Bulwark class battleship (1859)

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Bulwark class 91-guns
Class Overview RN Ensign
Type steam two-decker line-of-battle ship
Name Bulwark
Ships Planned 12
Laid Down 9
Completed as Two-Deckers 0
Preceded by Duncan class & Defiance
General characteristics
Tonnage 3,715 t
Displacement 5,950 t
Length 252 ft overall

213 ft 9.25 in keel-line
Beam 58 ft extreme
Draught 25 ft 6 in
Machinery 800 nhp

(approx 3,400-3,500 ihp)
Speed (steam) probably 12.5-13.4 kts
Masts
Main 67 ft × 40 in
Fore 61 ft × 37 in
Mizzen 51 ft 6 in × 27 in
Armament
Gun Deck 34 × 8in/65cwt
Main deck 36 × 32pdr/58cwt
Upper Deck 20 × 32pdr/45cwt

1 × 68pdr/95cwt
Complement 860
Source
Lambert Battleships in Transition[1]

The Bulwark class were the final class of wooden line-of-battle ships laid down for the Royal Navy. They were laid down after Warrior. In March 1861 their construction was suspended, and seven were later converted to iron-clads. Bulwark and Robust were kept on the stocks almost complete, in case of need, until they were scrapped in 1873 and 1872.

Contents

[edit] Genesis

The consensus of British naval opinion after the Crimean War favoured the large steam-powered two-decker line-of-battle ship with 101 or 91 guns. The designs for two-decker evolved. "The 101-gun type were redesigned with an extra 400 tons and engines of 800 nhp [to produce the Duncan class]. The 91s were given similar engines, while their smaller increase in size was largely taken up with an additional 15 feet overall for a finer length-to-beam ratio and improved lines [Defiance].[2] In the 1859 programme the two types were merged to produce a 91-gun ship with the dimensions of the 101-gun type. Two ships built on this plan - the Bulwark and Robust, the latter having been commenced as a 101-gun ship - were preserved on the stocks until 1872, the remaining seven being converted into... ironclads.[3] These last two-deckers were 252 feet overall... That they all displayed all the classic symptoms of weak construction, such as leaky seams, demonstrated that wood was no longer suitable for the construction of the largest classes of warships."[4]

Britain's first sea-going iron-clad, the Warrior, was laid down in May 1859, and a further three had been laid down by the end of 1859. Nevertheless, the Royal Navy continued to convert old sailing line-of-battle ships to steam, and to order and lay down new Bulwark-class two-deckers. The objective was to achieve parity with the combined navies of France and Russia.[5] Initially there was great uncertainty about the value of iron-clads.[6] So it was prudent to continue building unarmoured steam line-of-battle ships, which would in any case be "the common currency of sea-power for some years to come." [7]

In March 1861, work on the Bulwark class was suspended. They were retained on the stocks while the smaller Defiance was launched on 27 March 1861. The larger ships were better suited for conversion into iron-clads and were held in reserve for that purpose.[8] Similarly, the sailing line-of-battle ships Albion and Bombay completed their conversion to steam line-of-battle ships on 21 May and 25 June 1861 respectively.

[edit] Design

The Bulwark class ships were a modification of the 101-gun Duncan-class design. They had the same dimensions, but had a new timbering plan dated 29 July 1858, which suited the smaller armament. The reduction in armament was intended to improve the efficiency of the guns.[9]

[edit] Key Dates

The following table shows key dates for the Bulwark class.[10]

