The seventh HMS ''Enterprise'' of the

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against F ...

was an armoured

sloop A sloop is a sailboat with a single mast typically having only one headsail in front of the mast and one mainsail aft of (behind) the mast. Such an arrangement is called a fore-and-aft rig, and can be rigged as a Bermuda rig with triangular sa ...

launched in 1864 at Deptford Dockyard. Originally laid down as a wooden

screw A screw and a bolt (see '' Differentiation between bolt and screw'' below) are similar types of fastener typically made of metal and characterized by a helical ridge, called a ''male thread'' (external thread). Screws and bolts are used to fa ...

of the ''Camelion'' class, she was redesigned by Edward Reed and completed as a

central battery ironclad The central battery ship, also known as a centre battery ship in the United Kingdom and as a casemate ship in European continental navies, was a development of the (high-freeboard) broadside ironclad of the 1860s, given a substantial boost due t ...

. The ship spent the bulk of her career assigned to the

Mediterranean Fleet The British Mediterranean Fleet, also known as the Mediterranean Station, was a formation of the Royal Navy. The Fleet was one of the most prestigious commands in the navy for the majority of its history, defending the vital sea link between t ...

before returning to England in 1871 where she was

paid off Ship commissioning is the act or ceremony of placing a ship in active service and may be regarded as a particular application of the general concepts and practices of project commissioning. The term is most commonly applied to placing a warship in ...

. ''Enterprise'' was sold for

scrap Scrap consists of Recycling, recyclable materials, usually metals, left over from product manufacturing and consumption, such as parts of vehicles, building supplies, and surplus materials. Unlike waste, scrap Waste valorization, has monetary ...

in 1885.

Design and description

The ship had a length between perpendiculars of , a

beam Beam may refer to: Streams of particles or energy *Light beam, or beam of light, a directional projection of light energy **Laser beam *Particle beam, a stream of charged or neutral particles **Charged particle beam, a spatially localized grou ...

of , and a draught of at

deep load The displacement or displacement tonnage of a ship is its weight. As the term indicates, it is measured indirectly, using Archimedes' principle, by first calculating the volume of water displaced by the ship, then converting that value into wei ...

. She displaced . Her crew consisted of 130 officers and men.Parkes, p. 88 ''Enterprise''s wooden hull was remodeled shortly after she was laid down; she was given a plough-shaped ram bow and a semi-circular stern. The ship had only two decks: the main deck, very close to the ship's

waterline The waterline is the line where the hull of a ship meets the surface of the water. Specifically, it is also the name of a special marking, also known as an international load line, Plimsoll line and water line (positioned amidships), that indi ...

, and the upper deck which carried her armament, about above the waterline. She was the first ship of composite construction in the Royal Navy, with iron upperworks.

Propulsion

''Enterprise'' had a Ravenhill, Salkeld & Co. direct-acting horizontal single-expansion 2-cylinder direct acting steam engine driving a single propeller. Steam was provided by a pair of tubular

boiler A boiler is a closed vessel in which fluid (generally water) is heated. The fluid does not necessarily boil. The heated or vaporized fluid exits the boiler for use in various processes or heating applications, including water heating, central h ...

s. The engine produced which gave the ship a maximum speed around . ''Enterprise'' carried of coal. As built, her funnel was mounted in the middle of the

battery Battery most often refers to: * Electric battery, a device that provides electrical power * Battery (crime), a crime involving unlawful physical contact Battery may also refer to: Energy source *Automotive battery, a device to provide power t ...

for protection, which impaired the working of her guns until it was relocated forward of the battery in November 1864. She was barque-rigged with three masts and had a sail area of . Her best speed under sail and steam was .Parkes, pp. 87–88, 90

Armament

''Enterprise'' was armed with two 100-pounder smoothbore, muzzle-loading

Somerset cannon The Somerset cannon was a British cannon designed within the Admiralty and manufactured by Armstrong's. Its genesis was the unexpected failure of the Armstrong breech-loading rifles recently developed and installed on Royal Navy ships. The ''Som ...

and two rifled 110-pounder breech-loading guns. The breech-loading guns were of a new design from

Armstrong Armstrong may refer to: Places * Armstrong Creek (disambiguation), various places Antarctica * Armstrong Reef, Biscoe Islands Argentina * Armstrong, Santa Fe Australia * Armstrong, Victoria Canada * Armstrong, British Columbia * Armstrong ...

and much was hoped for them. Firing tests carried out in September 1861 against an armoured target, however, proved that the 110-pounder was inferior to the 68-pounder smoothbore gun in armour penetration, and repeated incidents of breech explosions during the

Battles for Shimonoseki The refers to a series of military engagements in 1863 and 1864, fought to control the Shimonoseki Straits of Japan by joint naval forces from Great Britain, France, the Netherlands and the United States, against the Japanese feudal domain of ...

and the Bombardment of Kagoshima in 1863–64 caused the navy to withdraw the guns from service shortly afterwards. In an attempt to provide axial fire the sides of the hull at the upper deck level were cut away in front and behind the battery and covered by a

bulwark Bulwark primarily refers to: * Bulwark (nautical), a nautical term for the extension of a ship's side above the level of a weather deck * Bastion, a structure projecting outward from the curtain wall of a fortification The Bulwark primarily refe ...

