Bulwark Class Battleship (1859)

The ''Bulwark'' class were the final class of wooden line-of-battle ships laid down for the Royal Navy. They were laid down after . In March 1861 their construction was suspended, and seven were later converted to iron-clads. and were kept on the stocks almost complete, in case of need, until they were scrapped in 1873 and 1872.

Origins

The consensus of British naval opinion after the Crimean War favoured the large steam-powered two-decker line-of-battle ship with 101 or 91 guns. The designs for two-decker evolved. "The 101-gun type were redesigned with an extra 400 tons and engines of 800 nhp, to produce the ''Duncan'' class. The 91s were given similar engines, while their smaller increase in size was largely taken up with an additional overall for a finer length-to-beam ratio and improved lines in ." In the 1859 programme the two types were merged to produce a 91-gun ship with the dimensions of the 101-gun type. Two ships built on this plan - the ''Bulwark'' and ''Robust'', the latter having been commenced as a 101-gun ship - were preserved on the stocks until 1872, the remaining seven being converted into ironclads. These last two-deckers were overall, that they all displayed all the classic symptoms of weak construction, such as leaky seams, demonstrated that wood was no longer suitable for the construction of the largest classes of warships.

Britain's first sea-going iron-clad, was laid down in May 1859, and a further three had been laid down by the end of 1859. Nevertheless, the Royal Navy continued to convert old sailing line-of-battle ships to steam, and to order and lay down new ''Bulwark''-class two-deckers. The objective was to achieve parity with the combined navies of France and Russia. Initially there was great uncertainty about the value of iron-clads. So it was prudent to continue building unarmoured steam line-of-battle ships, which would in any case be "the common currency of sea-power for some years to come."Lambert, "Battleships in Transition", p 76.

In March 1861, work on the ''Bulwark'' class was suspended. They were retained on the stocks while the smaller was launched on 27 March 1861. The larger ships were better suited for conversion into iron-clads and were held in reserve for that purpose. Similarly, the sailing line-of-battle ships and completed their conversion to steam line-of-battle ships on 21 May and 25 June 1861 respectively.

Design

The ''Bulwark'' class ships were a modification of the 101-gun ''Duncan''-class design. They had the same dimensions, but had a new timbering plan dated 29 July 1858, which suited the smaller armament. The reduction in armament was intended to improve the efficiency of the guns.Lambert, "Battleships in Transition", p 126.

Key Dates

The following table shows key dates for the ''Bulwark'' class.

Conversion to iron-clads

''Bulwark'' and ''Robust'' were suspended on the stocks in March 1861 in an advanced state of construction. The Controller "had plans prepared for the ''Bulwark'' to be converted into a twin turret breastwork monitor but they were never used. As Edward Reed pointed out this was a wise policy as they would have been inferior to, and yet more costly than, iron-hulled ships built from scratch."Reed, "Our Ironclad Ships p 303." "In war time the rapidity with which these ships might be converted into iron-clads would probably outweigh these considerations". ''Bulwark'' and ''Robust'' were eventually broken up in March 1873 and August 1872 respectively.

The remaining seven ships of the ''Bulwark'' class were in a less complete state and were converted into 'ironclad frigates'.

Of these HMS ''Triumph'' (later renamed ), , and were converted to 'broadside ironclads' with 1000 nhp engines. had a similar conversion but with the original 800 nhp engine. The development of these four ships is discussed in the article on the .

, and were later converted into 'central battery ships'.Conways, p 10-13.

Notes

References

* Ballard, Admiral G.A. ''The Black Battlefleet'', published Nautical Publications Co. and Society for Nautical Research, 1980.
* Baxter, James Phinney ''The Introduction of the Ironclad Warship'', published Harvard University, 1933.
* Conway ''All the World's Fighting Ships 1860–1905'', published Conway Maritime Press, 1979.
* Lambert, Andrew ''Warrior, Restoring the World's First Ironclad'', published Conway Maritime Press, 1987.
* Lambert, Andrew ''Battleships in Transition, the Creation of the Steam Battlefleet 1815–1860'', published Conway Maritime Press, 1984.
* Parkes, Oscar ''British Battleships'', first published Seeley Service & Co, 1957, published United States Naval Institute Press, 1990.
* Reed, Edward J ''Our Ironclad Ships, their Qualities, Performance and Cost'', published John Murray, 1869.

{{Bulwark class battleship (1859)

Battleship classes
Bulwark class battleship
Ship classes of the Royal Navy
Bulwark class battleship
Ship of the line classes