Ship Builder Laid Down Suspended Converted to Ironclad Launched Completed Broken Up
Bulwark Chatham 8 Mar 1859 7 Mar 1861 Mar 1873
Robust Devonport 31 Oct 1859 22 Mar 1861 Aug 1872
Repulse Woolwich 19 Apr 1859 1866 25 Apr 1868 31 Jan 1870 1889
Zealous Pembroke 21 Oct 1859 1864 7 Mar 1864 4 Oct 1866 1886
Royal Alfred Portsmouth 1 Dec 1859 22 Jun 1861 15 Oct 1864 23 Mar 1867 1885
Royal Oak Chatham 1 May 1860 3 Jun 1861 10 Sep 1862 Apr 1863 1885
Triumph

completed as Prince Consort

 Pembroke 13 Aug 1860 6 Jun 1861 26 Jun 1862 Apr 1864 1882
Ocean Devonport 23 Aug 1860 3 Jun 1861 19 Mar 1862 Jul 1866 1886
Caledonia Woolwich 10 Oct 1860 6 Jun 1861 24 Oct 1862 Apr 1865 1886
Blake Ordered but never laid down. Cancelled 1863.
Kent Ordered but never laid down. Cancelled 1863.
Pitt Ordered but never laid down. Cancelled 1863.

[edit] Conversion to iron-clads

Bulwark and Robust were suspended on the stocks in March 1861 in an advanced state of construction. The Controller "had plans prepared to for the Bulwark to be converted into a twin turret breastwork monitor but they were never used. As Edward Reed pointed out this was a wise policy as they would have been inferior to, and yet more costly than, iron-hulled ships built from scratch.[11]" [12] "In war time the rapidity with which these ships might be converted into iron-clads would probably outweigh these considerations".[13] Bulwark and Robust were eventually broken up in March 1873 and August 1872 respectively.[14]

The remaining seven ships of the Bulwark class were in a less complete state and were converted into 'ironclad frigates'.

Of these Triumph (later renamed Prince Consort), Ocean, and Caledonia were converted to 'broadside ironclads' with 1000 nhp engines. Royal Oak had a similar conversion but with the original 800 nhp engine. The development of these four ships is discussed in the article on the Prince Consort class.

Royal Alfred, Zealous and Repulse were later converted into 'central battery ships'.[15]

[edit] Notes

  1. ^ Lambert, "Battleships in Transition", p122-6.
  2. ^ Evidence set before the Derby Committee 1858, WWL/8.
  3. ^ Parkes "British Battleships".
  4. ^ Lambert, "Battleships in Transition", p 54-5.
  5. ^ Lambert, "Battleships in Transition", p 75-76.
  6. ^ Submission to Board of 27 July 1858, quoted in Lambert, "Warrior", p16. See also Parkes, "British Battleships", p30.
  7. ^ Lambert, "Battleships in Transition", p 76.
  8. ^ Lambert, "Battleships in Transition", p 76.
  9. ^ Lambert, "Battleships in Transition", p 126.
  10. ^ Lambert, "Battleships in Transition", p126. Conway "All the World's Fighting Ships 1860-1905"".
  11. ^ Reed, "Our Ironclad Ships p 303."
  12. ^ Lambert, "Battleships in Transition", p 82.
  13. ^ Reed, "Our Ironclad Ships p 303."
  14. ^ Lambert, "Battleships in Transition", p 126.
  15. ^ Conways, p 10-13.

[edit] References

Ballard, Admiral G.A. The Black Battlefleet, published Nautical Publications Co. and Society for Nautical Research, 1980. ISBN 0 245 53030 4

Baxter, James Phinney The Introduction of the Ironclad Warship, published Harvard University, 1933.

Conway All the World's Fighting Ships 1860-1905, published Conway Maritime Press, 1979. ISBN 0-8317-0302-4

Lambert, Andrew Warrior, Restoring the World's First Ironclad, published Conway Maritime Press, 1987. ISBN 0 85177 411 3

Lambert, Andrew Battleships in Transition, the Creation of the Steam Battlefleet 1815-1860, published Conway Maritime Press, 1984. ISBN 0 85177 315 X

Parkes, Oscar British Battleships, first published Seeley Service & Co, 1957, published United States Naval Institute Press, 1990. ISBN 1-55750-075-4

Reed, Edward J Our Ironclad Ships, their Qualities, Performance and Cost, published John Murray, 1869.

v • d • e
Bulwark class battleship
Bulwark · Robust · Repulse · Zealous · Royal Alfred · Royal Oak · Triumph · Ocean · Caledonia · Blake · Kent · Pitt
Preceded by: · Followed by: