HMS Ocean (1863)
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HMS Ocean was the last of the Royal Navy's four Script error: No such module "WPSHIPS utilities".s to be completed in the mid-1860s. She was originally laid down as a 91-gun second-rate ship of the line, and was converted during construction to an armoured frigate. The ship spent the bulk of her career on the China Station and served as flagship there for a time. Upon her return to Great Britain in 1872 her hull was found to be partly rotten and she was placed in reserve until she was sold for scrap in 1882.
Design and description
HMS Ocean was Script error: No such module "convert". long between perpendiculars and had a beam of Script error: No such module "convert".. The ship had a draught of Script error: No such module "convert". forward and Script error: No such module "convert". aft. She displaced Script error: No such module "convert"..[1]
Ocean had a metacentric height of Script error: No such module "convert". which meant that she rolled a lot and was an unsteady gun platform.[2] Her hull was sheathed with Muntz metal to reduce biofouling. Her crew consisted of 605 officers and ratings.[3]
Propulsion
Ocean had a simple horizontal 2-cylinder horizontal return connecting-rod steam engine driving a single propeller shaft[4] using steam provided by eight rectangular boilers.[5] The engine produced Script error: No such module "convert". during the ship's sea trials in June 1864 which gave the ship a maximum speed of Script error: No such module "convert".. Ocean carried a maximum of Script error: No such module "convert". of coal,[6] enough to steam Script error: No such module "convert". at Script error: No such module "convert".. She was barque-rigged with three masts and had a sail area of Script error: No such module "convert".. Her best speed with the propeller disconnected and under sail alone was Script error: No such module "convert"..[7] Yards were added to the ship's mizzenmast by 1866 and Ocean was given a full ship rig which she retained for the rest of her career.[8]
Armament
Ocean was initially armed with twenty-four Script error: No such module "convert". rifled muzzle-loading guns. Four of these guns were mounted on the upper deck as chase guns, two each fore and aft.[9] The 16-calibre seven-inch gun weighed Script error: No such module "convert". and fired a Script error: No such module "convert". shell. It was credited with the ability to penetrate Script error: No such module "convert". of armour.[10] In 1867 four of these guns were replaced by Script error: No such module "convert". rifled muzzle-loaders.[9] The shell of the 15-calibre eight-inch gun weighed Script error: No such module "convert". while the gun itself weighed Script error: No such module "convert".. It had a muzzle velocity of Script error: No such module "convert". and was credited with the ability to penetrate Script error: No such module "convert". of wrought iron armour at the muzzle.[10]
Armour
The entire side of the Prince Consort-class ships, from the upper-deck level downwards, was protected by wrought iron armour that tapered from Script error: No such module "convert". amidships to Script error: No such module "convert". at the ends. The armour extended Script error: No such module "convert". below the waterline. One small conning tower was fitted on each side of the upper deck amidships, but these proved to be untenable when the ship's guns were fired. The armour was backed by the sides of the ship which were Script error: No such module "convert". thick.[11]
Service history
HMS Ocean was laid down on 23 August 1860 as a wooden two-deck, 90-gun ship of the line by Devonport Dockyard. The Admiralty ordered on 5 June 1861[12] that she be lengthened Script error: No such module "convert"., cut down one deck,[13] and converted to an armoured frigate for the price of £298,851.[9] The ship was launched on 19 March 1863 and commissioned in July 1866, but was not completed until 6 September 1866.[12] Ocean initially served with the Channel Fleet, but she was almost immediately transferred to the Mediterranean, and from there to the Far East; she arrived in Batavia (now Jakarta) on 15 October 1867. She was the only armoured ship ever to double the Cape of Good Hope under canvas alone.[14] During this voyage Ocean set a record in having sailed Script error: No such module "convert". on 26 August 1867 with cold boilers, the greatest distance ever covered under sail power by a British ironclad.[15]
Ocean served on the China Station for five years, 1867–1872, without docking once. The ship relieved the old two-decker Script error: No such module "WPSHIPS utilities". as station flagship in 1869 when Vice-Admiral Henry Kellett took command; a new crew was carried out by Script error: No such module "WPSHIPS utilities". and Captain William Hewett, VC assumed command of the ship.[14] In 1871, Ocean ran down and sunk a large Chinese junk at Amoy.[16] Ocean was relieved in turn by Script error: No such module "WPSHIPS utilities". in 1872, but drew too much water to pass through the Suez Canal. The Admiralty therefore ordered that she return home via the Cape of Good Hope using steam. The ship's bottom was very foul and she averaged only 4.5 knots (8.3 km/h) during the voyage. Ocean had lost a lot of sheathing during her time in the Far East and much of her planking was in a bad state. The ship was therefore relegated to dockyard reserve until sold in 1882,[14] to Castle's for breaking up at Charlton. Her stern decoration was sent to Millbank, London, to decorate Castle's yard entrance.[17]
Footnotes
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- ↑ Ballard, p. 241
- ↑ Parkes, p. 57
- ↑ Ballard, pp. 116, 118
- ↑ Ballard, pp. 119–120, 246
- ↑ Silverstone, p. 157
- ↑ Ballard, pp. 246–47
- ↑ Parkes, pp. 55, 57
- ↑ Ballard, p. 120
- ↑ a b c Parkes, p. 55
- ↑ a b Gardiner, p. 6
- ↑ Ballard, p. 118, 243
- ↑ a b Ballard, p. 240
- ↑ Ballard, pp. 116–17
- ↑ a b c Ballard, p. 125
- ↑ Ballard, p. 124
- ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
- ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
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References
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