ...
, were the steadiest gun platforms among the large British ironclads of their era. ''Audacious'' was given an experimental
zinc Zinc is a chemical element; it has symbol Zn and atomic number 30. It is a slightly brittle metal at room temperature and has a shiny-greyish appearance when oxidation is removed. It is the first element in group 12 (IIB) of the periodic tabl ...
sheath for her hull in an attempt to reduce
biofouling Biofouling or biological fouling is the accumulation of microorganisms, plants, algae, or small animals where it is not wanted on surfaces such as ship and submarine hulls, devices such as water inlets, pipework, grates, ponds, and rivers that ...
that proved unsuccessful.Brown, p. 39


Propulsion

''Audacious'' had two 2-cylinder horizontal return connecting rod steam engines made by Ravenhill, each driving a single propeller. The bronze four-bladed Mangin propellers were not arranged in the usual radial cross shape, but rather in two pairs, one behind the other, on an elongated boss in an attempt to reduce their drag when the ship used her sails. They were later replaced by two-bladed Griffiths propellers. Six 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 . The engines produced a total of during
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 21 October 1870 and ''Audacious'' reached a maximum speed of . The ship carried of coal, enough to steam at . The ''Audacious''-class ironclads were initially
ship rig A full-rigged ship or fully rigged ship is a sailing ship, sailing vessel with a sail plan of three or more mast (sailing), masts, all of them square rig, square-rigged. Such a vessel is said to have a ship rig or be ship-rigged, with each mas ...
ged and had a sail area of . After the loss of in a storm in 1870, the ships were modified with 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 ...
rig which reduced their sail area to .Parkes, pp. 151, 155 They were slow under sail, only , partly due to the drag of the twin screws, and their shallow draft and flat bottom meant that they were
leeward In geography and seamanship, windward () and leeward () are directions relative to the wind. Windward is ''upwind'' from the point of reference, i.e., towards the direction from which the wind is coming; leeward is ''downwind'' from the point o ...
ly when
close-hauled A point of sail is a sailing craft's direction of travel under sail in relation to the true wind direction over the surface. The principal points of sail roughly correspond to 45° segments of a circle, starting with 0° directly into the wind. ...
. The three ships, ''Audacious'', , and , with balanced
rudder A rudder is a primary control surface used to steer a ship, boat, submarine, hovercraft, airship, or other vehicle that moves through a fluid medium (usually air or water). On an airplane, the rudder is used primarily to counter adverse yaw ...
s were described as unmanageable under sail alone.


Armament

HMS ''Audacious'' was armed with ten 9-inch and four 64-pounder rifled muzzle-loading guns. Six of the guns were mounted on the main deck, three on each side, while the other four guns were fitted above them on the upper deck. Their
gun ports A gun is a device that propels a projectile using pressure or explosive force. The projectiles are typically solid, but can also be pressurized liquid (e.g. in water guns or cannons), or gas (e.g. light-gas gun). Solid projectiles may be fr ...
were in each corner of the upper battery and could be worked in all weathers, unlike like the guns on the main deck below them. The 64-pounder guns were mounted on the upper deck, outside the battery, as
chase gun A chase gun (or chaser), usually distinguished as bow chaser and stern chaser, was a cannon mounted in the bow (aiming forward) or stern (aiming backward) of a sailing ship. They were used to attempt to slow down an enemy ship either chasing (p ...
s. The ship also had six 20-pounder Armstrong guns for use as
saluting guns A salute is usually a formal hand gesture or other action used to display respect in military situations. Salutes are primarily associated with the military and law enforcement, but many civilian organizations, such as Girl Guides, Scouting ...
.Parkes, p. 153 The shell of the 14-
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 ...
9-inch gun weighed while the gun itself weighed . It 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 was credited with the ability to penetrate a nominal 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 64-pounder gun weighed and fired a , shell that had a muzzle velocity of . In 1878 ''Audacious'' received four
torpedo A modern torpedo is an underwater ranged weapon launched above or below the water surface, self-propelled towards a target, with an explosive warhead designed to detonate either on contact with or in proximity to the target. Historically, such ...
launchers that were carried on the main deck, outside the armoured battery. When the ship was refitted in 1889–90 she received eight 4-inch breech-loading guns as well as four quick-firing 6-pounder Hotchkiss and six 3-pounder Hotchkiss guns for defence against
torpedo boat A torpedo boat is a relatively small and fast naval ship designed to carry torpedoes into battle. The first designs were steam-powered craft dedicated to ramming enemy ships with explosive spar torpedoes. Later evolutions launched variants of ...
s.Roberts, p. 15


