HMS ''Undaunted'' was one of seven
armoured cruiser
The armored cruiser was a type of warship of the late 19th and early 20th centuries. It was designed like other types of cruisers to operate as a long-range, independent warship, capable of defeating any ship apart from a battleship and fast eno ...
s built for 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 ...
in the mid-1880s.
Design and description
''Undaunted'' had a
length between perpendiculars
Length between perpendiculars (often abbreviated as p/p, p.p., pp, LPP, LBP or Length BPP) is the length of a ship along the summer load line from the forward surface of the stem, or main bow perpendicular member, to the after surface of the ster ...
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 . Designed to
displace , all of the ''Orlando''-class ships proved to be overweight and displaced approximately . The ship was powered by a pair of three-cylinder
triple-expansion steam engine
A compound steam engine unit is a type of steam engine where steam is expanded in two or more stages.
A typical arrangement for a compound engine is that the steam is first expanded in a high-pressure ''(HP)'' cylinder, then having given up he ...
s, each driving one shaft, which were designed to produce a total of and a maximum speed of using steam provided by four
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 with
forced draught The difference between atmospheric pressure and the pressure existing in the furnace or flue gas passage of a boiler is termed as draft. Draft can also be referred to as the difference in pressure in the combustion chamber area which results in the ...
. During her
sea trial
A sea trial is the testing phase of a watercraft (including boats, ships, and submarines). It is also referred to as a " shakedown cruise" by many naval personnel. It is usually the last phase of construction and takes place on open water, and ...
s, ''Undaunted'' reached . The ship carried a maximum of of coal which was designed to give her a range of at a speed of . The ship's complement was 484 officers and ratings.
[Chesneau & Kolesnik, p. 65]
''Undaunted''s main armament consisted of two
breech-loading
A breechloader is a firearm in which the user loads the ammunition (cartridge or shell) via the rear (breech) end of its barrel, as opposed to a muzzleloader, which loads ammunition via the front ( muzzle).
Modern firearms are generally breech ...
(BL)
Mk V guns, one gun fore and aft of the superstructure on
pivot mounts. Her secondary armament was ten
BL guns, five on each
broadside
Broadside or broadsides may refer to:
Naval
* Broadside (naval), terminology for the side of a ship, the battery of cannon on one side of a warship, or their near simultaneous fire on naval warfare
Printing and literature
* Broadside (comic ...
. Protection against torpedo boats was provided by six
quick-firing (QF) 6-pounder Hotchkiss guns and ten
QF 3-pounder Hotchkiss
The QF 3-pounder Hotchkiss or in French use Canon Hotchkiss à tir rapide de 47 mm were a family of long-lived light naval guns introduced in 1886 to defend against new, small and fast vessels such as torpedo boats and later submarines. T ...
guns, most of which were mounted on the main
deck in broadside positions. The ship was also armed with six 18-inch (457 mm)
torpedo tube
A torpedo tube is a cylindrical device for launching torpedoes.
There are two main types of torpedo tube: underwater tubes fitted to submarines and some surface ships, and deck-mounted units (also referred to as torpedo launchers) installed aboa ...
s: four on the broadside above water and one each in the bow and stern below water.
[
The ship was protected by a ]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 ...
compound armour
Compound armour was a type of armour used on warships in the 1880s, developed in response to the emergence of armor-piercing shells and the continual need for reliable protection with the increasing size in naval ordnance. Compound armour was a n ...
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 practit ...
thick. It covered the middle of the ship and was high.[ Because the ship was overweight, the top of the armour belt was below the waterline when she was fully loaded. The ends of the armour belt were closed off by transverse bulkheads . The lower deck was thick over the full length of the hull. The conning tower was protected by of armour.][
]
Construction and service
''Undaunted'' was laid down
Laying the keel or laying down is the formal recognition of the start of a ship's construction. It is often marked with a ceremony attended by dignitaries from the shipbuilding company and the ultimate owners of the ship.
Keel laying is one o ...
on 23 April 1885 by Palmers at their shipyard in Jarrow
Jarrow ( or ) is a town in South Tyneside in the county of Tyne and Wear, England. It is east of Newcastle upon Tyne. It is situated on the south bank of the River Tyne, about from the east coast. It is home to the southern portal of the Tyne ...
. The ship was launched on 25 November 1886, and completed on 18 September 1890.[ It was under the command of Captain Charles Bereford, his first command. She served with the Mediterranean fleet under overall command of Sir ]George Tryon
Vice-Admiral Sir George Tryon (4 January 1832 – 22 June 1893) was a Great Britain, British admiral who died when his flagship HMS Victoria (1887), HMS ''Victoria'' collided with HMS Camperdown (1885), HMS ''Camperdown'' during manoeuvres of ...
.
On 21 March 1893, ''Undaunted'', under the command of the then Rear Admiral
Rear admiral is a senior naval flag officer rank, equivalent to a major general and air vice marshal and above that of a commodore and captain, but below that of a vice admiral. It is regarded as a two star "admiral" rank. It is often regarde ...
Charles Beresford
Admiral Charles William de la Poer Beresford, 1st Baron Beresford, (10 February 1846 – 6 September 1919), styled Lord Charles Beresford between 1859 and 1916, was a British admiral and Member of Parliament.
Beresford was the second son of ...
struck rocks on leaving 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 ...
harbour, owing to an error by the ship's navigation officer, who gave the order to turn to Port
A port is a maritime facility comprising one or more wharves or loading areas, where ships load and discharge cargo and passengers. Although usually situated on a sea coast or estuary, ports can also be found far inland, such as Ham ...
instead of Starboard. The ship received minor underwater damage in the impact.
She served two commissions on the China Station
The Commander-in-Chief, China was the admiral in command of what was usually known as the China Station, at once both a British Royal Navy naval formation and its admiral in command. It was created in 1865 and deactivated in 1941.
From 1831 to 18 ...
. On 25 April 1901, she was paid off at Devonport and placed in the Fleet Reserve, where she stayed for a year, until she was prepared to be commissioned as tender to HMS ''Cambridge'', gunnery school ship at the dockyard. Captain Frederick Alexander Warden was appointed in command on her commission as tender on 26 August 1902.[Lyon & Winfield, p. 269]
Notes
References
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Undaunted
Orlando-class cruisers
Ships built on the River Tyne
1886 ships