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Saturday 17 February 2018

British armoured frigate HMS Resistance 1859-1898 (1899)

Warrior-class

Defence-class

Part of the Defence-class consisting of the Defence and, Resistance, preceded by the Warrior-class and succeeded by the Hector-class. 
Building ordered on 14 December 1859, laid down by Westwood, Cubitt Yown, London, England on 21 December 1859, launched on 11 April 1861, completed on 5 October 1962, commissioned in July 1862, refitted 1867-1868, Mersey guard ship since 1877, decommissioned at Devonport, England in 1880, used as target for testing armour against the effects of torpedoes and gunfire, sold to be broken up on 11 November 1898, sunk underway to the scrap yard in the Holyhead Bay on 4 May 1899 although later salvaged and broken up at Garston, Liverpool, England. 

Displacement 6.170 tons and as dimensions 85,3 (between perpendiculars)-88,9 (over all) x 16,51 x 8,0 metres or 280-291.4 x 54.2 x 26.2 feet. With the use of watertight transverse bulkheads was the hull divided in 92 compartments and further more was underneath the machinery and boiler rooms a double bottom available. Fitted out with a plough shaped ram. Machinery consisted of a 1-2 cylinder 2.329ihp trunk steam engine with 4 rectangular boilers allowing a speed of 10,5 (under sail)-11,4 knots (under steam sea trials on 25 August 1873). With a coal bunker capacity of 460 tons and a speed of 10 knots was her range 1.670 nautical miles. Ship rigged and with a sail area of 2.276 square metres/24.500 square feet. Barque rigged between September 1864-April 1866. The screw could be lifted out of the water while sailing. Armour of wrought iron consisted of a 11,4cm/4.5” thick belt protecting the hull amidships over a length of 42,7 metres/140 feet stretching from upper deck level to 1,6metres/6 feet below the waterline and bulkheads with a back layer of 46cm/18“ teak. Ship’s ends totally unprotected with a result that the steering gear was also unprotected. Original armament consisted of 20-32pd smoothbore guns, 6-17,78cm/7” 110 pd Armstrong breech loading guns and 10-68pd smoothbore guns. In 1868 rearmed and them 14-17,78cm/7” 6.25 ton rifled muzzle loading guns and 2-20,32cm/8” rifled muzzle loading guns.