Scorpion class battleship

The two ships of the Scorpion class, HMS|Scorpion|1863|6 and HMS|Wivern|1863|6, were the first warships ever which were built to the order of a foreign country and subsequently acquired for service in the Royal Navy.

In 1862 a contract was placed with Laird & Son Co by Captain James D. Bulloch, a naval agent for the Confederate States of America, for two double-turreted warships designed for ramming attacks at a cost of £93,750 each, exclusive of armament and ammunition. They were intended, together with other warships, to break the Federal blockade of Confederate coastal cities, to combat the Federal fleet, and possibly to attack Federal coastal cities.In January 1863 the Foreign Secretary, Lord John Russell, notified Bulloch that the ships would be prevented from sailing if they were doing so to form part of the fleet of a nation currently at war. Bulloch therefore arranged for some French bankers to purchase the ships, nominally on behalf of the Egyptian government, it is assumed with the intention of transferring them to the Confederate flag once they were at sea. The Khedive was attempting to acquire warships, so this appeared plausible. Russell, however, being in contact with the Federal authorities, arranged that the ships should be seized by Britain.The legality of this seizure was seriously disputed, but the British government had already been somewhat embarrassed by the activities of the "Alabama", a ship also built by Laird Son & Co and operated as a Corsair by the confederate forces. In order to overshadow discussions as to the legality of their action, the British government purchased the ships for £30,000 in excess of the contract price.

References

* Oscar Parkes "British Battleships" ISBN 0-85052-604-3
* Conway "All the World's Fighting Ships" ISBN 0-85177-133-5