Scorpion-class ironclad

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HMS Wivern in 1865, note that the funnel is retracted
Class overview
NameScorpion class
BuildersLaird & Son Co., Birkenhead
Operators Royal Navy
Built1862–1865
In service1865–1922
Planned2
Completed2
Scrapped2
General characteristics
TypeIronclad turret ship
Displacement2,751 long tons (2,795 t)
Length224 ft 6 in (68.4 m) (p/p)
Beam42 ft 4 in (12.9 m)
Draught17 ft (5.2 m) (
deep load
)
Installed power1,450 ihp (1,080 kW)
Propulsion1 shaft, 1 2-cylinder
boilers
Sail planBarque-rigged
Speed10.5 knots (19.4 km/h; 12.1 mph)
Range1,210 nmi (2,240 km; 1,390 mi) at 10 kn (19 km/h; 12 mph)
Complement153
Armament2 × 2 - 9-inch (229 mm) muzzle-loading rifles
Armour
  • Belt: 2–4.5 in (51–114 mm)
  • Gun turrets: 5.5–10 in (140–254 mm)

The two Scorpion-class ironclads,

muzzle-loading guns. They were purchased for service in the Royal Navy in 1864 and served briefly with the Channel Fleet before they became guard ships at Bermuda and Hong Kong. Scorpion was sold in 1903 and sank under tow to be scrapped
, while Wivern was sold for scrap in 1922.

Design and description

In March 1862, a contract was placed with

James D. Bulloch, a naval agent for the Confederate States of America, for two double-turreted warships designed for ramming attacks at a cost of £93,750 each, exclusive of armament and ammunition. They were intended, together with other warships, to break the Federal blockade of Confederate coastal cities and to hold some Northern cities for ransom.[1]

The ships had a

boiler rooms. Their crew consisted of 152 officers and men.[3]

The gun turrets, designed by Captain Coles of the Royal Navy, sat on circular turntables that were built on an iron radial platform with arms that rested on beveled wheels 18 inches (457 mm) in diameter. Each turret required a crew of 18 men to rotate them via a system of rack and pinion gears; one minute was required for a full 360° rotation. They could be rotated from inside the turret as well from outside. In emergencies the turret could be turned by a block and tackle as well as use of handspikes. A leather flap extended around the bottom of the turret and over the gap between the turret and the deck to reduce any water leakage through the gap. Like most contemporary ironclads they were fitted with a forged iron ram.[4]

The ships had 6 feet (1.8 m) of freeboard that could be increased by 5-foot (1.5 m) hinged bulwarks abreast the turrets. In service the ships proved to be buoyant and seaworthy although they rolled heavily which meant that their decks were often awash. Their flat bottom and small rudder, however, caused steering problems before the wind.[5] Because of their seaworthiness and powerful guns they have been judged superior to any monitor built by the United States Navy.[6]

Propulsion

The Scorpion-class ships had two horizontal

boilers at a working pressure of 20 psi (138 kPa; 1 kgf/cm2). The engines produced a total of 1,450 indicated horsepower (1,080 kW) which gave the ships a maximum speed of 10.5 knots (19.4 km/h; 12.1 mph).[3] Wivern reached a maximum speed just over 11 knots (20 km/h; 13 mph) during her sea trials on 4 October 1865.[7] The ships carried 336 long tons (341 t) of coal, enough to steam 1,210 nautical miles (2,240 km; 1,390 mi) at 10 knots (19 km/h; 12 mph).[3] The ships were barque-rigged with three masts. Scorpion had conventional shrouds to anchor the masts in place, but Wivern was the first ship to have tripod masts to reduce interference with the firing arcs of the gun turrets.[2] The funnel was made semi-retractable to reduce wind resistance while under sail.[8]

Armament

No ordnance had been ordered by the Confederates before the ships were seized in 1863, but in British service they mounted a pair of

