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Duncan-class ship of the line (1859)

{{Use dmy dates|date=January 2018}}

{{Use British English|date=January 2018}}

{{Infobox ship begin}}

{{Infobox ship image

|Ship image=HMS Duncan, Halifax, Nova Scotia c. 1865.png

|Ship caption=HMS Duncan, Halifax, Nova Scotia c. 1865}}

{{Infobox ship class overview

|Name=Duncan class

|Builders=

|Operators=Royal Navy

|Class before=Conqueror class

|Class after=Bulwark class

|Built range=1855–1861

|In service range=1863–1870

|In commission range=

|Total ships building=

|Total ships planned=2

|Total ships completed=2

|Total ships cancelled=

|Total ships scrapped=2

}}

{{Infobox ship characteristics

|Hide header=

|Header caption=

|Ship class=Duncan class

|Ship type=101-gun screw two-decker

|Ship displacement= 5,950 long tons

|Ship tons burthen=3,715 Builder's Old Measurement

|Ship length=*{{convert|252|ft|0|in|m|abbr=on}} overall

  • {{convert|213|ft|9.25|in|m|abbr=on}} keel-line

|Ship beam={{convert|58|ft|0|in|m|abbr=on}} extreme

|Ship height=

|Ship draught=Gibraltar (not masted or stores) {{convert|18|ft|0|in|m|abbr=on}} forward, {{convert|22|ft|6|in|m|abbr=on}} aft

|Ship draft=

|Ship depth=

|Ship hold depth={{convert|25|ft|6|in|m|abbr=on}}

|Ship decks=

|Ship deck clearance=

|Ship ramps=

|Ship ice class=

|Ship power=*Duncan (Penn) 3428 ihp

  • Gibraltar (Maudslay) 3494 ihp

|Ship propulsion=800 nhp

|Ship sail plan=*Main mast: {{convert|67|ft|0|in|m|abbr=on}}ft × {{convert|0|ft|40|in|m|abbr=on}}

  • Fore mast: {{convert|61|ft|0|in|m|abbr=on}}ft × {{convert|0|ft|37|in|m|abbr=on}}
  • Mizzen mast: {{convert|51|ft|6|in|m|abbr=on}}ft × {{convert|0|ft|27|in|m|abbr=on}}

|Ship speed=*Duncan {{convert|13.338|kn|km/h}} trials Stokes Bay 7 August 1860

  • Gibraltar {{convert|12.48|kn|km/h}} (not masted or stored) trials Plymouth 17 April 1861

|Ship range=

|Ship endurance=

|Ship complement=930

|Ship crew=

|Ship armament=*Gun Deck: 36 × 8in/65cwt

  • Main deck: 36 × 32-pounder/56cwt
  • Upper Deck: 28 × 32-pounder/42cwt, 1 × 68-pounder 95 cwt

|Ship notes=Source: Lambert Battleships in TransitionLambert, "Battleships in Transition", pp 122–124

}}

The Duncan class of 101-gun two-decker steam line-of-battle ships are considered by Professor Andrew Lambert to have been the "final statement of the British design progress" for steam two-deckers. The class consisted of HMS Duncan and HMS Gibraltar. The Bulwark class had identical hulls. HMS Gibraltar was the last wooden steam line-of-battleship to commission as a private ship in the Royal Navy.Lambert, "Battleships in Transition", p124.

Design

The first British steam 101-gun two-decker was the St Jean d'Acre, which was ordered and laid down in 1851 and was "the first ship that can be directly attributed to Sir Baldwin Walker's influence. [She was] an expansion of the Agamemnon [91-guns], her superior qualities were developed in the succeeding Conqueror and Duncan classes of 101-gun ships."Lambert, "Battleships in Transition" p. 33 and 35. The Duncan class were longer and broader versions of the Conqueror, which was a success as they were noticeably faster (see table below).Lambert, "Battleships in Transition" p. 123–124.

