HMS ''Temeraire'' was an ironclad battleship of the Victorian
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 ...
which was unique in that she carried her main armament partly in the traditional broadside battery, and partly in
barbette
Barbettes are several types of gun emplacement in terrestrial fortifications or on naval ships.
In recent naval usage, a barbette is a protective circular armour support for a heavy gun turret. This evolved from earlier forms of gun protection ...
s on the upper deck.
Design and construction
Propulsion
''Temeraire'' was equipped with two Humpreys & Tennant 2-cyl. steam engines, each driving one shaft and developing a total of 7,697 hp (5,661 kW), with which she reached a top speed of 14.65 knots (16.86 mph). Steam was supplied by twelve boilers. The ship could carry a maximum of 629 t. coal. ''Temeraire'' was rigged as a two-masted
barque
A barque, barc, or bark is a type of sailing ship, sailing vessel with three or more mast (sailing), masts having the fore- and mainmasts Square rig, rigged square and only the mizzen (the aftmost mast) Fore-and-aft rig, rigged fore and aft. Som ...
and had a sail area of 25,000 sq ft. The ship's crew consisted of 580 officers and ratings.
[Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships 1860-1905 p 18.]
Armament
Her armament was partly conventional, being deployed on the broadside, and partly experimental; she was the first British ship to be equipped with guns in
barbette
Barbettes are several types of gun emplacement in terrestrial fortifications or on naval ships.
In recent naval usage, a barbette is a protective circular armour support for a heavy gun turret. This evolved from earlier forms of gun protection ...
s located on the midline on the upper deck. Indeed, she was the first British ship with barbettes of any kind.The armament consisted of four 11-inch muzzle-loading guns, one each on the forecastle and stern, and one each at the forward corners of the central battery to port and starboard. The 11-inch guns were installed on a Moncrieff mount, which had a mechanism for raising and lowering the gun. The mount was on a massive turntable that provided enough space for the hydraulic ramrod. The loading and lifting process, as well as the rotation of the mount, were operated by a disguised stand with four control levers. When the gun was extended and aimed at the target, it was adjusted to elevation graduated in degrees by a rod linkage on each side of the breech. A full gun crew consisted of six men, but the guns could be operated by three in an emergency. In addition, four 10in muzzle-loading guns were located in the rear of the central battery, two on each broadside. To protect against attack by boats armed with torpedoes, the ship received four 20-pounder breech-loading guns. ''Temeraire'' was also fitted with two launchers for
spar torpedo
A spar torpedo is a weapon consisting of a bomb placed at the end of a long pole, or spar, and attached to a boat. The weapon is used by running the end of the spar into the enemy ship. Spar torpedoes were often equipped with a barbed spear at ...
es. In 1884, the 20-pounders were replaced by four 25-pounder breech-loading guns, and four 3-pounder Hotchkiss and ten 3-pounder Nordenfelt QF guns were also added to the ship.
[Ballard (1980) pp 205-209]
Armour
The armoured belt extended along the entire length of the ship. It was 11in thick amidships and had a total height of 18.8in, of which 10in was above and 8.9in below the waterline. Towards the bow and stern it tapered to 5in and 5.5in respectively. The central battery was protected by 8in sides and 5in transverse bulkheads. The oval barbettes were protected by 10in forward and 8in aft. This shape was necessary to make room not only for the guns to be lowered, but also for a hydraulic ramrod, which was opposite the gun muzzle and almost as long as the barrel itself. The wider end was open at the top to allow the gun to rise and fire, and the narrower end with the ramrod was covered with iron plates. Its distinctive feature was a complete and continuous armour by a
parapet
A parapet is a barrier that is an extension of the wall at the edge of a roof, terrace, balcony, walkway or other structure. The word comes ultimately from the Italian ''parapetto'' (''parare'' 'to cover/defend' and ''petto'' 'chest/breast'). Whe ...
that rose 36in above the deck surrounding it, protecting the gun crew and the gun itself when loaded or not in use.
Service history
The ''Temeraire'' named after the French ship of the line Téméraire captured in 1759, was laid down at Chatham on 18 August 1873, launched on 9 May, and commissioned in 1877 for service in 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 ...
under Captain Michael Culme-Seymour.
