HMS ''Hydra'' was the second ship completed of the four

breastwork monitor A breastwork monitor was a modification of the monitor, a warship which was first built in the United States in 1861, designed by John Ericsson and distinguished by the first rotating gun turret, designed by Theodore Timby. The modified desig ...

s built for the

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during the 1870s. The ships were ordered to satisfy demands for local defence during the war scare of 1870, but the pace of construction slowed tremendously as the perceived threat of war declined. The ship spent most of her career in

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 ...

; her only sustained period in commission was four months 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 ...

in 1878 when the British were trying to force the Russians to end the war without seizing

Constantinople Constantinople (#Names of Constantinople, see other names) was a historical city located on the Bosporus that served as the capital of the Roman Empire, Roman, Byzantine Empire, Byzantine, Latin Empire, Latin, and Ottoman Empire, Ottoman empire ...

. ''Hydra'' 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 1903.

Design and description

The ships had a

length 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 ste ...

of , 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 at

deep load The displacement or displacement tonnage of a ship is its weight. As the term indicates, it is measured indirectly, using Archimedes' principle, by first calculating the volume of water displaced by the ship, then converting that value into weig ...

. They displaced . Their crew consisted of 156 officers and men.Parkes, p. 213 The ''Cyclops''-class ships and other ships of her type were described by Admiral

George Alexander Ballard Admiral George Alexander Ballard (7 March 1862 – 16 September 1948) was an officer of the Royal Navy and a historian. Biography Ballard was the eldest son of General John Archibald Ballard (1829–1880), and his wife Joanna, the daughter of ...

as being like "full-armoured knights riding on donkeys, easy to avoid but bad to close with." While not unfit to face heavy weather their decks were frequently awash in even a moderate sea. Their accommodations were rated the worst in the fleet, referred to by ordinary seamen as "ratholes with tinned air".

Propulsion

''Hydra'' had two 4-cylinder inverted compound steam engines made by John Elder, each driving a single propeller. The ship's

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 had a working pressure of . The engines produced a total of on 4 July 1872 during the ship's

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 which gave her a maximum speed of . ''Hydra'' carried of coal, enough to steam at .

Armament

The ships mounted a pair of

10-inch A phonograph record (also known as a gramophone record, especially in British English) or a vinyl record (for later varieties only) is an analog signal, analog sound Recording medium, storage medium in the form of a flat disc with an inscribed, ...

rifled muzzle-loading guns in each turret. The shell of the gun weighed 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 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 guns could fire both

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 ...

and explosive shells. They were mounted on carriages that used hydraulic jacks to elevate and depress the guns.

Armour

The ''Cyclops''-class ships had a complete waterline belt of

that was thick amidships and thinned to at the ends. The superstructure and

conning tower A conning tower is a raised platform on a ship or submarine, often armoured, from which an officer in charge can conn (nautical), conn (conduct or control) the vessel, controlling movements of the ship by giving orders to those responsible for t ...

was fully armoured, the reason it was called a breastwork, with of wrought iron. The

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 had 10 inches on their faces and 9 inches on the sides and rear. All of the vertical 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 decks were thick.

Construction

''Hydra'' was laid down on 5 September 1870 by the

Robert Napier and Sons Messrs Robert Napier and Sons was a famous firm of Clyde shipbuilders and marine engineers at Govan, Glasgow founded by Robert Napier in 1826. It was moved to Govan for more space in 1841. His sons James and John were taken into partnership 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 ...

. She was launched on 28 December 1871 and commissioned in August 1872. The ship was towed to Devonport that same month for what proved to be a very lengthy

fitting out Fitting out, or outfitting, is the process in shipbuilding that follows the float-out/launching of a vessel and precedes sea trials. It is the period when all the remaining construction of the ship is completed and readied for delivery to her o ...

period that was not completed on 31 May 1876.Parkes, p. 215 ''Cyclops'' cost £194,334 to build.

Refit

Although a recommendation had been made while the ships were still under construction to extend the superstructure out to the sides of the ship to improve their stability and habitability, this was not acted upon until they were refitted during the 1880s. This refit also strengthened the breastwork and upper decks, added another watertight bulkhead as well as a

false keel The false keel was a timber, forming part of the hull of a wooden sailing ship. Typically thick for a 74-gun ship in the 19th century, the false keel was constructed in several pieces, which were scarfed together, and attached to the underside of ...

. Four quick-firing 3-pounder Hotchkiss guns were added on the breastwork for

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 ...

defence as well as five machine guns and several searchlights. This increased their crew to approximately 191 men and added to their displacement.

Service

HMS ''Hydra'' was the second ship to be completed, although she was the last ship of the

class Class, Classes, or The Class may refer to: Common uses not otherwise categorized * Class (biology), a taxonomic rank * Class (knowledge representation), a collection of individuals or objects * Class (philosophy), an analytical concept used d ...

launched. She was placed in 1st Reserve after her completion. The ship, along with her

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, was commissioned between April and August 1878 during the Russo-Turkish War for service with

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 ...

Sir Cooper Key's Particular Service Squadron in

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. ''Hydra'' was paid off at

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in August 1878 and served as tender to HMS ''Duncan''. The ship was refitted in 1888–89 and was in Fleet Reserve at Chatham until 1901. All four ships of the class participated in the annual fleet manoeuvers in 1887, 1889–90 and 1892. HMS ''Hydra'', like all of her sisters, was placed on the non-effective list in 1901 and sold on 7 July 1903Silverstone, p. 224 for £8,400.

Notes

Footnotes

References

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Hydra (1871) Cyclops-class monitors Monitors of the United Kingdom 1871 ships