HMS Enterprise (1864)
 HM Gunboat Comet (left) and HMS Enterprise (right)
| |
| History | |
|---|---|
 United Kingdom | |
| Name | HMS Enterprise |
| Ordered | 1861 |
| Builder | Deptford Dockyard, Deptford, England |
| Cost | £62,464 |
| Laid down | 5 May 1862 |
| Launched | 9 February 1864 |
| Completed | 3 June 1864 |
| Commissioned | 5 May 1864 |
| Fate | Sold 1885 |
| General characteristics [1] | |
| Type | Ironclad sloop |
| Displacement | 1,350 long tons (1,370 t) |
| Tons burthen | 994 bm |
| Length |
|
| Beam | 36 ft (11.0 m) |
| Draught | 15 ft 8 in (4.8 m) |
| Installed power |
|
| Propulsion |
|
| Sail plan |
|
| Speed | 9.9 knots (18.3 km/h; 11.4 mph) |
| Complement | 130 |
| Armament |
|
| Armour | |
The seventh HMS Enterprise of the
Edward Reed and completed as a central battery ironclad. The ship spent the bulk of her career assigned to the Mediterranean Fleet before returning to England in 1871 where she was paid off. Enterprise was sold for scrap
in 1885.
Design and description
The ship had a
deep load. She displaced 1,350 long tons (1,370 t). Her crew consisted of 130 officers and men.[2]
Enterprise's wooden hull was remodeled shortly after she was laid down; she was given a plough-shaped ram bow and a semi-circular stern. The ship had only two decks: the main deck, very close to the ship's waterline, and the upper deck which carried her armament, about 6.5 feet (2.0 m) above the waterline. She was the first ship of composite construction in the Royal Navy, with iron upperworks.[3]
Propulsion
Enterprise had a Ravenhill, Salkeld & Co.
boilers. The engine produced 690 indicated horsepower (510 kW) which gave the ship a maximum speed around 9.9 knots (18.3 km/h; 11.4 mph). Enterprise carried 95 long tons (97 t) of coal. As built, her funnel was mounted in the middle of the battery for protection, which impaired the working of her guns until it was relocated forward of the battery in November 1864. She was barque-rigged with three masts and had a sail area of 18,250 square feet (1,695 m2). Her best speed under sail and steam was 9.8 knots (18.1 km/h; 11.3 mph).[4]
Armament
Enterprise was armed with two 100-pounder
Battles for Shimonoseki and the Bombardment of Kagoshima in 1863–64 caused the navy to withdraw the guns from service shortly afterwards.[6]
In an attempt to provide
gun port though which a gun could traverse and fire. While providing better coverage than the traditional broadside layout this still left a 120° arc forward and another aft on which no gun could bear.[4]
The 9.2-inch (234 mm)
solid shot of the Somerset gun weighed approximately 113 pounds (51 kg) while the gun itself weighed 13,514 pounds (6,130 kg). The gun had a velocity of 1,462 ft/s (446 m/s) at 563 feet (171.6 m) and had a range of 5,253 yards (4,803 m).[7] The 7-inch (178 mm) shell of the 110-pounder Armstrong breech-loader weighed 107–110 pounds (48.5–49.9 kg). It had a muzzle velocity of 1,150 ft/s (350 m/s) and, at an elevation of 11.25°, a maximum range of 4,000 yards (3,700 m). The 110-pounder gun weighed 9,520 pounds (4,320 kg). All of the guns could fire both solid shot and explosive shells.[8] Both guns were mounted on wooden gun carriages with slides "which were difficult to traverse even on an even keel; in a seaway few captains would have run the risk of casting them loose."[9]
Enterprise was rearmed during her 1868 refit with four 7-inch (180 mm)
7-inch gun weighed 6.5 long tons (6.6 t) and fired a 112-pound (50.8 kg) shell. It was credited with the ability to penetrate 7.7-inch (196 mm) armour.[10]
Armour
Enterprise had a complete waterline belt of wrought iron that was 4.5 inches (114 mm) thick. It protected only the main deck and was shallow, reaching just 3 feet 6 inches (1.1 m) below the waterline. The guns were protected by a section of 4.5-inch armour, 34 feet (10.4 m) long, and by 4.5-inch transverse bulkheads. The armour was backed by 19.5 inches (500 mm) of teak wood. The total weight of her armour was 195 long tons (198 t).[11]
Service
The ship was laid down on 5 May 1862 at the
paid off into 4th Class Reserve in August 1871 at Sheerness. Enterprise was sold for scrap in 1885 for £2,072.[12] On 6 October 1889, Enterprise was being towed from Plymouth, Devon to Liverpool, Lancashire, when she was caught in a gale off the coast of Anglesey. She was driven ashore and wrecked at Aberffraw.[14]
Notes
Footnotes
- ^ Winfield (2004) p.238
- ^ Parkes, p. 88
- ^ Parkes, p. 87
- ^ a b c Parkes, pp. 87–88, 90
- ^ Roberts, p. 12
- ^ Parkes, pp. 27–28
- ^ Holley, pp. 208, 579
- ^ Lambert, pp. 85–87, 89
- ^ Parkes, p. 89
- ^ Roberts, p. 6
- ^ Parkes, pp. 88–89
- ^ a b Parkes, p. 60
- ^ "Naval Disasters Since 1860". Hampshire Telegraph. No. 4250. Portsmouth. 10 May 1873.
- ^ "The Gale on the Anglesey Coast". The Times. No. 32827. London. 11 October 1889. col A-B, p. 6.
References
- ISBN 0-87021-924-3.)
{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link - ISBN 978-1-68247-329-0.
- Holley, Alexander Lyman (1865). A Treatise on Ordnance and Armor. New York: D. Van Nostrand.
- Lambert, Andrew (1987). Warrior: Restoring the World's First Ironclad. London: Conway. ISBN 0-85177-411-3.
- ISBN 1-55750-075-4.
- Roberts, John (1979). "Great Britain (including Empire Forces)". In Chesneau, Roger & Kolesnik, Eugene M. (eds.). Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships 1860–1905. New York: Mayflower Books. pp. 1–113. ISBN 0-8317-0302-4.
- Winfield, R.; Lyon, D. (2004). The Sail and Steam Navy List: All the Ships of the Royal Navy 1815–1889. London: Chatham Publishing. OCLC 52620555.