She remained there for the next fourteen years except for the winter of 1887-88 when she was part of the
Channel Squadron
Channel, channels, channeling, etc., may refer to:
Geography
* Channel (geography), in physical geography, a landform consisting of the outline (banks) of the path of a narrow body of water.
Australia
* Channel Country, region of outback Austral ...
. Upon her arrival in
Besika Bay, she became
Admiral
Admiral is one of the highest ranks in some navies. In the Commonwealth nations and the United States, a "full" admiral is equivalent to a "full" general in the army or the air force, and is above vice admiral and below admiral of the fleet, ...
Hornby's
flagship
A flagship is a vessel used by the commanding officer of a group of naval ships, characteristically a flag officer entitled by custom to fly a distinguishing flag. Used more loosely, it is the lead ship in a fleet of vessels, typically the fi ...
. In 1878 she was ordered to the
Dardanelles
The Dardanelles (; tr, Çanakkale Boğazı, lit=Strait of Çanakkale, el, Δαρδανέλλια, translit=Dardanéllia), also known as the Strait of Gallipoli from the Gallipoli peninsula or from Classical Antiquity as the Hellespont (; ...
to observe the progress of the
Russo-Turkish War
The Russo-Turkish wars (or Ottoman–Russian wars) were a series of twelve wars fought between the Russian Empire and the Ottoman Empire between the 16th and 20th centuries. It was one of the longest series of military conflicts in European histo ...
. She remained near
Istanbul
Istanbul ( , ; tr, İstanbul ), formerly known as Constantinople ( grc-gre, Κωνσταντινούπολις; la, Constantinopolis), is the List of largest cities and towns in Turkey, largest city in Turkey, serving as the country's economic, ...
(then Constantinople) until 1879 to represent a strong British position during the protracted international negotiations that led to the
Congress of Berlin
The Congress of Berlin (13 June – 13 July 1878) was a diplomatic conference to reorganise the states in the Balkan Peninsula after the Russo-Turkish War of 1877–78, which had been won by Russia against the Ottoman Empire. Represented at th ...
.
She then took part in the reconquest of Ottoman-occupied
Cyprus
Cyprus ; tr, Kıbrıs (), officially the Republic of Cyprus,, , lit: Republic of Cyprus is an island country located south of the Anatolian Peninsula in the eastern Mediterranean Sea. Its continental position is disputed; while it is geo ...
. In 1881 she was paid off in
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 ...
and given a new command. At the outbreak of the
Anglo-Egyptian War
The British conquest of Egypt (1882), also known as Anglo-Egyptian War (), occurred in 1882 between Egyptian and Sudanese forces under Ahmed ‘Urabi and the United Kingdom. It ended a nationalist uprising against the Khedive Tewfik Pasha. It ...
in 1882, she was recommissioned and took part in the attack on the defensive positions on the coast of
Alexandria
Alexandria ( or ; ar, ٱلْإِسْكَنْدَرِيَّةُ ; grc-gre, Αλεξάνδρεια, Alexándria) is the second largest city in Egypt, and the largest city on the Mediterranean coast. Founded in by Alexander the Great, Alexandria ...
. In 1884, she was again decommissioned and recommissioned the same year for service in the Mediterranean under Compton Edward Domvile. In 1887 she returned home and was paid off at
Portsmouth
Portsmouth ( ) is a port and city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. The city of Portsmouth has been a unitary authority since 1 April 1997 and is administered by Portsmouth City Council.
Portsmouth is the most dens ...
. After being recommissioned for service in the Channel Squadron, she visited
Vigo
Vigo ( , , , ) is a city and Municipalities in Spain, municipality in the province of Pontevedra, within the Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Galicia (Spain), Galicia, Spain. Located in the northwest of the Iberian Penins ...
,
Genoa
Genoa ( ; it, Genova ; lij, Zêna ). is the capital of the Italian region of Liguria and the List of cities in Italy, sixth-largest city in Italy. In 2015, 594,733 people lived within the city's administrative limits. As of the 2011 Italian ce ...