"The early steam battleships, such as the {{convert|230|ft|m|sing=on}} Agamemnon, combined a measure of speed under sail or steam with similar manoeuvring powers to the sailing ships. This persuaded Walker to try even longer hulls, the Renown being drawn out to {{convert|244|ft|9|in|m}} and the Bulwark to {{convert|252|ft|m}}.Surveyor before the Committee on Marine Engines PP859 xv p47 While the post-war ships, from their greater length and finer lines, reached higher speeds they did so at the expense of the facility and precision of their response to the helm. New ships such as the Donegal, 101 and Renown, 91 were considered slow in their stays. This lack of handiness was emphasised by their operating in company with older ships such the St Jean d'Acre, 101 and James Watt, 91 which lacked speed, but tacked and wore far more easily. Lord Auckland had anticipated this problem in 1847."Auckland to Napier, 25 October 1857, Napier Mss, National Maritime Museum reference NAP/1Lambert, "Battleships in Transition" p63.

Duncan and Gibraltar "presented a very different appearance from the Baroque splendour of the early Eighteenth Century, with their regular outline bereft of almost all embellishment beyond the elliptical stern gallery and the figurehead and painted in the severe black and white bands of the era. These were the most striking and intimidating of all wooden warships, replacing elegance with majesty. As such they were fitting precursors for the industrial architecture of the iron-clads."Lambert, "Battleships in Transition" p67.

class="wikitable"
valign="top"

! width="140"|

! width="100" align="center"|Agamemnon 91-guns

! width="100" align="center"|St Jean d'Acre 101-guns

! width="100" align="center"|Conqueror class 101-guns

! width="100" align="center"|Duncan class 101-guns

align="left"|Tonnage (B.O.M.)

|align="right"| 3,085 tons

|align="right"| 3,200 tons

|align="right"| 3,224 tons

|align="right"| 3,715 tons

align="left"|Displacement

|align="right"| 4,614 long tons

|align="right"| 5,499 long tons

|align="right"| 5,720 long tons

|align="right"| 5,950 long tons

align="left"|Overall length

|align="right"| {{convert|230|ft|3|in|m|abbr=on}}

|align="right"| {{convert|238|ft|m|abbr=on}}

|align="right"| {{convert|240|ft|m|abbr=on}}

|align="right"| {{convert|252|ft|m|abbr=on}}

align="left"|Keel length

|align="right"| {{convert|193|ft|3|in|m|abbr=on}}

|align="right"| {{convert|202|ft|5|in|m|abbr=on}}

|align="right"| {{convert|204|ft|10|in|m|abbr=on}}

|align="right"| {{convert|213|ft|9.25|in|m|abbr=on}}

align="left"|Breadth (extreme)

|align="right"| {{convert|55|ft|4|in|m|abbr=on}}

|align="right"| {{convert|55|ft|4|in|m|abbr=on}}

|align="right"| {{convert|55|ft|4|in|m|abbr=on}}

|align="right"| {{convert|58|ft|m|abbr=on}}

align="left"|Depth in hold

|align="right"| {{convert|24|ft|6|in|m|abbr=on}}

|align="right"| {{convert|25|ft|m|abbr=on}}

|align="right"| {{convert|24|ft|5|in|m|abbr=on}}

|align="right"| {{convert|25|ft|6|in|m|abbr=on}}

align="left"|Engines (nhp)

|align="right"| 600

|align="right"| 600

|align="right"| 800

|align="right"| 800

valign="top"

|align="left"|Engines (ihp)

|align="right"| 2,268

|align="right"| 2,136

|align="right"| Conqueror – 2,812

Donegal – 3,103

|align="right"| Duncan – 3,428

Gibraltar – 3,494

valign="top"

|align="left"|Speed under steam (kts)

|align="right"| 11.243

|align="right"| 11.199

|align="right"|Conqueror – 10.806

Donegal – 11.912

|align="right"| Duncan – 13.338

Gibraltar** – 12.48

** Note that Gibraltar's trial speed was undertaken without masts or stores.

Source: LambertLambert, "Battleships in Transition" p122-4.

