Conqueror-class ship of the line
 An image of Conqueror from the Illustrated London News, 1861 | |
| Class overview | |
|---|---|
| Name | Conqueror |
| Operators |  Royal Navy |
| Preceded by | HMS St Jean d'Acre |
| Succeeded by | Duncan class |
| Built | 1853–1859 |
| In service | 1856-1925 |
| Completed | 2 |
| Lost | 1 |
| Scrapped | 1 |
| General characteristics | |
| Type | Second-rate Ship of the line |
| Tons burthen | 3,245 bm |
| Length | 275 ft (83.8 m) (o/a) |
| Beam | 55 ft 5 in (16.9 m) |
| Draught | 21 ft (6.4 m) |
| Depth of hold | 24 ft 5 in (7.4 m) |
| Installed power | 3,103 ihp (2,314 kW; 3,146 PS) |
| Propulsion | Screw propeller |
| Sail plan | Full-rigged ship |
| Speed | 11.8 kn (21.9 km/h; 13.6 mph) |
| Complement | 930 |
| Armament |
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The Conqueror-class ships of the line consisted of a pair of 101-gun, second-rate screw-propelled ships designed by the Surveyor's Department for the Royal Navy during the 1850s.
Design
The Conqueror class ships were designed in 1852 as two-decker 101-gun second rates in a period when many under-construction sailing ships of the line were being redesigned to use screw propulsion in addition to sail. Two ships were subsequently completed, HMS Conqueror and HMS Donegal.
Careers
Both ships saw service in the Channel Squadron. Both were used to transport troops to Mexico in support of the French intervention there in 1861. HMS Conqueror was wrecked on Rum Cay whilst carrying this out, but without losses, and most of her machinery, guns and stores were subsequently salvaged. The advent of armoured ironclads, such as HMS Warrior in the 1860s made the traditional ships of the line largely obsolete. HMS Donegal continued in service as a guard ship, in which role she took the last surrender of the American Civil War. She was hulked in 1886, and became part of the torpedo training school HMS Vernon. She served until the establishment moved on shore in 1923, and was broken up in 1925.
Ships
- Builder: Devonport Dockyard
- Ordered: 16 November 1852
- Laid down: 25 July 1853
- Launched: 2 May 1855
- Completed: 9 April 1856
- Fate: Wrecked at Rum Cay, 13 December 1861[1]
- Builder: Devonport Dockyard
- Ordered: 27 December 1854
- Laid down: 27 September 1855
- Launched: 23 September 1858
- Completed: 27 August 1859
- Fate: Renamed HMS Vernon, 14 January 1886. Sold for breaking up, 18 May 1925[2]
Notes
References
- Colledge, J. J.; Warlow, Ben & Bush, Steve (2020). Ships of the Royal Navy: The Complete Record of all Fighting Ships of the Royal Navy from the 15th Century to the Present (5th revised and updated ed.). Seaforth Publishing. ISBN 978-1-5267-9327-0.
- Hepper, David (2006). British Warship Losses in the Ironclad Era, 1860–1919. Chatham Publishing. ISBN 978-1-861762-73-3.
- Lambert, Andrew D. (1984). Battleships in Transition: The Creation of the Steam Battlefleet 1815-1860. Conway Maritime Press. ISBN 0-85177-315-X.
- Warlow, B. (2000) [1992]. Shore Establishments of the Royal Navy (Revised and enlarged ed.). Maritime Books. ISBN 0-907771-73-4.
- Winfield, Rif (2014). British Warships in the Age of Sail 1817–1863: Design, Construction, Careers and Fates. Seaforth Publishing. ISBN 978-1-84832-169-4.