, and
Lisbon
Lisbon (; pt, Lisboa ) is the capital and largest city of Portugal, with an estimated population of 544,851 within its administrative limits in an area of 100.05 km2. Grande Lisboa, Lisbon's urban area extends beyond the city's administr ...
. She then returned home, but the growing threat from the French fleet at
Toulon
Toulon (, , ; oc, label= Provençal, Tolon , , ) is a city on the French Riviera and a large port on the Mediterranean coast, with a major naval base. Located in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region, and the Provence province, Toulon is th ...
made it necessary to increase British forces in the Mediterranean as well. Therefore, ''Temeraire'' was reassigned to the Mediterranean Fleet under the command of James Drummond.
During this time, an incident occurred that resulted in a near disaster with ''HMS Orion''. The squadron was in close formation, at sea with ''Temeraire'' as the last ship in the starboard column and ''Orion'' as the next-to-last ship in the port column, which, with two
hawser
Hawser () is a nautical term for a thick cable or rope used in mooring or towing a ship.
A hawser passes through a hawsehole, also known as a cat hole, located on the hawse.The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, third edition, ...
s between the columns, resulted in her being four points off
port bow of the former in short manoeuvring distance. Both ships were signalled to change position. According to the instructions of the signal book used at the time, such movements had to comply with the traffic rules by moving from port to port. But due to the prevailing situation, the ''Orion''
's engines had to be stopped when turning to starboard. When the flagship's signal sounded, the ''Orion''
's watch officer kept his engines running, leaving little room to avoid a collision at full speed. Fortunately, the officer on watch of the ''Temraire'' had recognized the impending danger and immediately gave the order to head for ''Orion'' instead of turning away from it. When ''Orion''
's ram struck the ''Temeraire'' next to the engine room and below the armour belt, ''Temeraire''
's stern was already swinging away from it, which tore through the ship's outer skin and flooded a wing compartment.
When Gerard Noel took command on 26 October 1889,
''Termeraire'' was the last ship to carry sails on its masts. All other ships were already
turret ship
Turret ships were a 19th-century type of warship, the earliest to have their guns mounted in a revolving gun turret, instead of a broadside arrangement.
Background
Before the development of large-calibre, long-range guns in the mid-19th century, ...
s at that time.
From 1890 she cruised in the
Levant
The Levant () is an approximate historical geographical term referring to a large area in the Eastern Mediterranean region of Western Asia. In its narrowest sense, which is in use today in archaeology and other cultural contexts, it is eq ...
and visited
Souda Bay
Souda Bay is a bay and natural harbour near the town of Souda on the northwest coast of the Greece, Greek island of Crete. The bay is about 15 km long and only two to four km wide, and a deep natural harbour. It is formed between the Akr ...
in
Crete
Crete ( el, Κρήτη, translit=, Modern: , Ancient: ) is the largest and most populous of the Greek islands, the 88th largest island in the world and the fifth largest island in the Mediterranean Sea, after Sicily, Sardinia, Cyprus, and ...
. After wintering in
Thessaloniki
Thessaloniki (; el, Θεσσαλονίκη, , also known as Thessalonica (), Saloniki, or Salonica (), is the second-largest city in Greece, with over one million inhabitants in its Thessaloniki metropolitan area, metropolitan area, and the capi ...
, ''Temeraire'' was ordered to return home in the spring of 1891, where she was paid off in
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 ...
and assigned to the reserve. Plans for a possible modernization were developed but ultimately discarded due to excessive cost. In 1904 she was renamed ''Indus II'' and in 1915 ''Akbar''. She was finally sold to the Netherlands for scrapping in May 1921.
[Ballard (1980) pp. 210-213]
References
Publications
*
*
*
* Dittmar F. J. & Colledge J. J., ''British Warships 1914-1919'', (Ian Allan, London,1972)
*
* Oscar Parkes ''British Battleships''
*
* Winfield, R.; Lyon, D. (2004). ''The Sail and Steam Navy List: All the Ships of the Royal Navy 1815–1889''. London: Chatham Publishing. .
{{DEFAULTSORT:Temeraire (1876)
Battleships of the Royal Navy
Ships built in Chatham
1876 ships
Victorian-era battleships of the United Kingdom
Disappearing guns