Hector class ironclad

HMS Valiant
Class overview
Operators:	Royal Navy
Preceded by:	Defence-class battleship
Succeeded by:	HMS Achilles
Built:	1861–1868
In commission:	1864–1886
Completed:	2
General characteristics
Type:	Ironclad battleship
Displacement:	6,710 long tons (6,818 t)
Length:	280 ft (85 m)
Beam:	56 ft 3 in (17.15 m)
Draught:	25 ft (7.6 m)
Propulsion:	Valiant : Maudslay connecting-rod, 3,560 ihp (2,655 kW) Hector : Napier connecting-rod, 3,260 ihp (2,431 kW)
Sail plan:	Barque-rig, sail area 24,500 sq ft (2,280 m²)
Speed:	Valiant : 12 knots (22 km/h; 14 mph) Hector : 12.6 knots (23.3 km/h; 14.5 mph)
Armament:	2 × 8-inch (200 mm) muzzle-loading rifles 16 × 7-inch (180 mm) muzzle-loading rifles
Armour:	Main belt and bulkheads : 4.5 in (110 mm) Battery : 4.5 in (110 mm) amidships and 2.5 in (64 mm) fore and aft

The Hector class battleships, HMS Hector and HMS Valiant, laid down in 1861, were the class which immediately followed the Defence class into service with the Royal Navy.

These two ships were classified at the time of their building as armoured frigates, and were essentially a repeat of the Defence class with somewhat greater speed, armament and armour protection. At the time of their design the Warrior class were still building, and the concept of the iron hull as opposed to the wooden had not been as yet universally accepted as necessary; or, indeed, as practical. The Board of Admiralty went so far as to issue a directive requesting a report on the suitability of the ships for use as transports with their armour stripped away.

Both ships on completion were found to be seriously overweight, with a draught a foot greater than had been anticipated. It was therefore found necessary to limit their supply of coal, which in turn limited their effective range under engine power, and confined them to service in home waters. Because of this extra weight they were the only broadside ironclads not to be equipped with either a forecastle or a poop.

Construction

Ship	Builder	Laid down	Launched	Completed	Fate	Cost
HMS Hector	Robert Napier, Govan	March 1861	26 September 1862	22 February 1864	Sold 1905	£294,000
HMS Valiant	Westwood & Baillie, Cubitt Town and Thames Ironworks, Blackwall, London	February 1861	14 October 1863	15 September 1868	Scrapped 1957	£325,000

References

• Ballard, G. A., Admiral (1980). The Black Battlefleet. Annapolis, MD: Naval Institute Press. ISBN 0-87021-924-3. 
• 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

Media related to Hector class battleship at Wikimedia Commons