Key dates

The following table shows key dates for the Duncan class.Lambert, "Battleships in Transition", p123-4. [http://www.pdavis.nl/ShowShip.php?id=49 History HMS Duncan]. [http://www.pdavis.nl/ShowShip.php?id=51 History HMS Gibraltar].

class="wikitable"
valign="top"

! |Ship

! |Builder

! width="115"|Ordered

! width="115"|Laid Down

! width="115"|Launched

! width="115"|Trials

! width="115"|Commissioned

! width="115"|Last in Commission as Sea-Going Ship

! width="115"|Sold

Duncan

|align="left"| Portsmouth

|align="right"| 29 November 1856

|align="right"| 2 May 1857

|align="right"| 3 December 1859

|align="right"| 7 August 1860

|align="right"| 6 January 1864

|align="right"| 28 February 1870

|align="right"| 11 October 1910

Gibraltar

|align="left"| Devonport

|align="right"| 3 March 1855

|align="right"| October 1858

|align="right"| 16 August 1860

|align="right"| 17 April 1861

|align="right"| 8 September 1863

|align="right"| 12 January 1867

|align="right"| 16 March 1899

Career HMS ''Duncan''

File:HMS Duncan, Royal Naval Burying Ground, Halifax, Nova Scotia.jpg]]

10 February 1862: Reduction in the number of guns carried in peacetime to 89.The Times newspaper, 11 February 1862.

6 January 1864: Commanded by Captain Robert Gibson, flagship of Vice-Admiral James Hope, North America and West Indies.Lambert, "Battleships in Transition", p124. [http://www.pdavis.nl/ShowShip.php?id=49 Online History HMS Duncan]. Lambert says that she became flagship in 1865 and paid off in 1868.

Whilst serving on the North America and West Indies Station, Captain John Bythesea VC was carried on the books of Duncan as second captain from 1 April 1866 to Spring 1867, for special service as Naval Attaché in Washington.[http://www.pdavis.nl/ShowBiog.php?id=1174 Online biography John Bythesea]

15 June 1867 – 10 September 1867: Commanded by Captain George Hancock, Coast Guard, Leith (Queensferry) (replacing Trafalgar).[http://www.pdavis.nl/ShowShip.php?id=49 Online History HMS Duncan]. Note the discrepancy with dates in Lambert.

10 September 1867 – 28 February 1870: Commanded (until paying off) by Captain Charles Fellowes, Coast Guard, Leith (and flagship of Commodore of John Walker Tarleton's Coast Guard squadron comprising Duncan, Donegal, Revenge, Irresistible, Lion, Dauntless and Argus).Lambert, "Battleships in Transition", p124. [http://www.pdavis.nl/ShowShip.php?id=49 Online History HMS Duncan]. Lambert claims she became Coast Guard at Leith in 1868. Inclusion of Argus is suspect. HMS Repulse replaced Duncan as Coast Guard, Queensferry by 20 August 1870.[http://www.pdavis.nl/ShowShip.php?id=1975 Online History HMS Repulse]

1 April 1873 – 1 January 1875: Commanded by Captain George Willes Watson, Sheerness, replacing Pembroke.Lambert, "Battleships in Transition", p124. [http://www.pdavis.nl/ShowShip.php?id=49 Online History HMS Duncan]. Lambert claims she was at Sheerness 1870–90.

1 January 1875: Commanded by Captain Charles Thomas Curme, flagship of Vice-Admiral George Fowler Hastings, Sheerness.[http://www.pdavis.nl/ShowShip.php?id=49 Online History HMS Duncan].

From some time in 1878 – 1 January 1879: Commanded by Captain Thomas Bridgeman Lethbridge, Sheerness.

1 January 1879 – 27 July 1881: Commanded by Captain Thomas Baker Martin Sulivan, Sheerness. Tenders: Hydra, Porcupine, Trent and Wildfire.

