HMS Valiant (1863)

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For other ships with the same name, see HMS Valiant.

Line drawing of the Valiant
History
United Kingdom
NameValiant
Ordered25 January 1861
Builder
Laid downFebruary 1861
Launched14 October 1863
Completed15 September 1868
CommissionedSeptember 1868
Decommissioned1885
FateSold for scrap, 1956
General characteristics
Class and type
armoured frigate
Displacement7,000 long tons (7,100 t)
Length280 ft 2 in (85.4 m)
Beam56 ft 4 in (17.2 m)
Draught26 ft 2 in (8 m)
Installed power
Propulsion1 shaft, 1 HRCR steam engine
Sail planBarque-rigged
Speed12 knots (22 km/h; 14 mph)
Range800 nmi (1,500 km; 920 mi) at 12 kn (22 km/h; 14 mph)
Complement530
Armament
Armour
  • Belt: 2.5–4.5 in (64–114 mm)
  • Bulkheads: 4.5 in (114 mm)

HMS Valiant was the second ship of the

First World War. The ship was converted to a floating oil tank in 1926 and served in that role until sold for scrap
in 1956.

Design and description

The Hector-class ironclads,[Note 1] like their immediate predecessors, the Defence class, were designed as smaller and cheaper versions of the Warrior-class armoured frigates. They were modified versions of the Defence-class ships with additional armour and more powerful engines.[1]

Valiant was 280 feet 2 inches (85.4 m)

boiler rooms.[3] The ships of her class were designed with a very low centre of gravity and had a metacentric height of 4 feet 6 inches (1.4 m). While handy in manoeuvring, they rolled quite badly.[4]

Propulsion

Messers. Maudslay's engines of 800-horse power for the Valiant were shown at the 1862 International Exhibition

Valiant had one 2-cylinder

kW). During her sea trials on 18 September 1865 Valiant had a maximum speed of 12.65 knots (23.43 km/h; 14.56 mph). The ship carried 450 long tons (460 t) of coal,[5] enough to steam 800 nautical miles (1,500 km; 920 mi) at full speed.[6]

The ship was barque-rigged and had a sail area of 24,500 square feet (2,276 m2). Her funnel was semi-retractable to reduce wind resistance while under sail alone. She was designed to allow the ship's propeller to be hoisted up into the stern of the ship to reduce drag while under sail, but the hoisting gear was never fitted.[7]

Armament

The armament of the Hector-class ships was intended to be 32

Battles for Shimonoseki and the Bombardment of Kagoshima in 1863–1864 caused the navy to withdraw the gun from service shortly afterwards.[8]

Due to her extended construction time, Valiant never received the breech loaders, and was armed with sixteen 7-inch (178 mm) and two 8-inch (203 mm)

7-inch gun weighed 6.5 long tons (6.6 t) and fired a 112 pounds (50.8 kg) shell. It was credited with the nominal ability to penetrate 7.7-inch (196 mm) armour.[10]

Armour

The Hector-class ships had a wrought-iron

Amidships, it was 4.5-inch thick for a length of 216 feet and tapered to a thickness of 2.5 inches (64 mm) to the ends of the ship.[8] The armour was backed by 18 inches (460 mm) of teak. The lack of armour at the stern meant that the steering gear was very vulnerable.[11]

Service history

HMS Valiant was

bankrupt in November 1861 and was ultimately bought by Thames Ironworks,[4] which delayed the ship's launching until 14 October 1863.[1] In August 1865, after Valiant had been towed to Portsmouth for fitting out, the ship was inspected by French officers during a port visit by ironclads of the French Navy.[13] Production of the new muzzle-loaded rifles was slow and ships already in commission had priority so Valiant was not commissioned until September 1868, nearly five years after she was launched.[14]

After Valiant was commissioned she became the First Reserve

Admiral Hornby.

Valiant in Egypt. The Graphic 1882

On 20 July 1884 Valiant was accidentally rammed by the ironclad HMS Defence in Lough Swilly, damaging her hull and tearing off her boats, davits and fittings on one side of the ship. Valiant was paid off in 1885, and saw no further front-line service; lying for thirteen years in a partially dismantled state at Devonport.[4] In 1897 she was assigned to the stoker training establishment HMS Indus, briefly losing her name, before being renamed as Indus IV in 1904.[15] The ship was converted to a kite balloon storeship in 1915, during World War I, and her name was changed to HMS Valiant III.[4] She was offered for sale in 1922, but there were no takers so that she was converted into a floating oil tank in 1926 and towed to Hamoaze, where she remained until 1956. Valiant was sold in that year to Belgian ship breakers and towed to Bruges on 8 December 1956.[15]

Notes

  1. ^ Ironclad is the all-encompassing term for armored warships of this period. Armoured frigates were basically designed for the same role as traditional wooden frigates, but this later changed as the size and expense of these ships forced them to be used in the line of battle.

Footnotes

  1. ^ a b c Parkes, pp. 30–31
  2. ^ Ballard, p. 241
  3. ^ Gardiner, p. 9
  4. ^ a b c d Parkes, p. 33
  5. ^ Ballard, pp. 246–247
  6. ^ Parkes, p. 30
  7. ^ Ballard, p. 158
  8. ^ a b Parkes, p. 32
  9. ^ Ballard, pp. 156–57
  10. ^ Gardiner, p. 6
  11. ^ Ballard, pp. 165, 244
  12. ^ Ballard, p. 240
  13. ^ Jones, p. 37
  14. ^ Ballard, p. 159
  15. ^ a b Ballard, p. 161

References

  • ISBN 0-87021-924-3.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link
    )
  • Gardiner, Robert, ed. (1979). Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships 1860–1905. Greenwich: Conway Maritime Press.
    ISBN 0-8317-0302-4
    .
  • Jones, Colin (1996). "Entente Cordiale, 1865". In McLean, David &
    ISBN 0-85177-685-X
    .
  • Parkes, Oscar (1990). British Battleships (reprint of the 1957 ed.). Annapolis, Maryland: Naval Institute Press.
    ISBN 1-55750-075-4
    .

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