HMS Neptune (1874)
| |
| History | |
|---|---|
 United Kingdom | |
| Name | HMS Neptune |
| Namesake | Neptune |
| Builder | J & W Dudgeon, Cubitt Town, London |
| Cost | £600,000 |
| Laid down | 1873 |
| Launched | 10 September 1874 |
| Completed | 3 September 1881 |
| Acquired | February–March 1878 |
| Commissioned | 28 March 1883 |
| Fate | Sold for scrap 15 September 1903 |
| General characteristics | |
| Type | Ironclad turret ship |
| Displacement | 8,964 long tons (9,108 t) |
| Length | 300 ft (91.4 m) (p/p) |
| Beam | 63 ft (19.2 m) |
| Draught | 25 ft (7.6 m) |
| Installed power | 8,832 ihp (6,586 kW) |
| Propulsion | 1 shaft, 1 2-cylinder boilers |
| Sail plan | Barque-rigged |
| Speed | 14 knots (26 km/h; 16 mph) |
| Range | 1,480 nmi (2,740 km; 1,700 mi) at 10 kn (19 km/h; 12 mph) |
| Complement | 541 |
| Armament |
|
| Armour |
|
HMS Neptune was an
Design and description
HMS Neptune was designed by
During the Russo-Turkish War of 1877–78 tensions dramatically escalated between Russia and Great Britain as the latter feared that the victorious Russian armies would occupy the Turkish capital of Constantinople, something that the British were not prepared to tolerate. They mobilized much of the Royal Navy in case war did break out and purchased a number of ironclads under construction, including Independencia, in 1878. The Brazilians sold the ship for £600,000, nearly twice as much as the £370,000 paid for Devastation a few years earlier. Another £89,172 was spent to bring her up to the standards of the Royal Navy.[2] In British service she was deemed "a white elephant, being a thoroughly bad ship in most respects—unlucky, full of inherent faults and small vices, and at times a danger to her own consorts".[1]
Neptune was 300 feet (91.4 m)
Neptune proved a poor
Propulsion
Neptune had one 2-cylinder
Neptune was barque-rigged, but her twin funnels were so close to the mainmast that the sails and rigging rapidly deteriorated in service. The mast was eventually stripped of sails and yards so that the ship only used the fore and mizzen masts; an unsightly combination described as "like a half-dressed harlot". During her 1886 refit the ship's masts and rigging were replaced by simple pole masts with fighting tops at the fore and mizzen positions only.[7]
Armament
The Brazilians had ordered four
The shell of the 16-
Armour
Neptune had a complete
The faces of the turrets were 13 inches (330 mm) thick while the sides were 11 inches (279 mm) thick. They were backed by 13–15 inches (330–381 mm) of
Service
HMS Neptune was
Independencia ran her sea trials in December 1877.[12] On 22 December, she ran aground in the River Thames at Greenwich, Kent.[13] She was refloated on 25 December and towed in to Greenhithe, Kent.[14] Independencia was run into by the British steamship Firebrick at Greenhithe, Kent on 23 February 1878 and sustained slight damage.[15] She was purchased by the Royal Navy in March 1878 and renamed Neptune,[4] after the Roman god of the sea.[12] She was then taken to Portsmouth for alterations to her armament and other equipment that took until 3 September 1881 to complete.[4]
Neptune was
While under tow by the tug Rowland and another at her side out of Portsmouth on 23 October 1903, Neptune broke the cables connecting her to the tugs in a storm. With the winds and a strong flood tide pushing her, she was pushed back into the harbour and narrowly missed the training tender of the
Footnotes
- ^ a b Parkes, p. 277
- ^ Parkes, pp. 267, 276–77
- ^ Burt, p. 22
- ^ a b c d Gardiner, p. 25
- ^ a b c Parkes, p. 280
- ^ Parkes, pp. 276, 279
- ^ Parkes, p. 279–80
- ^ a b Parkes, p. 278
- ^ Gardiner, p. 6
- ^ Parkes, pp. 278
- ^ "Money-Market and City Intelligence". The Times. No. 28450. 19 October 1875. p. 6.
- ^ a b Silverstone, p. 253
- ^ "Shipping Intelligence". Glasgow Herald. No. 11857. Glasgow. 24 December 1877.
- ^ "Mercantile Ship News". The Standard. No. 16668. London. 25 December 1877. p. 7.
- ^ "Shipping". Newcastle Courant. No. 10601. Newcastle upon Tyne. 1 March 1878.
- ^ "Naval & Military intelligence". The Times. No. 36751. London. 25 April 1902. p. 8.
- ^ The Times, 24/10/1903 & 26/10/1903
References
- Burt, R. A. (1988). British Battleships 1889–1904. Annapolis, MD: Naval Institute Press. ISBN 0-87021-061-0.
- 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.
- Silverstone, Paul H. (1984). Directory of the World's Capital Ships. New York: Hippocrene Books. ISBN 0-88254-979-0.
External links
