View source for HMS Magdala (1870)

{{Use dmy dates|date=December 2016}}
{{Use British English|date=December 2016}}
{|{{Infobox ship begin}}
{{Infobox ship image
|Ship image=HMS Magdala (1870).jpg
|Ship caption=''Magdala'' with awnings rigged
}}
{{Infobox ship career
|Hide header=
|Ship country=United Kingdom
|Ship flag={{shipboxflag|United Kingdom|naval}}
|Ship name=''Magdala''
|Ship namesake=[[Battle of Magdala]]
|Ship ordered=
|Ship builder=[[Thames Ironworks & Shipbuilding Company]]
|Ship laid down=6 October 1868
|Ship launched=2 March 1870
|Ship completed=November 1870
|Ship acquired
|Ship commissioned=
|Ship decommissioned=
|Ship fate=Broken up, 1904
|Ship notes=
}}
{{Infobox ship characteristics
|Ship class={{sclass|Cerberus|monitor|0}} [[breastwork monitor]]
|Ship displacement={{convert|3340|LT|t}}
|Ship length={{convert|225|ft|m|1|abbr=on}} ([[Length between perpendiculars|p/p]])
|Ship beam={{convert|45|ft|m|1|abbr=on}}
|Ship draught={{convert|15|ft|3|in|m|1|abbr=on}}
|Ship power={{convert|1436|ihp|lk=in|abbr=on}}
|Ship propulsion=2 shafts, 2 [[Marine steam engine|steam engines]]
|Ship speed={{convert|10|kn|lk=in}}
|Ship range={{convert|450|nmi|lk=in|abbr=on}} at {{convert|10|knots|abbr=on}}
|Ship complement=155
|Ship armament=2 × twin [[RML 10 inch 18 ton gun|10-inch]] [[rifled muzzle loader]]s
|Ship armour=*[[Belt armor|Belt]]: {{convert|6|-|8|in|mm|0|abbr=on}}
*[[Deck (ship)|Deck]]: {{convert|1|-|1.5|in|mm|0|abbr=on}}
*[[Superstructure]]s: {{convert|8|-|9|in|mm|abbr=on|0}}
*[[Gun turret]]: {{convert|9|-|10|in|mm|0|abbr=on}}
|Ship notes=
}}
|}
'''HMS'' Magdala''''' was a {{sclass|Cerberus|monitor|0}} [[breastwork monitor]] of the [[Royal Navy]], built specifically to serve as a [[coastal defence ship]] for the harbour of [[Bombay]] (now [[Mumbai]]) in the late 1860s. She was ordered by the [[India Office]] for the [[History of the Indian Navy#Colonial Indian Navy|Bombay Marine]]. The original specifications were thought to be too expensive and a cheaper design was ordered. While limited to harbour defence duties, the breastwork monitors were described by Admiral [[George Alexander Ballard]] as being like "full-armoured knights riding on donkeys, easy to avoid but bad to close with."<ref>Ballard, p. 219</ref> Aside from gunnery practice ''Magdala'' remained in Bombay Harbour for her entire career. The ship was sold for [[ship breaking|scrap]] in 1903.

==Design and description== 
In July 1866 the India Office asked for two floating batteries to defend Bombay and the [[Controller of the Navy]], [[Vice Admiral]] [[Robert Spencer Robinson|Spencer Robinson]] recommended that [[monitor (warship)|monitor]]s be used. He recommended a design with {{convert|12|in|0|adj=on}} armour [[Belt armor|belt]] and {{convert|15|in|0}} protecting the gun turret, armed with the largest possible guns, which would cost £220,000.<ref>Brown, p. 57</ref> The India Office thought that this was too expensive and ordered a repeat of {{ship|HMVS|Cerberus||6}} instead for only £132,400.<ref name=p8>Parkes, p. 167</ref>

The ships had a [[length between perpendiculars]] of {{convert|225|ft|m|1}}, a [[beam (nautical)|beam]] of {{convert|45|ft|m|1}}, and a [[draft (ship)|draught]] of {{convert|15|ft|3|in|m}} at [[deep load]]. They displaced {{convert|3340|LT|t}}. Their crew consisted of 155 officers and men.<ref name=g1/>

===Propulsion===
''Magdala'' had two horizontal [[Marine steam engine#Direct acting|direct-acting steam engines]], made by Ravenhill, each driving a single propeller.<ref name=s5/> The ship's [[boiler (steam generator)|boiler]]s had a working pressure of {{convert|30|psi|kPa kg/cm2|0|abbr=on|lk=on}}. The engines produced a total of {{convert|1369|ihp|lk=in}} on 21 October 1870 during the ship's [[sea trial]]s which gave her a maximum speed of {{convert|10.67|kn|lk=in}}. ''Magdala'' carried {{convert|220|LT|t}} of coal,<ref>Ballard, pp. 248–49</ref> enough to steam {{convert|450|nmi|lk=in|abbr=on}} at {{convert|10|knots|abbr=on}}.<ref name=s5>Silverstone, p. 165</ref>

