HMS Agincourt (1865): Difference between revisions
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HMS ''Agincourt'', named after the victory at the [[Battle of Agincourt]] in 1415,<ref>Silverstone, p. 208</ref> was originally ordered on 2 September 1861 as HMS ''Captain'', but her name was changed during construction. She was laid down on 30 October 1861 by the [[Cammell Laird|Laird's]] at its shipyard in [[Birkenhead]]. The ship was launched on 27 March 1865, commissioned in June 1868 for trials and completed on 19 December. The lengthy delay in completion was due to frequent changes in design details, and experiments with her armament and with her sailing rig.<ref>Ballard, pp. 28, 240</ref> The ship cost a total of £483,003.<ref>Parkes, p. 59</ref> |
HMS ''Agincourt'', named after the victory at the [[Battle of Agincourt]] in 1415,<ref>Silverstone, p. 208</ref> was originally ordered on 2 September 1861 as HMS ''Captain'', but her name was changed during construction. She was laid down on 30 October 1861 by the [[Cammell Laird|Laird's]] at its shipyard in [[Birkenhead]]. The ship was launched on 27 March 1865, commissioned in June 1868 for trials and completed on 19 December. The lengthy delay in completion was due to frequent changes in design details, and experiments with her armament and with her sailing rig.<ref>Ballard, pp. 28, 240</ref> The ship cost a total of £483,003.<ref>Parkes, p. 59</ref> |
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''Agincourt''{{'}}s first assignment, together with with her sister [[ship|half-sister]] {{HMS|Northumberland|1865|2}} was to tow a [[floating dock]] from England to [[Madeira]] where it would be picked up by {{HMS|Warrior|1860|2}} and {{HMS|Black Prince|1861|2}} and taken to [[Bermuda]]. The ships departed the [[Nore]] on 23 June 1869, loaded down with {{convert|500|LT|t}} of coal stowed in bags on their gun decks, and transferred the floating dock 11 days later after an uneventful voyage. ''Agincourt'' was assigned to the Channel Fleet upon her return and she became the flagship of the second-in-command of the fleet continuously until she began a refit in 1873.<ref>Ballard, pp. 31, 33</ref> |
''Agincourt''{{'}}s first assignment, together with with her sister [[ship|half-sister]] {{HMS|Northumberland|1865|2}} was to tow a [[floating dry dock|floating dock]] from England to [[Madeira]] where it would be picked up by {{HMS|Warrior|1860|2}} and {{HMS|Black Prince|1861|2}} and taken to [[Bermuda]]. The ships departed the [[Nore]] on 23 June 1869, loaded down with {{convert|500|LT|t}} of coal stowed in bags on their gun decks, and transferred the floating dock 11 days later after an uneventful voyage. ''Agincourt'' was assigned to the Channel Fleet upon her return and she became the flagship of the second-in-command of the fleet continuously until she began a refit in 1873.<ref>Ballard, pp. 31, 33</ref> |
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===1871 grounding on Pearl Rock=== |
===1871 grounding on Pearl Rock=== |
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 Agincourt at anchor
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| History | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Builder | Laird, Son & Co. of Birkenhead[1] |
| Laid down | 30 October 1861 |
| Launched | 27 March 1865 |
| Completed | 1 June 1867 |
| Commissioned | June 1868 |
| Fate | Broken up, 1960 |
| General characteristics | |
| Class and type | Minotaur class battleship |
| Displacement | 10,800 tons |
| Draught | 27 ft (8.2 m) |
| Propulsion | list error: <br /> list (help) One-shaft Maudslay return connecting-rod 6,700 IHP |
| Speed | 14.8 knots (27.4 km/h) |
| Complement | 705 nominal, 800 actual |
| Armament | list error: <br /> list (help) 1868 4 × 9 inch muzzle-loading rifles |
| Armour | 5 inch (127 mm) belt with 10 inch (254 mm) teak backing |
HMS Agincourt was one of three Minotaur class ironclads, the sistership of HMS Minotaur and a near sister to HMS Northumberland. She was a fully rigged ship with a steam engine and an armoured iron hull and was launched in 1865.
