HMS Achilles (1863)
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| Career |  |
|---|---|
| Builder: | Chatham Dockyard, England |
| Laid down: | August 1, 1861 |
| Floated out: | December 23, 1863 |
| Completed: | November 26, 1864 |
| Fate: | Broken up, 1925 |
| General characteristics | |
| Displacement: | 9,829 tons |
| Length: | 380 ft (120 m) |
| Beam: | 58 ft 3 in (17.8 m) |
| Draught: | 27 ft 3 in (8.3 m) |
| Propulsion: | One-shaft Penn trunk engine; I.H.P.= 5,720 |
| Speed: | 14.32 knots |
| Complement: | 709 |
| First Rig: | Four masts, sail area 44,000 sq ft (4,100 m²). |
| Second Rig: | Three masts, sail area 30,133 sq ft (2,799 m²). |
| Armament 1864: | Twenty 100-pounders |
| Armament added 1865: | Six 68-pounders |
| Armament 1868: | Twenty-two 7-inch muzzle-loading rifles,
Four 8-inch muzzle-loading rifles |
| Armament 1874: | Fourteen 9-inch muzzle-loading rifles,
two 7-inch muzzle-poading rifles |
| Armour: | Belt 4.5 inch amidships 2.5 inches fore and aft Battery 4.5 inches Bulkheads 4.5 inches. |
The broadside ironclad HMS Achilles was the third member of the 1861 programme, was described as an ironclad frigate, and was originally projected as a modified version of the earlier HMS Warrior.
She was one of the first large warships to be built in dry-dock, and hence was floated out rather than being launched.
She was unique, no other ship being built to the same design. The hull shape was changed from that of the Warrior class to give protection from incoming gunfire to the steering gear. She also had a higher centre of gravity, making her at the time the steadiest ship in the battle fleet.
She was the only British warship ever to have four masts, and on them she spread the greatest area of canvas ever shown by a warship of any nationality.
HMS Achilles was subjected to more changes of her main armament than any other British warship, before or since.
[edit] Service history
She was commissioned at Chatham in 1864, and served in the Channel Fleet until 1868. After a refit and her first major re-armament, she served as guardship at Portland until 1874. After her second major re-armament she became guardship at Liverpool until 1877. In 1878 she was one of the ships in the Particular Service Squadron which Admiral Hornby took through the Dardanelles at the time of the Russian war scare in June–August. Her final service was again with the Channel Fleet from 1880 to 1885. She lay derelict in the Hamoaze until 1902, when she was sent to Malta as a depot ship with the new name Hibernia. She was renamed Egmont in 1904, and remained in Malta until 1914. She was brought home to Chatham, and served there as a depot ship under the successive names of Egremont and Pembroke until she was sold for breaking up.
[edit] References
- Oscar Parkes, British Battleships ISBN 0-85052-604-3
- Conway, All the World's Fighting Ships ISBN 0-85177-133-5