. The bulwark hinged inwards and covered a gun port though which a gun could traverse and fire. While providing better coverage than the traditional broadside layout this still left a 120° arc forward and another aft on which no gun could bear. The solid shot of the Somerset gun weighed approximately while the gun itself weighed . The gun had a velocity of at and had a range of . The shell of the 110-pounder Armstrong breech-loader weighed . It had a

muzzle velocity Muzzle velocity is the speed of a projectile (bullet, pellet, slug, ball/shots or shell) with respect to the muzzle at the moment it leaves the end of a gun's barrel (i.e. the muzzle). Firearm muzzle velocities range from approximately to i ...

of and, at an elevation of 11.25°, a maximum range of . The 110-pounder gun weighed . All of the guns could fire both solid shot and explosive shells. Both guns were mounted on wooden

gun carriage A gun carriage is a frame and mount that supports the gun barrel of an artillery piece, allowing it to be maneuvered and fired. These platforms often had wheels so that the artillery pieces could be moved more easily. Gun carriages are also used ...

s with slides "which were difficult to traverse even on an even keel; in a seaway few captains would have run the risk of casting them loose."Parkes, p. 89 ''Enterprise'' was rearmed during her 1868 refit with four rifled muzzle-loading guns. The 16-calibre 7-inch gun weighed and fired a shell. It was credited with the ability to penetrate armour.

Armour

''Enterprise'' had a complete waterline

belt Belt may refer to: Apparel * Belt (clothing), a leather or fabric band worn around the waist * Championship belt, a type of trophy used primarily in combat sports * Colored belts, such as a black belt or red belt, worn by martial arts practition ...

wrought iron Wrought iron is an iron alloy with a very low carbon content (less than 0.08%) in contrast to that of cast iron (2.1% to 4%). It is a semi-fused mass of iron with fibrous slag Inclusion (mineral), inclusions (up to 2% by weight), which give it a ...

that was thick. It protected only the main deck and was shallow, reaching just below the waterline. The guns were protected by a section of 4.5-inch armour, long, and by 4.5-inch transverse bulkheads. The armour was backed by of teak wood. The total weight of her armour was .Parkes, pp. 88–89

Service

The ship was laid down on 5 May 1862 at the

Royal Dockyard Royal Navy Dockyards (more usually termed Royal Dockyards) were state-owned harbour facilities where ships of the Royal Navy were built, based, repaired and refitted. Until the mid-19th century the Royal Dockyards were the largest industrial ...

in Deptford,

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

, as the 17-gun sloop ''Circassian''. She was renamed ''Enterprise'' in July 1862 and reclassified as an armoured corvette. Construction had barely begun before she was redesigned with an iron upper hull as well as armoured sides and battery. The ship was launched on 9 February 1864, commissioned on 5 May 1864 and completed on 3 June 1864. She cost £62,474Adjusted for inflation to 20 pounds, £. to build. ''Enterprise'' initially served with the

Channel Fleet The Channel Fleet and originally known as the Channel Squadron was the Royal Navy formation of warships that defended the waters of the English Channel from 1854 to 1909 and 1914 to 1915. History Throughout the course of Royal Navy's history the ...

. On 13 August, she ran aground. Repairs cost £4. She was subsequently transferred to the Mediterranean Fleet where she remained until 1871 when she returned to England. She was refitted and rearmed at

Malta Malta ( , , ), officially the Republic of Malta ( mt, Repubblika ta' Malta ), is an island country in the Mediterranean Sea. It consists of an archipelago, between Italy and Libya, and is often considered a part of Southern Europe. It lies ...

in 1868. Upon her return the ship was

into 4th Class Reserve in August 1871 at

Sheerness Sheerness () is a town and civil parish beside the mouth of the River Medway on the north-west corner of the Isle of Sheppey in north Kent, England. With a population of 11,938, it is the second largest town on the island after the nearby town ...

. ''Enterprise'' was sold for scrap in 1885 for £2,072.Parkes, p. 60In 20 pounds, she sold for £. On 6 October 1889, ''Enterprise'' was being towed from

Plymouth Plymouth () is a port city and unitary authority in South West England. It is located on the south coast of Devon, approximately south-west of Exeter and south-west of London. It is bordered by Cornwall to the west and south-west. Plymouth ...

Devon Devon ( , historically known as Devonshire , ) is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in South West England. The most populous settlement in Devon is the city of Plymouth, followed by Devon's county town, the city of Exeter. Devon is ...

Liverpool Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the 10th largest English district by population and its metropolitan area is the fifth largest in the United Kingdom, with a popul ...

Lancashire Lancashire ( , ; abbreviated Lancs) is the name of a historic county, ceremonial county, and non-metropolitan county in North West England. The boundaries of these three areas differ significantly. The non-metropolitan county of Lancashi ...

when she was caught in a gale off the coast of

Anglesey Anglesey (; cy, (Ynys) Môn ) is an island off the north-west coast of Wales. It forms a principal area known as the Isle of Anglesey, that includes Holy Island across the narrow Cymyran Strait and some islets and skerries. Anglesey island ...

. She was driven ashore and wrecked at Aberffraw.

Notes

Footnotes

References

* * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Enterprise (1864) Sloops of the Royal Navy Ships built in Deptford 1864 ships Maritime incidents in August 1864 Maritime incidents in October 1889