===Armament===
The ''Cerberus''-class ships mounted a pair of [[RML 10 inch 18 ton gun|10-inch]] [[rifled muzzle loader|rifled muzzle-loading guns]] in each hand-worked turret. The shell of the {{convert|10|in|mm|adj=on|sigfig=3}} gun weighed {{convert|407|lb|kg|1}} while the gun itself weighed {{convert|18|LT|t}}. The gun had a [[muzzle velocity]] of {{convert|1365|ft/s|m/s|abbr=on}} and was credited with the ability to penetrate a nominal {{convert|12.9|in}} of [[wrought iron]] armour at {{convert|100|yd|m}}. The guns could fire both [[Round shot|solid shot]] and [[Shell (projectile)|explosive shells]].<ref>Roberts, p. 6</ref> ''Magdala'' was rearmed in 1892 with four [[breech-loading]] [[BL 8 inch Mk I – VII naval gun|BL 8-inch guns]].<ref name=g1>Roberts, p. 21</ref>

===Armour===
The ''Cerberus''-class ships had a complete [[wrought iron]] waterline belt that was {{convert|8|in|mm|0}} thick amidships and thinned to {{convert|6|in|mm|0}} at the ends. The superstructure and [[conning tower]] were fully armoured, the reason it was called a [[breastwork (fortification)|breastwork]], with {{convert|8|-|9|in|mm|0}} of wrought iron. The [[gun turret]]s had {{convert|10|in|mm}} on their faces and {{convert|9|in|mm}} on the sides and rear. All of the vertical armour was backed by {{convert|9|-|11|in|0}} of [[teak]]. The [[Deck (ship)|decks]] were {{convert|1.5|in|1}} thick, backed by {{convert|10|in|mm}} of teak.<ref>Parkes, pp. 167–68</ref>

==Service==
HMS ''Magdala'' was laid down on 6 October 1868 by the [[Thames Ironworks and Shipbuilding Company|Thames Ironworks]] in [[Leamouth]], [[London]]. She was launched on 2 March 1870 and completed in November 1870. For her delivery voyage to India, ''Magdala'' was fitted with three temporary masts and made the trip under sail in the middle of winter without escort, as both her builders and the Royal Navy, considered her sufficiently seaworthy as to make the trip safely. Her life thereafter was wholly spent in Bombay Harbour, with occasional short trips to sea for firing practice.<ref>Parkes, p. 169</ref> She was sold for scrap in January 1903.<ref>Silverstone, p. 249</ref>

==Notes==
{{reflist}}

==References==
* {{cite book|last=Ballard |first=G. A., Admiral|authorlink=George Alexander Ballard |title=The Black Battlefleet |year=1980 |publisher=Naval Institute Press |location=Annapolis, Maryland|isbn=0-87021-924-3}}
* {{cite book|last=Brown|first=David K.|title=Warrior to Dreadnought: Warship Development 1860–1905|edition=reprint of the 1997|year=2003|publisher=Caxton Editions|location=London|isbn=1-84067-529-2}}
* {{cite book |last1=Friedman |first1=Norman |title=British Battleships of the Victorian Era |date=2018 |publisher=Naval Institute Press |location=Annapolis, Maryland |isbn=978-1-68247-329-0|author-link=Norman Friedman}}
* {{Cite book|last=Parkes|first=Oscar|title=British Battleships|publisher=Naval Institute Press|location=Annapolis, MD|year=1990|edition=reprint of the 1957|isbn=1-55750-075-4}}
*{{cite book |title=Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships 1860–1905 |editor1-last=Chesneau |editor1-first=Roger |editor2-last=Kolesnik |editor2-first=Eugene M. |publisher=Mayflower Books |location=New York |year=1979 |isbn=0-8317-0302-4 |name-list-style=amp |url-access=registration |url=https://archive.org/details/conwaysallworlds0000unse_l2e2|chapter=Great Britain (including Empire Forces)|author1-last=Roberts|author1-first=John|pages=1–113}}
* {{Cite book|last=Silverstone|first=Paul H.|title=Directory of the World's Capital Ships|year=1984|publisher=Hippocrene Books|location=New York|isbn=0-88254-979-0}}

==External links==
*[http://www.cerberus.com.au/mag_aby_slideshow.html Magdala & Abyssinia Slideshow]

{{Cerberus class monitor}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Magdala (1870)}}
[[Category:Cerberus-class monitors]]
[[Category:Ships built in Leamouth]]
[[Category:1870 ships]]
[[Category:Victorian-era monitors of the United Kingdom]]