HMS Cyclops (1871)
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 Right elevation plan from Brassey's Naval Annual 1888–1889
| |
| History | |
|---|---|
 United Kingdom | |
| Name | HMS Cyclops |
| Namesake | Cyclops |
| Builder | Thames Ironworks, London |
| Cost | £156,782 |
| Laid down | 10 September 1870 |
| Launched | 18 July 1871 |
| Completed | 4 May 1877 |
| Commissioned | January 1872 |
| Fate | Sold for scrap 1903 |
| General characteristics | |
| Type | Breastwork monitor |
| Displacement | 3,480 long tons (3,540 t) |
| Length | 225 feet (68.6 m) (p/p) |
| Beam | 45 feet (13.7 m) |
| Draught | 16 feet 3 inches (5.0 m) (deep load) |
| Installed power | 1,472–1,709 indicated horsepower (1,098–1,274 kW) |
| Propulsion | 2 shafts, 2 steam engines |
| Speed | 11 knots (20 km/h; 13 mph) |
| Complement | 156 |
| Armament | 2 × 2 - 10-inch rifled muzzle loaders |
| Armour | list error: <br /> list (help) Belt: 6–8 in (152–203 mm) Deck: 1.5 in (38 mm) Superstructures: 8–9 in (203–229 mm) Conning tower: 8–9 in (203–229 mm) Gun turret: 9–10 in (229–254 mm) |
HMS Cyclops was the lead ship of the Cyclops-class breastwork monitors built for the Royal Navy 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 down tremendously as the perceived threat of war declined. Cyclops spend most of her career in reserve and was finally sold off in 1903.
Design and description
The ships were ordered during the war scare of 1870 for local coast defence and they used the basic design of the Cerberus-class breastwork monitors to reduce design and construction time. Their hulls were completed very quickly, but the pace of building reduced as the likelihood of their immediate use diminished. They were delivered to the Royal dockyards in 1872 and commissioned for fitting out, but a number of years elapsed before that process was completed as little sense of urgency remained.[1]
The ships had an length between perpendiculars of 225 feet (68.6 m), a beam of 45 feet (13.7 m), and a draught of 16 feet 3 inches (4.95 m) at deep load. They displaced 3,480 long tons (3,540 t). Their crew consisted of 156 officers and men.[2]
The Cyclops-class ships and other ships of her type were described by Admiral George Alexander Ballard as being like "full-armoured knights riding on donkeys, easy to avoid but bad to close with."[3] 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".[4]
Propulsion
Cyclops had two steam engines, each driving a single 12-foot (3.7 m) propeller. Cyclops had 4-cylinder inverted compound steam engines made by John Elder that had a working pressure of 60 psi (414 kPa; 4 kgf/cm2). The engines produced a total of 1,472–1,528 indicated horsepower (1,098–1,139 kW) on sea trials which gave the ships a maximum speed around 11 knots (20 km/h; 13 mph). Cyclops carried 250 long tons (250 t) of coal.[5]
Armament
The ships mounted a pair of 10-inch rifled muzzle-loading guns in each turret. The shell of the 10-inch (254 mm) gun weighed 407 pounds (184.6 kg) while the gun itself weighed 18 long tons (18 t). The gun had a muzzle velocity of 1,365 ft/s (416 m/s) and was credited with the ability to penetrate a nominal 12.9 inches (330 mm) of wrought iron armour at 100 yards (91 m). The guns could fire both solid shot and explosive shells.[6] They were mounted on compound pivoting carriages that used hydraulic jacks to elevate and depress the guns.[1]
Armour
The Cyclops-class ships had a complete waterline belt of wrought iron that was 8 inches (203 mm) thick amidships and thinned to 6 inches (152 mm) at the ends. The superstructure and conning tower was fully armoured, the reason it was called a breastwork, with 8–9 inches (203–229 mm) of wrought iron. The gun turrets had 10 inches on their faces and nine inches on the sides and rear. All of the vertical armour was backed by 9–11 inches (229–279 mm) of teak. The decks were 1.5 inches (38.1 mm) thick.[7]
Construction
Each of the ships was delivered at Devenport from the builders in 1872. They were commissioned and placed into reserve until finally completed.[8] Thames Ironworks, London |align=center|10 September 1870 |align=center|18 July 1871 |align=center|January 1872 |align=center|4 May 1877
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 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. Four quick-firing 3-pounder Hotchkiss guns were added on the breastwork for torpedo boat defence as well as five machine guns and several searchlights.[9] This increased their crew to approximately 191 men[2] and added 80 long tons (81 t) to their displacement.[10]
Service
HMS Gorgon was the first ship completed and she served as tender to HMS Cambridge, the gunnery school ship at Devonport, from 1874 to 1877. All four ships were commissioned between April and August 1878 during the war scare during the Russo-Turkish War for service with Admiral Sir Cooper Key's Particular Service Squadron in Portland Harbour. She resumed her duties as tender to HMS Cambridge until she was refitted in 1888–89. All four of the ships of the class participated in the annual fleet manoeuvers in 1887, 1889–90 and 1892; in between times they were in Fleet Reserve. HMS Gorgon, like all of her sisters, was placed on the non-effective list in 1901 and sold in 1903 for £8,400.[11]
HMS Cyclops, the lead ship of the class, was the third ship to be completed. She was placed in 1st Reserve after her completion. The ship was paid off at Chatham in August 1878 and refitted in 1887–89.[8]
Notes
References
- Ballard, G. A., Admiral (1980). The Black Battlefleet. Annapolis, MD: Naval Institute Press. ISBN 0-87021-924-3.
{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) - Gardiner, Robert, ed. (1979). Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships 1860-1905. Greenwich: Conway Maritime Press. ISBN 0-8317-0302-4.
- Parkes, Oscar (1990). British Battleships (reprint of the 1957 ed.). Annapolis, MD: Naval Institute Press. ISBN 1-55750-075-4.