HMS Black Prince (1861)
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| Career (UK) |  |
|---|---|
| Laid down: | 12 October 1859 |
| Launched: | 27 February 1861 |
| Commissioned: | 12 September 1862 |
| Status: | Sold for scrap 1923 |
| General Characteristics | |
| Displacement: | 9,250 tons |
| Length: | |
| Beam: | |
| Speed: | |
| Complement: | |
HMS Black Prince, launched 27 February 1861, was the third ship of that name to serve with the British Royal Navy. She was the world's second ocean-going iron-hulled armoured battleship, following her sister ship, HMS Warrior in the two-ship Warrior class. For a brief period the two ships were the most powerful battleships in the world, being vitually impregnable to the naval guns of the time. Rapid advances in naval technology left Black Prince and her sister obsolete within a short time, however, and she spent more time in reserve and training roles than in first-line service.
Built at Glasgow, Scotland, her completion was delayed until September 1862 by a drydock accident during outfitting. Once in service, Black Prince was assigned to the Channel Fleet until 1866, then spent a year as flagship on the Irish coast. Overhauled and rearmed in 1867-68, she became guardship on the River Clyde. The routine of that duty was interrupted in 1869 when she and Warrior towed a large floating drydock from the Azores to Bermuda.
Black Prince was again refitted in 1874-75 and rejoined the Channel Fleet for a tour as flagship of that force's second-in-command. Later in the decade she crossed the Atlantic to visit Canada. In reserve from 1878, and reclassified as an armoured cruiser during much of that period, she was reactivated periodically to take part in annual fleet exercises.
Black Prince became a harbour training ship in 1896, stationed at Queenstown, Ireland. She was renamed Emerald in 1903. In 1910 she was taken to Plymouth for use in the training facility there under the name Impregnable III. The old ship was sold for scrapping in 1923.