Design and description
The Minotaur-class armoured frigates[Note 1] were essentially enlarged versions of the ironclad HMS Achilles with heavier armament, armour, and more powerful engines. They retained the broadside ironclad layout of their predecessor, but their sides were fully armoured to protect the 50 guns they were designed to carry. Their plough-shaped ram was also more prominent than that of Achilles.[2]
The Minotaur-class ships were 400 feet (121.9 m) long between perpendiculars and 411 feet (125.3 m) long overall. They had a beam of 58 feet 6 inches (17.8 m) and a draft of 26 feet 10 inches (8.2 m).[3] The ships displaced 10,627 long tons (10,798 t).[4] The hull was subdivided by 15 watertight transverse bulkheads and had a double bottom underneath the engine and boiler rooms.[5]
Agincourt was considered "an excellent sea-boat and a steady gun platform, but unhandy under steam and practically unmanageable under sail"[6] as built. The ship's steadiness was partially a result of her metacentric height of 3.87 feet (1.2 m).[7]
Propulsion
Agincourt had one 2-cylinder Horizontal return connecting rod-steam engine, made by Maudslay, driving a single propeller using steam provided by 10 rectangular fire-tube boilers. It produced a total of 4,426 indicated horsepower (3,300 kW) during the ship's sea trials on 12 December 1865 and Agincourt had a maximum speed of 13.55 knots (25.09 km/h; 15.59 mph). The ship carried 750 long tons (760 t) of coal,[8] enough to steam 1,500 nmi (2,800 km; 1,700 mi) at 7.5 knots (13.9 km/h; 8.6 mph).[5]
Agincourt had five masts and a sail area of 32,377 square feet (3,008 m2). Because the ship's propeller could only be disconnected and not hoisted up into the stern of the ship to reduce drag, Agincourt only made 9.5 knots (17.6 km/h; 10.9 mph) under sail. Both funnels were semi-retractable to reduce wind resistance while under sail.[9] Admiral George A. Ballard described Agincourt and her sisters as "the dullest performers under canvas of the whole masted fleet of their day, and no ships ever carried so much dress to so little purpose."[10] In 1893–4, after her withdrawal from active service, Agincourt had two masts removed and was re-rigged as a barque.[7]
Armament
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The armament of the Minotaur-class ships was intended to be 40 rifled 110-pounder breech-loading guns on the main deck and 10 more on the upper deck on pivot mounts. The gun was a new design from Armstrong, but proved a failure a few years after its introduction. The gun was withdrawn before any were received by any of the Minotaur-class ships. They were armed, instead, with a mix of Template:Convert/spell and Template:Convert/spell rifled muzzle-loading guns. All four nine-inch and 20 seven-inch guns were mounted on the main deck while four seven-inch guns were fitted on the upper deck as chase guns. The ship also received eight brass howitzers for use as saluting guns. The gun ports were 30 inches (0.8 m) wide which allowed each gun to fire 30° fore and aft of the beam.[11]
The shell of the 14-calibre 9-inch gun weighed 254 pounds (115.2 kg) while the gun itself weighed 12 long tons (12 t). It had a muzzle velocity of 1,420 ft/s (430 m/s) and was credited with the ability to penetrate a 11.3 inches (287 mm) of wrought iron armour at the muzzle. The 16-calibre 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.[12]
Agincourt was rearmed in 1875 with a uniform armament of 17 nine-inch guns, 14 on the main deck, two forward chase guns and one rear chase gun. The gun ports had be enlarged to accommodate the larger guns by hand, at a cost of £250 each. About 1883 two 6 inches (152 mm) breech-loading guns replaced two 9-inch muzzle-loading guns.[13] Four quick-firing (QF) 4.7-inch (120-mm) guns, eight QF 3-pounder Hotchkiss guns, eight machine guns and two torpedo tubes were installed in 1891–2.[14]
Armour
The entire side of the Minotaur-class ships was protected by wrought iron armour that tapered from 4.5 inches (114 mm) at the ends to 5.5 inches (140 mm) amidships, except for a section of the bow between the upper and main decks. The armour extended 5 feet 9 inches (1.8 m) below the waterline. A single 5.5-inch transverse bulkhead protected the forward chase guns on the upper deck. The armour was backed by 10 inches (254 mm) of teak.[14]
Construction and service
HMS Agincourt, named after the victory at the Battle of Agincourt in 1415,[15] was originally ordered on 2 September 1861 as HMS Captain, but her name was changed during construction. She was laid down on 30 October 1861 by the Laird's at its shipyard in Birkenhead. The ship was launched on 27 March 1865, commissioned in June 1868 for trials and completed on 19 December. The lengthy delay in completion was due to frequent changes in design details, and experiments with her armament and with her sailing rig.[16] The ship cost a total of £483,003.[17]