9-inch rifled muzzle-loading guns in each turret. The shell of the 9-inch (229 mm) gun weighed 254 pounds (115.2 kg) while the gun itself weighed 12 long tons (12 t). The gun fired its shell at a muzzle velocity of 1,420 ft/s (430 m/s) and was credited with the ability to penetrate a nominal 11.3 inches (290 mm) of wrought iron armour at 100 yards (91 m). The guns could fire both solid shot and explosive shells.[9] According to Parkes, going from full depression to full elevation supposedly took one hour in smooth water and with an even keel![8]

Armour

The Scorpion-class ships had a complete waterline

gun ports was reinforced by 4.5-inch plates to give a total thickness of 10 inches. The turret roof consisted of T-shaped beams covered by 1-inch (25 mm) iron plates. Holes in the roof were provided for ventilation and for the gun captain to use to aim the turret.[10]

Construction

In his letter of 29 October 1862,

graving dock under any circumstances and the Surveyor of Customs finally seized the ships on 9 October.[7]

The legality of this seizure was seriously disputed, but the British government had already been somewhat embarrassed by the activities of Alabama, a ship also built by Laird Son & Co and operated as a commerce raider by the Confederate Navy. In order to overshadow discussions as to the legality of their action, the British government purchased the ships on 8 August 1864 for £25,000 in excess of the contract price.[7]

Ship Builder Laid down Launched Commissioned Fate Cost
HMS Scorpion Laird & Son Co., Birkenhead April 1862 4 July 1863 July 1865 Sold February 1903, sank under tow £111,614[3]
HMS Wivern April 1862 29 August 1863 28 September 1865 Sold June 1922 £118,769[3]

Service

Both ships were assigned to the Channel Fleet upon commissioning in 1865. Scorpion was refitted in 1867 with a

flying bridge that connected the forecastle to the poop, above the tops of the turrets, and her sailing rig was reduced to a fore-and-aft rig. The ship recommissioned in 1868 for another tour with the Channel Fleet. She arrived in Bermuda in November 1869 where she became the local guard ship. In 1873 a proposal was made to remove her poop and forecastle, masts and deck fitting to convert her to a harbour defence monitor with all-around fire, but this was deemed too expensive and the project was abandoned in 1878. At some point during her service in Bermuda her rigging was removed and she was reduced to simple pole masts. The ship was fitted with searchlights and quick-firing guns in 1890. Scorpion was sunk as a target in 1901; she was raised in 1902 and sold in February 1903 for £736. She sank while under tow to Boston, Massachusetts.[11]

Wivern burst one of her 9-inch guns in 1867, but none of the 13 people in the turret was injured. She was given the same sort of refit as her sister ship in Devonport beginning in August 1868. The ship became the guard ship at Hull from January through October 1870 and was then placed in reserve from 1870 until 1880. That year she was sent to Hong Kong where she became the harbour defence ship.[11] Wivern became a distilling ship in 1898 and was sold in May 1922 for scrap.[6]

Notes

  1. ^ a b c Scharf, p. 784
  2. ^ a b c Gardiner, p. 20
  3. ^ a b c d e Parkes, p. 78
  4. ^ Putnam, pp. 10–11
  5. ^ Parkes, p. 80
  6. ^ a b c Sullivan, p. 17
  7. ^ a b c d Putnam, p. 14
  8. ^ a b Parkes, p. 79
  9. ^ Gardiner, p. 6
  10. ^ a b Putnam, p. 11
  11. ^ a b Parkes, p. 81

References

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Scorpion class battleship.
  • 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, Maryland: Naval Institute Press.
    ISBN 1-55750-075-4
    .
  • Putnam, Arnold A. (1999). "The Building of Numbers 294 & 295: The Laird Rams". In Preston, Antony (ed.). Warship 1999–2000. London: Conway Maritime Press.
    ISBN 0-85177-724-4
    .
  • OCLC 4361326
    .
  • Sullivan, David M. (1987). "Phantom Fleet: The Confederacy's Unclaimed European Warships". Warship International. XXIV (1). Toledo, OH: International Naval Research Organization: 12–32.
    ISSN 0043-0374
    .
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