HMS Neptune (1874)
| British masted turret ship HMS Neptune HMS Neptune as she originally appeared. | |
| Career |  |
|---|---|
| Class and type: | Unique battleship |
| Name: | HMS Neptune |
| Builder: | Dudgeon, Millwall |
| Laid down: | 1873 |
| Launched: | 10 September 1874 |
| Acquired: | March 1878 |
| Commissioned: | 3 September 1881 |
| Fate: | Sold for scrapping 15 September 1903 |
| General characteristics | |
| Displacement: | 9,130 tons |
| Length: | 300 ft (91 m) p/p |
| Beam: | 63 ft (19 m) |
| Draught: | 25 ft (7.6 m) |
| Propulsion: | Two-cylinder Penn horizontal trunk engine, 8 rectangular boilers, 7993 ihp |
| Speed: | 14.22 kn (26.34 km/h) |
| Range: |
524 tons fuel oil 5,700 nmi (10,600 km) at 15 kn (28 km/h) |
| Complement: | 541 |
| Armament: |
4 × 12.5-inch (318 mm) rifled muzzle-loading guns[1] |
| Armour: |
Belt: 9 in (230 mm)–12 in (300 mm) Citadel: 10 in (250 mm) Bulkheads: 8 in (200 mm) Turrets: 11 in (280 mm)–13 in (330 mm) |
HMS Neptune was an ironclad turret battleship originally designed and built in Britain for Brazil but forcibly acquired for the Royal Navy in 1878 after completion.
Design and history
HMS Neptune was designed by Sir Edward Reed for the Brazilian Navy in 1872, and was given the provisional name Independencia.
Together with the two ships of the Belleisle class and HMS Superb, she was compulsorily purchased by the British Government at the time of the Russian war scare of 1878.
Her construction was delayed by two failed launches, the second of which caused damage to the hull which required major repairs. She was completed in December 1877 and purchased by the Royal Navy in March 1878. Neptune was then taken to Portsmouth for alterations to her armament and other equipment.
Neptune was barque-rigged, but this rig proved useless and was removed in 1886. Neptune also proved a poor seakeeper, and after a short period in Channel service, was relocated to the Mediterranean. She paid off into reserve in 1893, was sold for breaking up on 15 September 1903, and was scrapped in Germany.
Notes
References
- Colledge, J. J.; Warlow, Ben (2006) [1969]. Ships of the Royal Navy: the complete record of all fighting ships of the Royal Navy (Rev. ed.). London: Chatham. ISBN 9781861762818. OCLC 67375475.
- T.A. Brassey, ed., The Naval Annual, 1887. Portsmouth : J Griffin & Co, 1888
- Roger Chesneau and Eugene M. Kolesnik, ed., Conway's All The World's Fighting Ships, 1860-1905, (Conway Maritime Press, London, 1979), ISBN 0-85177-133-5
External links
| HMS Neptune (1874)
]]- http://www.battleships-cruisers.co.uk/hms_neptune1.htm HMS Neptune Photo Gallery
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