HMS Edinburgh (1882)
 Edinburgh, probably early in her career
| |
| History | |
|---|---|
 United Kingdom | |
| Name | HMS Edinburgh |
| Builder | Pembroke Dockyard |
| Laid down | 20 March 1879 |
| Launched | 18 March 1882 |
| Completed | 8 July 1887 |
| Fate | Broken up, Thos. W. Ward 1910 |
| General characteristics | |
| Class and type | ironclad |
| Displacement | 9,420 long tons (9,570 t) |
| Length | 325 feet (99.1 m) lpp |
| Beam | 68 ft (21 m) |
| Draught | 25 ft 9 in (7.85 m) |
| Installed power |
|
| Propulsion |
|
| Speed | 16 knots (30 km/h; 18 mph) |
| Complement | 396 |
| Armament |
|
| Armour |
|
HMS Edinburgh was an ironclad battleship of the
Edinburgh was the first British battleship since
Edinburgh's guns were carried in two turrets positioned near the centre of the ship, and the turrets were mounted en echelon. It was expected that, by mounting the turrets in this way, at least one gun from each turret could fire fore and aft along the keel line, and all four guns could fire on broadside bearings; it was intended that every part of the horizon could be covered by at least two guns. In practice it was found that firing too close to the keel line caused unacceptable blast damage to the superstructure, and cross-deck firing similarly caused damage to the deck.
Before Edinburgh the positioning of the conning tower in British ironclads had produced a variety of solutions; the difficulty was that the two important factors involved, maximum protection and maximum visibility, were essentially mutually incompatible. In this ship the conning tower was positioned forward of the foremast for good all-round vision; the chart-house was, however, placed on its roof, and the whole area surrounded by small guns, stanchions and other obstructions to the view. The problem was not solved until the political will to build larger ships in turn allowed more space for command facilities.
Design
The design for the Colossus class was based on the earlier
Edinburgh was 325 feet (99.1 m)
The ship was armed with a
Edinburgh's
Service history
The
In August 1895, Edinburgh was again reactivated to take part in the annual fleet manoeuvres as part of the Reserve Fleet. At that time, the capital ships assigned to the fleet included Colossus, Alexandra, Benbow, and the ironclad Dreadnought.The ships were mobilised at Torbay in early August, went to sea on the 8th, and carried out various training exercises, including shooting practice and tactical manoeuvres, before returning to port on 20 August.[6] During the 1896 fleet manoeuvres, Edinburgh, Colossus, Alexandra, and Benbow were joined by the old ironclad Sultan in Fleet C, one of four organized for the exercises. Fleet C operated in concert with Fleet D, again commanded by Seymour. He was given the objective to combine his fleets and either defeat the strong A and B fleets in detail or to reach the fortified port of Lough Swilly. The ships went to sea on 24 July and by the morning of 30 July, Seymour had succeeded in uniting his fleets but failed to bring Fleet A to battle, and therefore took his ships to Lough Swilly.[7]
She was then placed in reserve from 1897 until 1899.
In 1908 she was converted for use as a target ship, being fitted with fully backed and supported modern armour plates; the intention was to test and measure the effect on these plates of oblique impact by armour-piercing shells filled with
Edinburg was ultimately sold to
Notes
- ^ a b c d e f g h i Lyon & Roberts, p. 27.
- ^ Brassey 1886, p. 183.
- ^ Brassey 1886, pp. 181–184.
- ^ Brassey 1898, p. 13.
- ^ Thursfield 1895, pp. 60–77.
- ^ Gleig, pp. 176–177.
- ^ Thursfield 1897, pp. 147–159.
- ^ Brassey 1898, pp. 12–15.
- ^ Thursfield 1898, pp. 128–129.
- ^ Brassey 1899, p. 427.
- ^ Thursfield 1901, pp. 90–97.
- ^ "Naval & Military intelligence". The Times. No. 36602. London. 2 November 1901. p. 13.
- ^ "The Coronation - Naval Review". The Times. No. 36845. London. 13 August 1902. p. 4.
References
- OCLC 496786828.
- Brassey, Thomas A. (1898). "The Progress of the British Navy". The Naval Annual. Portsmouth: J. Griffin & Co.: 1–18. OCLC 496786828.
- Brassey, Thomas A. (1899). "First Lord's Memoradum". The Naval Annual. Portsmouth: J. Griffin & Co.: 415–433. OCLC 496786828.
- Gleig, Charles (1896). Brassey, Thomas A. (ed.). "Chapter XI: British Manoeuvres in 1895". The Naval Annual. Portsmouth: J. Griffin & Co.: 175–194. OCLC 496786828.
- Lyon, David & Roberts, John (1979). "Great Britain and Empire Forces". In Chesneau, Roger & Kolesnik, Eugene M. (eds.). Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships 1860–1905. Greenwich: Conway Maritime Press. pp. 1–113. ISBN 978-0-85177-133-5.
- Thursfield, J. R. (1895). Brassey, Thomas A. (ed.). "Chapter IV: British Manoeuvres in 1894". The Naval Annual. Portsmouth: J. Griffin & Co.: 60–89. OCLC 496786828.
- Thursfield, J. R. (1897). Brassey, Thomas A. (ed.). "Naval Manoeuvres in 1896". The Naval Annual. Portsmouth: J. Griffin & Co.: 140–188. OCLC 496786828.
- Thursfield, J. R. (1898). Brassey, Thomas A. (ed.). "Naval Manoeuvres". The Naval Annual. Portsmouth: J. Griffin & Co.: 118–151. OCLC 496786828.
- Thursfield, J. R. (1901). Leyland, John (ed.). "British Naval Manoeuvres". The Naval Annual. Portsmouth: J. Griffin & Co.: 90–118. OCLC 496786828.
Further reading
- Brown, D. K. (1997). Warrior to Dreadnought: Warship Development, 1860–1905. London: Chatham Pub. ISBN 978-1-86176-022-7.
- Parkes, Oscar (1990). British Battleships. Cooper. ISBN 978-0-85052-604-2.