Armour

''Audacious'' had a complete waterline belt 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 ...
that was thick amidships and tapered to thick at the bow and stern. It only protected the main deck and reached above the
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 ...
at full load and below. The guns were protected by a section of 8-inch armour, long, with a transverse bulkhead forward and a bulkhead to the rear. The armour was backed by of
teak Teak (''Tectona grandis'') is a tropical hardwood tree species in the family Lamiaceae. It is a large, deciduous tree that occurs in mixed hardwood forests. ''Tectona grandis'' has small, fragrant white flowers arranged in dense clusters (panic ...
. The total weight of her armour was .


Service

HMS ''Audacious'' was ordered on 29 April 1867 from Robert Napier in
Govan Govan ( ; Cumbric: ''Gwovan''; Scots language, Scots: ''Gouan''; Scottish Gaelic: ''Baile a' Ghobhainn'') is a district, parish, and former burgh now part of southwest Glasgow, Scotland. It is situated west of Glasgow city centre, on the sout ...
,
Glasgow Glasgow is the Cities of Scotland, most populous city in Scotland, located on the banks of the River Clyde in Strathclyde, west central Scotland. It is the List of cities in the United Kingdom, third-most-populous city in the United Kingdom ...
. She was laid down on 26 June 1867 and launched on 27 February 1869 in a gale. The winds caught the rear of the ship as she was about halfway down the
slipway A slipway, also known as boat ramp or launch or boat deployer, is a ramp on the shore by which ships or boats can be moved to and from the water. They are used for building and repairing ships and boats, and for launching and retrieving smal ...
and twisted her enough that some plates and frames of her bottom were damaged. The ship was completed on 10 September 1870 and commissioned the following month. She cost £256,291 to build. Upon completion she became
guard ship A guard ship is a warship assigned as a stationary guard in a port or harbour, as opposed to a coastal patrol boat, which serves its protective role at sea. Royal Navy In the Royal Navy of the eighteenth century, peacetime guard ships were usual ...
of the First Reserve at Kingstown, Ireland (modern
Dún Laoghaire Dún Laoghaire ( , ) is a suburban coastal town in County Dublin in Ireland. It is the administrative centre of the county of Dún Laoghaire–Rathdown. The town was built up alongside a small existing settlement following 1816 legislation th ...
), but was transferred the following year to
Hull Hull may refer to: Structures * The hull of an armored fighting vehicle, housing the chassis * Fuselage, of an aircraft * Hull (botany), the outer covering of seeds * Hull (watercraft), the body or frame of a sea-going craft * Submarine hull Ma ...
where she remained until 1874. The ship was ordered to the Far East that year to serve as the flagship for the China Station under the flag of Vice-Admiral Sir
Alfred Phillips Ryder Admiral of the Fleet Sir Alfred Phillipps Ryder (27 June 1820 – 30 April 1888) was a Royal Navy officer. As a junior officer he undertook the role of transporting Pedro de Sousa Holstein, 1st Duke of Palmela, the Portuguese ambassador, back ...
. Despite the presence of escorting tugs, ''Audacious'' grounded twice while she was transiting through the
Suez Canal The Suez Canal (; , ') is an artificial sea-level waterway in Egypt, Indo-Mediterranean, connecting the Mediterranean Sea to the Red Sea through the Isthmus of Suez and dividing Africa and Asia (and by extension, the Sinai Peninsula from the rest ...
.Ballard, p. 177 She relieved her sister in
Singapore Singapore, officially the Republic of Singapore, is an island country and city-state in Southeast Asia. The country's territory comprises one main island, 63 satellite islands and islets, and one outlying islet. It is about one degree ...
, and later collided with a merchant ship during a typhoon in
Yokohama is the List of cities in Japan, second-largest city in Japan by population as well as by area, and the country's most populous Municipalities of Japan, municipality. It is the capital and most populous city in Kanagawa Prefecture, with a popu ...
. ''Iron Duke'' relieved her in turn in 1878. ''Audacious'' returned to her previous post in Hull in 1879, relieving . She served there until she began a lengthy refit which included new boilers and the addition of a
poop deck In naval architecture, a poop deck is a deck that forms the roof of a cabin built in the rear, or " aft", part of the superstructure of a ship. The name originates from the French word for stern, , from Latin . Thus the poop deck is technic ...
