HMS Princess Royal (1853)
_Oswald_Walters_Brierly_%26_R._Carrick_-_The_Fleet_becalmed_(cropped).jpg) Princess Royal
| |
| History | |
|---|---|
 United Kingdom | |
| Name | Princess Royal |
| Builder | Portsmouth Dockyard |
| Launched | 23 June 1853 |
| Commissioned | 29 October 1853 |
| Decommissioned | 14 August 1867 |
| Renamed | From Prince Albert, 26 March 1842 |
| Fate | Broken up, 1872 |
| General characteristics (as built) | |
| Class & type | 91-gun second rate Princess Royal-class ship of the line |
| Tons burthen | 3,130 bm |
| Length | 217 ft (66.1 m) (overall) |
| Beam | 58 ft 2 in (17.7 m) |
| Draught | 26 ft 6 in (8.1 m) |
| Depth of hold | 24 ft (7.3 m) |
| Installed power | 1,492 ihp (1,113 kW) |
| Propulsion | 1 screw; 1 single-expansion steam engine |
| Sail plan | Full-rigged ship |
| Speed | 11 knots (20 km/h; 13 mph) |
| Complement | 850 |
| Armament |
|
HMS Princess Royal was the lead ship of her class of 91-gun second rate ships of the line built for the Royal Navy in the 1850s. Completed in 1854, she participated in the Crimean War of 1854–1855. The ship was sold for scrap in 1872.
Description
[edit]Princess Royal measured 217 feet (66.1 m) on the gundeck and 179 feet 4 inches (54.7 m) on the keel. She had a beam of 58 feet 2 inches (17.7 m), a depth of hold of 24 feet (7.3 m),[1] a deep draught of 26 feet 6 inches (8.08 m)[2] and had a tonnage of 3130 tons burthen. The ship was fitted with a horizontal two-cylinder single-expansion steam engine built by Maudslay, Sons and Field that was rated at 400 nominal horsepower and drove a single propeller shaft. Her boilers provided enough steam to give the engine 1,492 indicated horsepower (1,113 kW) that was good for a speed of 11 knots (20 km/h; 13 mph). Her crew numbered 850 officers and ratings.[1]
The ship's muzzle-loading, smoothbore armament consisted of thirty-two 8 in (203 mm) shell guns on her lower gundeck and thirty-four 32-pounder (56 cwt) guns[Note 1] on her upper gundeck. Between her forecastle and quarterdeck, she carried twenty-four 32-pounder (42 cwt) guns and a single 68-pounder gun.[1]
Construction and career
[edit]Princess Royal was ordered as a 90-gun second rate Albion-class ship of the line in 1840 under the name of Prince Albert and she was laid down at HM Dockyard, Portsmouth in February 1841. Her name was changed to Princess Royal on 26 March 1842, but she was re-ordered on 15 April 1847 to a modified John Edye design. The ship was reordered again as a steam-powered, 90-gun second rate on 23 September 1852. The conversion was ordered on 30 October and work began on 15 November which included inserting a 9-foot (2.7 m) section into the ship's middle to accommodate the steam engine. She was launched on 23 June 1853 and was commissioned by Captain Lord Clarence Paget on 29 October 1853. Princess Royal was completed for sea on 11 March 1854.[3]
She took part in both the Baltic Campaign and the naval bombardment of Sevastopol during the Crimean War. She later served as the flagship of Rear-Admiral George St Vincent King in his role as Commander-in-Chief, East Indies and China Station.[4]
In 1865, Princess Royal conveyed Sir Harry Smith Parkes, accompanied by a detachment of Royal Marines, to the treaty port of Yokohama on his appointment as envoy to Japan. Admiral of the Fleet Lord Walter Kerr served as a lieutenant on board Princess Royal during the ship's deployment to Japan.[5] She was sold to be broken up on 7 December 1872.[4]
Notes
[edit]- ^ "Cwt" is the abbreviation for hundredweight, 56 cwt referring to the weight of the gun.
Citations
[edit]
Media related to HMS Princess Royal (ship, 1853) at Wikimedia Commons
References
[edit]- 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.
- Lambert, Andrew D. (1984). Battleships in Transition: The Creation of the Steam Battlefleet 1815-1860. Conway Maritime Press. ISBN 0-85177-315-X.
- 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.