HMS ''Donegal'' was one of two 101-gun

second-rate In the rating system of the Royal Navy used to categorise sailing warships, a second-rate was a ship of the line which by the start of the 18th century mounted 90 to 98 guns on three gun decks; earlier 17th-century second rates had fewer guns ...

screw-driven 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 ...

during the 1850s. Completed in 1859, she served with the Channel and North America and West Indies Squadrons before she was decommissioned in 1870. The ship was renamed ''Vernon I'' in 1886 when she became part of HMS ''Vernon'', the Royal Navy's

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 ...

and mine school. The ship 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 1925.

Design and description

The ''Conqueror''-class ships were lengthened version of the preceding . ''Donegal'' had an

overall length The overall length (OAL) of an ammunition cartridge is a measurement from the base of the brass shell casing to the tip of the bullet, seated into the brass casing. Cartridge overall length, or "COL", is important to safe functioning of reloads i ...

of , on the

gundeck The term gun deck used to refer to a deck aboard a ship that was primarily used for the mounting of cannon to be fired in broadsides. The term is generally applied to decks enclosed under a roof; smaller and unrated vessels carried their guns ...

and on the

keel The keel is the bottom-most longitudinal structural element of a watercraft, important for stability. On some sailboats, it may have a fluid dynamics, hydrodynamic and counterbalancing purpose as well. The keel laying, laying of the keel is often ...

. She had a beam of , a depth of hold of and measured 3245

tons burthen Builder's Old Measurement (BOM, bm, OM, and o.m.) is the method used in England from approximately 1650 to 1849 for calculating the cargo capacity of a ship. It is a volumetric measurement of cubic capacity. It estimated the tonnage of a ship b ...

. Her armament consisted of thirty-six shell guns on her lower gundeck and thirty-six 32-pounder (56 cwt) guns"Cwt" is the abbreviation for

hundredweight The hundredweight (abbreviation: cwt), formerly also known as the centum weight or quintal, is a British imperial and United States customary unit of weight or mass. Its value differs between the United States customary and British imperial sy ...

, 56 cwt referring to the weight of the gun. on her upper gundeck. Between her

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 ...

and

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 ...

, she carried twenty-eight 32-pounder (42 cwt) guns and a single 68-pounder gun.Winfield, p. 41 The ''Conqueror''s were powered by a two-cylinder horizontal trunk steam engine built by John Penn and Sons producing 800

nominal horsepower Horsepower (hp) is a unit of measurement of power, or the rate at which work is done, usually in reference to the output of engines or motors. There are many different standards and types of horsepower. Two common definitions used today are th ...

to drive a single

propeller A propeller (often called a screw if on a ship or an airscrew if on an aircraft) is a device with a rotating hub and radiating blades that are set at a pitch to form a helical spiral which, when rotated, exerts linear thrust upon a working flu ...

. ''Donegal''s engine produced during her service and gave her a maximum speed of . Her crew numbered 930 officers and ratings.

Construction and career

''Donegal'' was ordered on 27 December 1854 and 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 ...

at HM Dockyard Devonport on 27 September 1855. She was launched on 23 September 1858Colledge, Warlow & Bush, p. 121, commissioned on 26 June 1859 and completed on 27 August. Upon commissioning she sailed to

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 ...

to recruit a crew. She then joined the Channel Squadron, where she took part in a number of fleet reviews. In November 1861 she was one of a number of ships transporting troops to

Mexico Mexico, officially the United Mexican States, is a country in North America. It is the northernmost country in Latin America, and borders the United States to the north, and Guatemala and Belize to the southeast; while having maritime boundar ...

, and in February 1862 she assisted the recovery of equipment and stores from the wreck of her sister HMS ''Conqueror''. On 28 October 1859 William Hall was awarded his

Victoria Cross The Victoria Cross (VC) is the highest and most prestigious decoration of the Orders, decorations, and medals of the United Kingdom, British decorations system. It is awarded for valour "in the presence of the enemy" to members of the British ...

aboard the ''Donegal'' whilst she was anchored in Queenstown. She spent several years as a coastguard vessel at Liverpool. She took the last surrender of the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861May 26, 1865; also known by Names of the American Civil War, other names) was a civil war in the United States between the Union (American Civil War), Union ("the North") and the Confederate States of A ...

on 6 November 1865 when the CSS ''Shenandoah'' surrendered after travelling 9,000 miles (14,500 km) to do so. The ''Shenandoah'' had originally been in the

Pacific Ocean The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five Borders of the oceans, oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean, or, depending on the definition, to Antarctica in the south, and is ...

when news reached her of the end of the Civil War, necessitating such a long voyage. On her next assignment she carried Vice-Admiral Sir Henry Kellett and a replacement crew to relieve HMS ''Ocean'', then 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 ...

under Vice-Admiral

Henry Keppel Admiral of the Fleet Sir Henry Keppel, (14 June 1809 – 17 January 1904) was a Royal Navy officer. His first command was largely spent off the coast of Spain, which was then in the midst of the First Carlist War. As commanding officer of the co ...

. She was then commanded by Captain William Hewett, seconded by

John Fisher John Fisher (c. 19 October 1469 – 22 June 1535) was an English Catholic prelate who served as Bishop of Rochester from 1504 to 1535 and as chancellor of the University of Cambridge. He is honoured as a martyr and saint by the Catholic Chu ...

. In 1870 she became a tender to HMS ''Duke of Wellington'', which was then 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 ...

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 ...

. ''Donegal'' 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 ...

on 30 September 1870. On 14 January 1886, ''Donegal'' was

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 and merged into the Torpedo School at Portsmouth, and her name was changed to ''Vernon''. Between 1888 and 1892 she was commanded by Captain Arthur Knyvet Wilson. On 23 April 1895 she was moved to Portchester Creek, along with the rest of the hulks making up the school. She remained in this role until the torpedo school moved onshore in 1923, and ''Donegal'' was sold for scrap on 18 May 1925 to Pounds, of Portsmouth. Some of the timbers and panelling were used to rebuild the ''Prince of Wales'' public house (reopened as ''The Old Ship'' in 2007) in

Brighouse Brighouse (, locally also ) is a town within the metropolitan borough of Calderdale, in West Yorkshire, England. Historic counties of England, Historically within the West Riding of Yorkshire, it is situated on the River Calder, West Y ...

in 1926.

Notes

References

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External links

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History of HMS Donegal
{{DEFAULTSORT:Donegal Conqueror-class ships of the line Ships of the line of the Royal Navy 1858 ships Victorian-era ships of the line of the United Kingdom