General Characteristics
Displacement:	9188 tons
Length:	285 ft
Beam:	62fr 3 inches
Draught:	Maximum 27 ft 6 inches
Propulsion:	Two coal fired Penn trunk engines, 2 screws;
Speed:	13 knots maximum
Range:	4700 miles
Complement:	410
Armament:	Four 12 inch rifled muzzle-loading guns mounted in two turrets
Armour:	15 inch armour on turrets, 12 inches partial belt reducing to 10 inches at ends, 3 inch curved deck

The two British Devastation-class battleships of the 1870s were the first class of ocean-going capital ship which did not carry sails, and the first which mounted the entire main armament on top of the hull rather than inside it. For the first fifteen years of their lives, they were the most powerful warships in the world. Download high resolution version (999x594, 47 KB)HMS Devastation (1871). ... The White Ensign of the Royal Navy. ... Events and Trends Technology Invention of the telephone (1876) and phonograph (1877) WTF Science Ludwig Boltzmanns statistical definition of thermodynamic entropy War, peace and politics Franco-Prussian War (1870–1871) results in the collapse of the Second French Empire and in the formation of both the French Third Republic... The capital ships of a navy are its important warships; the ones with the heaviest firepower and armor. ... A sail is a surface intended to generate thrust by being placed in a wind. ...

The genesis of the design was a request by the First Sea Lord Hugh Childers to the head of ship design at the Admiralty, Edward Reed in early 1869 for a large breastwork monitor which could steam from Queenstown (now Cobh) in Ireland to Halifax in Canada. For the international law of the sea, see Admiralty law. ... Caricature from Punch, 1882 Hugh Culling Eardley Childers (June 25, 1827 - January 29, 1896) was a British and Australian Liberal statesman of the nineteenth century. ... Old Admiralty House, Whitehall, London, Thomas Ripley, architect, 1723-26, was not admired by his contemporaries and earned him some scathing couplets from Alexander Pope The Admiralty was historically the authority in the United Kingdom responsible for the command of the Royal Navy. ... Sir Edward James Reed (1830-1906) was the Chief Constructor of the Royal Navy from 1863 until 1870. ... 1869 is a common year starting on Friday (link will take you to calendar). ... USS Monitor became the prototype of a form of ship built by several navies for coastal defence in the 1860s and 1870s and known as a monitor. ... Cobh (An Cóbh in Irish, derived from English the cove) is a seaport in County Cork in the Ireland. ... Cobh (An Cóbh in Irish, derived from English the cove) is a seaport in County Cork, Ireland ( 51°51′ N 8°18′ W). ... {{Canadian City/Disable Field={{{Disable Motto Link}}}}} Motto: E Mari Merces (Wealth from the Sea) City Symbol: Kingfisher Halifax Regional Municipality, Nova Scotia, Canada Location. ...

He responded in February 1869 with an outline design, but complained that the upper limit on displacement of 3000 tons was insufficient and suggested that 4000 tons was more practical. At a meeting shortly afterwards of the Admiralty board it was agreed that the ship should have two 12 inch guns firing 600-pound shells mounted in each of two turrets protected by 14 inches of armour, which would each have a 280 degree field of fire. The turrets would be mounted on the centre-line one of which would be in front of the superstructure and one behind it. The ship would be protected by a 12 inch thick armour belt around the waterline. 1869 is a common year starting on Friday (link will take you to calendar). ... A hoplite wearing a helmet, a breastplate and greaves (and nothing else). ...

A very low freeboard of 4 feet 6 inches was agreed since the ship was now intended for coastal service in waters around the United Kingdom or service in the relatively calm Mediterranean. Twin steam engines and twin screws were felt necessary for security, and there was a strong feeling that masts and sails should be dispensed with. This was in part due to problems with masted turret warships, where the standing rigging for the masts interfered with the field of fire of the turrets, but their absence meant that the vessel could not operate far away from friendly coaling stations. The Mediterranean Sea is an intercontinental sea positioned between Europe to the north, Africa to the south and Asia to the east, covering an approximate area of 2. ...

A replica of the proposed turret was constructed and tested at Shoeburyness in May 1872. The 11 inch armour plate backed by 15 inches of teak and a 1.25 metal inch skin resisted hits from a 25 ton gun firing at a range of 200 yards, although one shot hit a joint between plates and opened a gap 7 inches wide but did not penetrate. Shoeburyness is a town in southeast Essex, England, situated at the mouth of the river Thames. ... 1872 was a leap year starting on Monday (see link for calendar). ... Binomial name Tectona grandis Teak is a tropical hardwood tree, with the botanic name Tectona grandis, family Verbenaceae. ...

The main belt was 12 inches of armour reducing to 10 inches at the ends, and backed by 18 inches of teak.

The loss of HMS Captain in 1870 led to concerns about the stability of turret ships, and a committee was set up to determine whether Devestation would be safe. One effect of this was to extend the armoured breastwork with unarmoured structure to the sides of the ship and carried aft to improve the stability at large angles of heal. This greatly improved the crew comfort by adding extra accommodation and especially latrines, but since it was not armoured would have been riddled in a battle reducing the stability of the vessel. HMS Captain was a revolutionary masted turret ship of the Royal Navy launched in 1869, and capsized the following year with tremendous loss of life. ... 1870 was a common year starting on Saturday (see link for calendar). ...

In 1871 a 9 feet long model of Devastation was tested in a water tank, and subsequently with an 18 feet long version. Once Devastation was completed, tests could be carried out with the real ship. This included building up a roll of 7 degrees by having 400 men run backwards and forwards across the deck 18 times. Other tests involved taking it to sea to look for rough weather, in one trial waves of 20-26 feet were encountered which gave the ship a 14 degree roll either way. 1871 was a common year starting on Sunday (see link for calendar). ...

References

David Brown, Warrior to Dreadnought: Warship development 1860-1905, Chatham Publishing.