The ''Nelson''-class cruisers were a pair of

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 in the 1870s 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 ...

Design and description

The ''Nelson''-class ships were designed by Nathaniel Barnaby,

Chief Constructor The Director of Naval Construction (DNC) also known as the Department of the Director of Naval Construction and Directorate of Naval Construction and originally known as the Chief Constructor of the Navy was a senior principal civil officer resp ...

of the Royal Navy, as enlarged and improved versions of to counter the threat of enemy armoured ships encountered abroad. The ships were not much liked in service as they were deemed too weakly armoured to fight ironclad battleships and not fast enough to catch commerce-raiding

cruiser A cruiser is a type of warship. Modern cruisers are generally the largest ships in a fleet after aircraft carriers and amphibious assault ships, and can usually perform several roles. The term "cruiser", which has been in use for several hu ...

s. They were laid out as central battery ironclads with the armament concentrated amidships. The ''Nelson''s 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 deep draught of . The ships displaced , about more than ''Shannon''. The steel-hulled ships were fitted with a ram and their crew numbered approximately 560 officers and other ranks. The ships had two 3-cylinder, inverted compound steam engines, each driving a single two-bladed, 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, central h ...

s. They generated a working pressure of so that the engines produced (''Nelson'') or (''Northampton''). The cylinders of the latter's engines could be adjusted in volume to optimize steam production depending on the demand. They were troublesome throughout the ship's life and she was always about slower than her sister despite repeated efforts to improve her speed. On their

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, ''Nelson'' reached her designed speed of , but ''Northampton'' could only reach .Parkes, pp. 239, 242–43

Ships

The following table gives the construction details and purchase cost of the ''Nelson'' class. Standard British practice at that time was for these costs to exclude armament and stores. In the table: *''Machinery'' meant "propelling machinery". *''Hull'' included "hydraulic machinery, gun mountings, etc." The Naval Annual 1895 , pp. 192–200

Service

''Nelson'' was assigned to the Australia Station in 1881 and became the

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 ...

there in 1885. She remained on station until returning home in 1889 for a lengthy refit. The ship then became guardship at Portsmouth in October 1891 and was placed in fleet reserve in 1894. ''Nelson'' was degraded to dockyard reserve in April 1901 and hulked seven months later as a training ship for stokers. She was sold for scrap in July 1910.Parkes, p. 243 ''Northampton'' became flagship of the North America and West Indies Station upon commissioning in 1879 and remained there for the next seven years. Upon her return, she was assigned to the reserve and made annual training cruises until she became a boys' training ship in 1894. The ship 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 ...

ten years later and sold for scrap in April 1905.

Notes

References

* Brassey, T.A. (ed) The Naval Annual 1895 * * *

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Nelson Class Cruiser Cruiser classes Ship classes of the Royal Navy