Agincourt's first assignment, together with with her sister half-sister Northumberland was to tow a floating dock from England to Madeira where it would be picked up by Warrior and Black Prince and taken to Bermuda. The ships departed the Nore on 23 June 1869, loaded down with 500 long tons (510 t) of coal stowed in bags on their gun decks, and transferred the floating dock 11 days later after an uneventful voyage. Agincourt was assigned to the Channel Fleet upon her return and she became the flagship of the second-in-command of the fleet continuously until she began a refit in 1873.[18]
1871 grounding on Pearl Rock
It was during this assignment that she suffered a near-catastrophe when she ran aground on Pearl Rock, near Gibraltar in 1871 and nearly sank. Agincourt was leading the inshore column of ships, contrary to normal practice where the senior flagship lead the inshore column, and gently ran aground sideways when the senior flagship's navigator failed to compensate for the set of the tide. Warrior, immediately following her, nearly collided with her, but managed to sheer off in time.[19]
Agincourt was stuck fast and had to be lightened; her guns were removed and much of her coal was tossed overboard before she was towed off by Hercules, commanded by Lord Gilford, four days later. Heavy weather set in the night after Agincourt was freed and it would have wrecked her if she'd still be aground. Both the fleet commander and his deputy were relieved of their commands as a result of the incident. The ship was repaired in Devonport and Captain J.O. Hopkins assumed command in September with Commander Charles Penrose-Fitzgerald as his executive officer. Hopkins later commented: "We turned the Agincourt from the noisiest and the worst disciplined ship in the squadron into the quietest and the smartest; and a few months after we commissioned we went out to the Mediterranean for the Lord Clyde court-martial, and beat the whole Mediterranean fleet in their drills and exercises, which was a great triumph."[20]
1873-1875 Channel fleet flagship
Agincourt flew the second-in-command's flag until 1873, when her sister Minotaur was taken in hand for a refit, and for the next two years she served as flagship in the Channel, relinquishing that role in 1875 when Minotaur rejoined the fleet.
1875-1877 Re-armament
After another two years' good service, Agincourt was paid off in 1875 for re-armament, trading her outdated muzzle loading guns for new breech-loading ones. The following year, with her new armament, she became part of the Particular Service Squadron which passed through the Dardanelles under the command of Admiral Hornby during the war scare with Russia over their advance towards Constantinople. After those tensions faded, Agincourt returned to the Channel, where she served as second flag until 1889. That year she was again paid off and was subsequently held in reserve at Portsmouth until 1893, when she was transferred to Portland for use as a training ship. During her active career Agincourt was the flagship of no less than fifteen admirals, some of whom were among the most notable figures of Victorian naval history.
Later years as Boscawen III and Ganges II
Agincourt, now renamed Boscawen III, would serve twelve years at Portland. In 1905 she was moved to Harwich and renamed once again, this time to Ganges II. After four years at Harwich, Ganges II made her final journey, to Sheerness, in 1909. After her arrival at Sheerness the old ship was systematically stripped, and converted into a coal hulk known simply as C.109, much like HMS Warrior's career as an oil jetty at Pembroke. Unlike Warrior, however, Agincourt was not destined to be rescued and restored to her former glory; after five ignominious decades as what Oscar Parkes called "a grimy, dilapidated and incredibly shrunken relic" of her former self, she was scrapped in 1960.
Notes
- ^ 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
- ^ "Launch of the Iron-clad Minotaur". The Manchester Guardian. December 29, 1863. Retrieved September 4, 2011.
- ^ Parkes, pp. 60–61
- ^ Silverstone, p. 157
- ^ Ballard, p. 241
- ^ a b Parkes, p. 60
- ^ Ballard, p. 24
- ^ a b Parkes, p. 63
- ^ Ballard, pp. 28, 246–47
- ^ Parkes, pp. 60, 63
- ^ Ballard, p. 26
- ^ Parkes, p. 61
- ^ Gardiner, p. 6
- ^ Parkes, p. 62
- ^ a b Gardiner, p. 10
- ^ Silverstone, p. 208
- ^ Ballard, pp. 28, 240
- ^ Parkes, p. 59
- ^ Ballard, pp. 31, 33
- ^ Penrose-Fitzgerald, pp. 299–300
- ^ Penrose-Fitzgerald, pp. 300–02, 306
References
- Ballard, G. A., Admiral (1980). The Black Battlefleet. Annapolis, MD: Naval Institute Press. ISBN 0-87021-924-3.
{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) - Brown, David K. (2003). Warrior to Dreadnought: Warship Development 1860–1905 (reprint of the 1997 ed.). London: Caxton Editions. ISBN 1-84067-529-2.
- Chesneau, Roger; Kolesnik, Eugene M., eds. (1979). Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships 1860–1905. Greenwich, UK: 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.
- Penrose-Fitzgerald, Charles Cooper (1913). Memories of the Sea. London: Edward Arnold. OCLC 10689448.
External links
