HMS ''Nelson'' was a armoured cruiser 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 ...

in the 1870s. She was sold for scrap in 1910.

Design and description

The ''Nelson''-class ships were designed as enlarged and improved versions of HMS ''Shannon'' to counter the threat of enemy armoured ships encountered abroad. The ships 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 deep draught of . ''Nelson'' displaced , almost more than ''Shannon''. The steel-hulled ships were fitted with a

ram Ram, ram, or RAM may refer to: Animals * A male sheep * Ram cichlid, a freshwater tropical fish People * Ram (given name) * Ram (surname) * Ram (director) (Ramsubramaniam), an Indian Tamil film director * RAM (musician) (born 1974), Dutch * ...

and their crew numbered approximately 560 officers and other ranks.Parkes, p. 239 The ship had a pair of three-cylinder, inverted compound steam engines, each driving a single propeller, using steam provided by 10 oval

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, centr ...

s. The engines produced and ''Nelson'' reached her designed speed of on 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. The ''Nelson''-class ships carried a maximum of of coal which gave them an economical range of at a speed of . They were

barque A barque, barc, or bark is a type of sailing vessel with three or more masts having the fore- and mainmasts rigged square and only the mizzen (the aftmost mast) rigged fore and aft. Sometimes, the mizzen is only partly fore-and-aft rigged, b ...

-rigged with three masts.

Construction and career

HMS_Nelson_in_Sydney_Harbour_between_1885

''HMS Nelson'', named after Vice-Admiral Horatio Nelson, 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 ...

by John Elder & Co. in

Govan Govan ( ; Cumbric?: ''Gwovan'?''; Scots: ''Gouan''; Scottish Gaelic: ''Baile a' Ghobhainn'') is a district, parish, and former burgh now part of south-west City of Glasgow, Scotland. It is situated west of Glasgow city centre, on the south ba ...

, Scotland on 2 November 1874, launched on 4 November 1876, and completed in July 1881.Silverstone, p. 253 She sailed for the

Australia Station The Australia Station was the British, and later Australian, naval command responsible for the waters around the Australian continent.Dennis et al. 2008, p.53. Australia Station was under the command of the Commander-in-Chief, Australia Station, ...

after commissioning and became the flagship there in 1885. She remained on station until returning home in January 1889 for a lengthy refit. The ship then became

guardship A guard ship is a warship assigned as a stationary guard in a port or harbour, as opposed to a coastal patrol boat, which serves its protective role at sea. Royal Navy In the Royal Navy of the eighteenth century, peacetime guard ships were usua ...

at Portsmouth in October 1891 and was placed in fleet reserve in November 1894. ''Nelson'' was degraded to dockyard reserve in April 1901 and hulked seven months later as a training ship for stokers. Commander Harry Stileman was appointed in command on 12 June 1902. She was sold for scrap in July 1910 for £14,500.Parkes, p. 243

Notes

References

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External links

Pictures of HMS Nelson

Naval Historical Society of Australia

Shipping Times: Clydebuilt Database
{{DEFAULTSORT:Nelson Nelson-class cruisers Victorian-era cruisers of the United Kingdom Ships built on the River Clyde Ships built in Govan 1876 ships