. The ship's refit was complete in March 1883 and she again relieved ''Iron Duke'' as flagship of the China Station later that year. ''Audacious'' remained there until 1889 when she returned to Chatham where she was refitted, rearmed and replaced her masts and rigging with simple pole masts fitted with fighting tops. Upon the completion of her refit in 1890 she returned to Hull for the third time until the ship was decommissioned in 1894. ''Audacious'' was relegated to 4th class
reserve Reserve or reserves may refer to: Places * Reserve, Kansas, a US city * Reserve, Louisiana, a census-designated place in St. John the Baptist Parish * Reserve, Montana, a census-designated place in Sheridan County * Reserve, New Mexico, a US v ...
until her engines were removed and she was converted to an unpropelled
depot ship A depot ship is an auxiliary ship used as a mobile or fixed base for submarines, destroyers, minesweepers, fast attack craft, landing craft, or other small ships with similarly limited space for maintenance equipment and crew dining, berthing an ...
in 1902. She was commissioned at Chatham on 16 July 1902 by Captain Henry Loftus Tottenham as torpedo depot ship at that port. She transferred to
Felixstowe Felixstowe ( ) is a port town and civil parish in the East Suffolk District, East Suffolk district, in the county of Suffolk, England. The estimated population in 2017 was 24,521. The Port of Felixstowe is the largest Containerization, containe ...
early the following year, and acted as depot ship for
destroyers In naval terminology, a destroyer is a fast, maneuverable, long-endurance warship intended to escort larger vessels in a fleet, convoy, or carrier battle group and defend them against a wide range of general threats. They were conceived i ...
in the Eastern district until 1905, when she paid off; in April 1904 she had been renamed ''Fisgard'' (after the French translation of the Welsh town
Fishguard Fishguard (, meaning "Mouth of the River Gwaun") is a coastal town in Pembrokeshire, Wales, with a population of 3,400 (rounded to the nearest 100) as of the 2021 United Kingdom census, 2021 census. Modern Fishguard consists of two parts, Lowe ...
). In 1906, she was recommissioned as part of the four-ship Fisgard boy artificers training establishment at
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 ...
. The ship was towed to Scapa Flow in 1914 after the start of the First World War to be used as a receiving ship and was renamed ''Imperieuse''. On 13 January 1915, the auxiliary
minesweeper A minesweeper is a small warship designed to remove or detonate naval mines. Using various mechanisms intended to counter the threat posed by naval mines, minesweepers keep waterways clear for safe shipping. History The earliest known usage of ...
HMS ''Roedean'' was driven onto ''Imperieuse'' in Scapa Flow off
Hoy Hoy may refer to: People Given name * Hoy Menear (died 2023), American politician * Hoy Phallin (born 1995), Cambodian footballer * Hoy Wong (1920–2009), American bartender Surname * Hoy (surname), a Scottish and Irish surname * Hà ...
,
Orkney Islands Orkney (), also known as the Orkney Islands, is an archipelago off the north coast of mainland Scotland. The plural name the Orkneys is also sometimes used, but locals now consider it outdated. Part of the Northern Isles along with Shetland ...
; ''Rodean'' sank due to damage she suffered in the collision. In 1919, ''Imperieuse'' was to be renamed ''Victorious'', but the renaming was cancelled. She was towed from Scapa to Rosyth on 31 March 1920, where she remained as
store ship Combat stores ships, or storeships, are ships used to store naval supplies. They are used to deliver supplies such as provisions and fuel to combat ships on extended deployments. The United States Navy operated the and es and the Royal Navy oper ...
until 15 March 1927, when she was sold to
Thos. W. Ward Thos. W. Ward Ltd was a Sheffield, Yorkshire, business primarily working steel, engineering and cement. It began as coal and coke merchants. It expanded into recycling metal for Sheffield's steel industry, and then the supply and manufacture ...
of
Inverkeithing Inverkeithing ( ; ) is a coastal town, parish and historic Royal burgh in Fife, Scotland. The town lies on the north shore of the Firth of Forth, northwest of Edinburgh city centre and south of Dunfermline. A town of ancient origin, Inverke ...
for scrap.Warlow, p. 75


Footnotes


References

* * * * * * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Audacious (1869) Audacious-class ironclads Victorian-era battleships of the United Kingdom 1869 ships Maritime incidents in 1915