Bulwark class battleship (1859)

The "Bulwark" class were the final class of wooden line-of-battle ships laid down for the Royal Navy. They were laid down after HMS|Warrior|1860|6. In March 1861 their construction was suspended, and seven were later converted to iron-clads. HMS|Bulwark|1859|6 and HMS|Robust|1859|6 were kept on the stocks almost complete, in case of need, until they were scrapped in 1873 and 1872.

Origins

The consensus of British naval opinion after the Crimean War favoured the large steam-powered two-decker line-of-battle ship with 101 or 91 guns. The designs for two-decker evolved. "The 101-gun type were redesigned with an extra 400 tons and engines of 800 nhp [to produce the "Duncan" class] . The 91s were given similar engines, while their smaller increase in size was largely taken up with an additional 15 feet overall for a finer length-to-beam ratio and improved lines, HMS|Defiance|1861|6. [Evidence set before the Derby Committee 1858, WWL/8.] In the 1859 programme the two types were merged to produce a 91-gun ship with the dimensions of the 101-gun type. Two ships built on this plan - the "Bulwark" and "Robust", the latter having been commenced as a 101-gun ship - were preserved on the stocks until 1872, the remaining seven being converted into... ironclads. [Parkes "British Battleships".] These last two-deckers were 252 feet overall... That they all displayed all the classic symptoms of weak construction, such as leaky seams, demonstrated that wood was no longer suitable for the construction of the largest classes of warships." [Lambert, "Battleships in Transition", p 54-5.]

Britain's first sea-going iron-clad, the HMS|Warrior|1860|6 was laid down in May 1859, and a further three had been laid down by the end of 1859. Nevertheless, the Royal Navy continued to convert old sailing line-of-battle ships to steam, and to order and lay down new "Bulwark"-class two-deckers. The objective was to achieve parity with the combined navies of France and Russia. [Lambert, "Battleships in Transition", p 75-76.] Initially there was great uncertainty about the value of iron-clads. [Submission to Board of 27 July 1858, quoted in Lambert, "Warrior", p16. See also Parkes, "British Battleships", p30.] So it was prudent to continue building unarmoured steam line-of-battle ships, which would in any case be "the common currency of sea-power for some years to come." [Lambert, "Battleships in Transition", p 76.]

In March 1861, work on the "Bulwark" class was suspended. They were retained on the stocks while the smaller HMS|Defiance|1861|6 was launched on 27 March 1861. The larger ships were better suited for conversion into iron-clads and were held in reserve for that purpose. [Lambert, "Battleships in Transition", p 76.] Similarly, the sailing line-of-battle ships HMS|Albion|1842|6 and HMS|Bombay|1828|6 completed their conversion to steam line-of-battle ships on 21 May and 25 June 1861 respectively.

Design

The "Bulwark" class ships were a modification of the 101-gun "Duncan"-class design. They had the same dimensions, but had a new timbering plan dated 29 July 1858, which suited the smaller armament. The reduction in armament was intended to improve the efficiency of the guns. [Lambert, "Battleships in Transition", p 126.]

Key Dates

The following table shows key dates for the "Bulwark" class. [Lambert, "Battleships in Transition", p126. Conway "All the World's Fighting Ships 1860-1905"".]

Conversion to iron-clads

"Bulwark" and "Robust" were suspended on the stocks in March 1861 in an advanced state of construction. The Controller "had plans prepared to for the "Bulwark" to be converted into a twin turret breastwork monitor but they were never used. As Edward Reed pointed out this was a wise policy as they would have been inferior to, and yet more costly than, iron-hulled ships built from scratch. [Reed, "Our Ironclad Ships p 303."] [Lambert, "Battleships in Transition", p 82.] "In war time the rapidity with which these ships might be converted into iron-clads would probably outweigh these considerations". [Reed, "Our Ironclad Ships p 303."] "Bulwark" and "Robust" were eventually broken up in March 1873 and August 1872 respectively. [Lambert, "Battleships in Transition", p 126.]

The remaining seven ships of the "Bulwark" class were in a less complete state and were converted into 'ironclad frigates'.

Of these HMS "Triumph" (later renamed HMS|Prince Consort|1862|6, HMS|Ocean|1862|6, and HMS|Caledonia|1862|6 were converted to 'broadside ironclads' with 1000 nhp engines. HMS|Royal Oak|1862|6 had a similar conversion but with the original 800 nhp engine. The development of these four ships is discussed in the article on the "Prince Consort" class.

HMS|Royal Alfred|1864|6, HMS|Zealous|1864|6 and HMS|Repulse|1868|6 were later converted into 'central battery ships'. [Conways, p 10-13.]

Notes

References

* Ballard, Admiral G.A. "The Black Battlefleet", published Nautical Publications Co. and Society for Nautical Research, 1980. ISBN 0 245 53030 4
* Baxter, James Phinney "The Introduction of the Ironclad Warship", published Harvard University, 1933.
* Conway "All the World's Fighting Ships 1860-1905", published Conway Maritime Press, 1979. ISBN 0-8317-0302-4
* Lambert, Andrew "Warrior, Restoring the World's First Ironclad", published Conway Maritime Press, 1987. ISBN 0 85177 411 3
* Lambert, Andrew "Battleships in Transition, the Creation of the Steam Battlefleet 1815-1860", published Conway Maritime Press, 1984. ISBN 0 85177 315 X
* Parkes, Oscar "British Battleships", first published Seeley Service & Co, 1957, published United States Naval Institute Press, 1990. ISBN 1-55750-075-4
* Reed, Edward J "Our Ironclad Ships, their Qualities, Performance and Cost", published John Murray, 1869.