27 July 1881 – 31 December 1881: Commanded (until paying off at Sheerness) by Captain John D'Arcy, Sheerness (replaced by the Naval Barracks at Sheerness, renamed Duncan, but retained with a small crew as "saluting ship").

In 1890 she was Chatham. Machinery probably removed. That year she was listed as harbour service and renamed Pembroke.Lambert, "Battleships in Transition", p124. [http://www.pdavis.nl/ShowShip.php?id=49 Online History HMS Duncan].

1895: Receiving ship, Chatham.

September 1905: was renamed Tenedos II, and commissioned in January 1906 as part of the new "Tenedos" training establishment for boy mechanician apprentices.Warlow, "Shore Establishments of the Royal Navy", p.140.

11 October 1910 On closure of the "Tenedos" establishment, sold for breaking up at London for £7,525.

Career HMS ''Gibraltar''

File:Ta 'Braxia Cemetery, Pietà, August 2019 28.jpg, Malta in August 2019]]

8 September 1863 – December 1864: Commanded (from commissioning at Plymouth) by Captain James Charles Prevost, Mediterranean Fleet.Lambert, "Battleships in Transition", p124. [http://www.pdavis.nl/ShowShip.php?id=51 History HMS Gibraltar].

December 1864 – 12 January 1867: Commanded (until paying off at Plymouth) by Captain Robert Coote, Mediterranean Fleet.

1871 onwards: Lent to the Belfast Training Ship Committee as training ship for boys in Belfast.Lambert, "Battleships in Transition", p124. [http://www.pdavis.nl/ShowShip.php?id=51 History HMS Gibraltar]. Note Lambert says 1871, whereas the online history says 1872.

1889: renamed Grampian.[http://www.pdavis.nl/ShowShip.php?id=51 History HMS Gibraltar].

16 March 1899: Sold to Castle's for breaking up at Charlton.

Notes

{{reflist|2}}

References

  • {{citation|last1=Dodson|first1=Aidan|title=The Incredible Hulks: The Fisgard Training Establishment and Its Ships|work=Warship 2015|pages=29–43|year=2015 | isbn=978-1-84486-276-4 |publisher=Conway |location=London}}
  • Lambert, Andrew Battleships in Transition, the Creation of the Steam Battlefleet 1815–1860. London: Conway Maritime Press, 1984. {{ISBN|0-85177-315-X}}
  • {{cite book |last1=Sturton|first1=Ian|title=Warship 2023 |date=2023 |publisher=Osprey Publishing |location=Oxford |pages=188–189 |isbn=978-1-4728-5713-2 |chapter=Hidden in Plain Sight|editor-first=John|editor-last=Jordan|name-list-style=amp}}
  • Warlow, B. Shore Establishments of the Royal Navy, 2nd edition. Liskeard: Maritime Press, 2000. {{ISBN|0-907771-73-4}}
  • {{cite book |last=Winfield |first=Rif|title=British Warships in the Age of Sail 1817–1863: Design, Construction, Careers and Fates |isbn=978-1-84832-169-4 |url=https://www.google.co.uk/books/edition/British_Warships_in_the_Age_of_Sail_1817-1863|location=Barnsley, UK |publisher=Seaforth Publishing |year=2014}}
  • The Times newspaper, 11 February 1862.

External links

  • {{Commonscat-inline|HMS Duncan (ship, 1859)}}
  • {{Commonscat-inline|HMS Gibraltar (ship, 1860)}}
  • [http://www.pdavis.nl/ShowShip.php?id=49 Online History HMS Duncan]
  • [http://www.pdavis.nl/ShowShip.php?id=51 Online History HMS Gibraltar]
  • [http://www.pdavis.nl/ShowShip.php?id=1975 Online History HMS Repulse]
  • [http://www.pdavis.nl/ShowBiog.php?id=1174 Online biography John Bythesea]

Category:Ship of the line classes

Category:Ship classes of the Royal Navy

Category:Ships of the line of the Royal Navy