View source for Minotaur-class ironclad

{{distinguish|Minotaur-class cruiser (disambiguation){{!}}Minotaur-class cruiser}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=September 2017}}
{{Use British English|date=September 2017}}
{|{{Infobox ship begin}}
{{Infobox ship image
|Ship image= HMSminotaur.jpg
|Ship caption={{HMS|Minotaur|1863|2}}, 1875–1887
}}
{{Infobox ship class overview
|Name=''Minotaur'' class
|Builders=
|Operators={{navy|United Kingdom}}
|Class before={{HMS|Achilles|1863|6}}
|Class after={{sclass|Prince Consort|ironclad|4}}
|Subclasses=
|Cost=
|Built range=
|In service range=  
|In commission range= 
|Total ships completed=3
|Total ships scrapped=3
}}
{{Infobox ship characteristics
|Hide header=
|Header caption=
|Ship class=[[Armoured frigate]]
|Ship displacement={{convert|10627|LT|t|lk=on}}
|Ship length={{convert|407|ft|0|in|m|abbr=on}} ([[o/a]])
|Ship beam={{convert|59|ft|6|in|m|1|abbr=on}}
|Ship draught={{convert|27|ft|9|in|m|1|abbr=on}}
|Ship power=* 10 [[fire-tube boiler]]s
*{{cvt|6949|ihp|lk=on}}
|Ship propulsion=*1 shaft, 1 [[Trunk engine|trunk steam engine]]
|Ship speed={{convert|14|kn|lk=in}}
|Ship range={{convert|1500|nmi|lk=in|abbr=on}} at {{convert|7.5|kn}}
|Ship complement=800 actual
|Ship sail plan=5-masted
|Ship armament=*4 × [[RML 9 inch 12 ton gun|{{convert|9|in|mm|adj=on|0}}]] [[Muzzle-loading rifle|rifled muzzle-loading (RML) guns]]
* 24 × [[RML 7 inch 6.5 ton gun|{{convert|7|in|mm|adj=on|0}}]] RMLs
|Ship armour=*[[Belt armor|Belt]]: {{convert|4.5|-|5.5|in|mm|0|abbr=on}}
* [[Bulkhead (partition)|Bulkheads]]: {{convert|5.5|in|mm|0|abbr=on}}
|Ship notes=
}}
|}
The '''''Minotaur''-class ''' ironclads consisted of three [[armoured frigate]]s built for the Royal Navy during the 1860s. They were enlarged versions of {{HMS|Achilles|1863|6}} with heavier armament, thicker armour, and more powerful engines. The ships of this class were unique among ironclad warships in possessing on completion five masts, named fore-, second-, main-, fourth- and mizzen-.

==History==
They were originally intended to mount forty [[Armstrong Whitworth|Armstrong]] [[RBL 7 inch Armstrong gun|110-pounder]] [[breechloader|breech-loading guns]] on the main deck, with ten more on pivot mountings on the upper deck. The failure of these guns in service led to a complete re-evaluation of their armament, with a concomitant delay in the arming of the whole class. The ships were armed with a combination of [[RML 9 inch 12 ton gun|9-inch muzzle-loading rifles (MLR)]] on metal carriages and [[RML 7 inch gun|7-inch MLRs]] on rope-worked carriages. In a moderate swell these 7-inch guns were virtually unworkable, making the ''Minotaur''s both the heaviest and the worst armed of the Victorian battleships.

The ''Minotaur''s were poor sailors, never exceeding a speed under sail of about {{convert|9.5|kn}} with all sail set and a favourable wind. They were, in spite of the number of masts they exhibited, the most sluggish of all British ironclads under sail. They were regarded as good sea-boats, and were considered to be among the steadiest ships in the battle-fleet{{Citation needed|date=August 2008}}. They were slow in manoeuvre under hand-steering, but were regarded as good after steam steering was fitted.

==Notes==
{{Commons category|Minotaur class battleship}}
{{Reflist}}

==References==
* {{cite book|last=Ballard |first=G. A., Admiral |title=The Black Battlefleet |year=1980 |publisher=Naval Institute Press |location=Annapolis, Maryland |isbn=0-87021-924-3 |author-link=George Alexander Ballard}}
* {{cite book|last=Brown|first=David K.|title=Warrior to Dreadnought: Warship Development 1860–1905|edition=reprint of the 1997|year=2003|publisher=Caxton Editions|location=London |isbn=1-84067-529-2|author-link=David K. Brown}}
* {{cite book |last1=Friedman |first1=Norman |title=British Battleships of the Victorian Era |date=2018 |publisher=Naval Institute Press |location=Annapolis, Maryland |isbn=978-1-68247-329-0|author-link=Norman Friedman}}
*{{cite book |last=Parkes |first=Oscar |title=British Battleships |publisher=Naval Institute Press |location=Annapolis, Maryland |year=1990 |orig-year=1957 |isbn=1-55750-075-4|author-link=Oscar Parkes}}
*{{cite book |title=Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships 1860–1905 |editor1-last=Chesneau |editor1-first=Roger |editor2-last=Kolesnik |editor2-first=Eugene M. |publisher=Mayflower Books |location=New York |year=1979 |isbn=0-8317-0302-4 |name-list-style=amp |url-access=registration |url=https://archive.org/details/conwaysallworlds0000unse_l2e2|chapter=Great Britain (including Empire Forces)|author1-last=Roberts|author1-first=John|pages=1–113}}* {{cite book|last=Silverstone|first=Paul H.|title=Directory of the World's Capital Ships|year=1984|publisher=Hippocrene Books|location=New York|isbn=0-88254-979-0}}
* {{cite book|title=Text Book of Gunnery|url=http://cgsc.cdmhost.com/u?%2Fp4013coll11%2C222|year=1887|publisher=Harrison and Sons for His Majesty's Stationery Office|location=London|access-date=27 September 2010|archive-date=4 December 2012|archive-url=https://archive.today/20121204140418/http://cgsc.cdmhost.com/u?/p4013coll11,222|url-status=dead}}

{{Minotaur class ironclad}}
{{British ironclads}}

[[Category:Minotaur-class ironclads| ]]
[[Category:Ship classes of the Royal Navy]]