HMS Pallas (1865)

Broadside Ironclad Frigate in service 1866-1875.

HMS Pallas was a purpose-built wooden-hulled, centre battery ironclad laid down in 1863 s a private venture at Woolwich by Sir Edward Reed. The reason was to use the stocks of seasoned timber held in the Woolwich Dockyard initially reserved for traditional wooden battleships. The design was accepted by the Board of Admiralty as an economy measure. Indeed they were recepteive of the fact Woolwich was not equipped to build iron ships as well, ans to test the idea iof non-specialized shipyard to take part in that effort of ironclad building to counter the French. Not as fast as expected despite her promising compound steam engine, this ram-equipped corvette still saw service in the Channel and after 1870-72 refit, in the Mediterranean fleet until discarded in 1879 and sold for BU in 1886.

Design of the class

Development

The 1860-1868 “Ironclad Race” saw both Nations trying to out-do themselves in number and quality of ironclads, a new revolutionary type introduced in 1859. This followed the “steamship race”, after 1850 when the French unveile the Napoleon, a large steam-powered, screw driven ship of the line. Both nations already started building or converting score of existing warships to steam. The idea of the ironclad was not new in concept, but the Crimean war experimentations stirred innovation, as well as the American Civil war confirmed the idea of larger guns in casemates and turrets the next decade. From 1850 to 1870, these were very transformative years for all navies.

In that context, the lead architect of the Royal Navy and director of Naval construction Sir Oliver Reed, tried to find ways to keep the head in the number of ironclads in the RN, to face both the French Navy and any other newly found opponent. After the superb but costly Warrior class, Reed propose a number of solutions for extra ships at a lower cost. First off, building new dedicated, but smaller and cheaper ironclads, like the Defence class, still iron-hulled. Second, converting existing wooden ships of the line, like the Bulwark class 90 guns, which led to a serie of relatively unsuccessful examples apart the last of them, which design took valuable lessons from earlier conversions, HMS Repulse. Then, Reed even proposed to convert much smaller ships to ramp up the number of ironclads in the fleet, such as smaller frigates, but also even sloops and gunboats. And then, there was a fourth possibility, building a wooden-hulled ironclad from scratch such as the French did since Gloire in 1859.

The decision was taken in 1863 as one of the major shipyards operating at the time, also proivider of ordnance for the fleet, Woolwich Dockyard, close to the arsenal, had not invested like Thames Ironworks at Blackwall, or Robert Napier at Govan, Palmers, Jarrow or Westwood, Baillie into the equipments and forged to manufacture modern iron-hulled ships. Woolwich was not alone not having made the transition. So the the Board of Admiralty accepted the proposal from Reed to start a wooden-hull ironclad as an economy measure, using stocks of seasoned timber held in the Woolwich Dockyard, reserved for ships that were about to be cancelled with the concentration of efforts on ironclads. If this was succesful, likely more wood-specialized shipyards would follow.

Hull and general design

SWhen the decision was taken in late 1863 (she was laid down in October) and ordered as HMS Pallas, a Greek goddess, Reed wanted her to be a centre battery rather than a broadside ship, with just two big guns on the broadside but the others mounted in the extreme bow and stern as chase guns. Axial fire was possible by traversing them to fire fore or aft through recessed embrasures at both corners. This was a further improvement on the box-battery ironclad concept also pioneered by Reed, but to move the guns, the ship needed calm water. So the admiralty already saw the America station or Mediterranean as a possible base. Some were sceptic of the new ships’s few guns, low broadside weight, in exchange for the use of its true primary weapon, the ram.

HMS Pallas was still not a large ships compared to the Warrior class or even HMS Repulse. But this was coherent to her modest artillery. Displacement was 3,661 tons light, and 3,794 tons deep load for an overall length of 225 ft (69 m), a beam of 50 ft (15 m) and draught of 19 ft (5.8 m) light, 24 ft 3 in (7.39 m) deep load. In size she was considered a corvette. Her crew amounted to 253 officers and sailors.

Powerplant

As seen above, Apart this primacy of the ram, still new at the time (The battle of Lissa had not happened yet), Pallas was also the first warship in the Royal Navy fitted with compound expansion engines instead of the usual RCR and generally rod-based reciprocating engines. These new engines promised high performance and Reed planned as much as 14 knots, a necessity if she was expected to ram enemy ships underway. Trials later in 1866 even on light load was fustrating as she could only manage 12.5 knots (23.2 km/h). It seems the hull design, rather than its material (wooden, it was lighter), as the bow piled up an enormous bow wave. Thus back in drydock her bow contour were hastily modified so that she can match 13 knots (24 km/h). It was agreed that no amount of modifications apart reshaping her hull entirely, would be enough for her to perform ramming.

However in between, the Battle of Lissa happened and in 1865 showed that ramming was possible even at 12.54-knot as shown by the Austro-Hungarian ironclad SMS Erzherzog Ferdinand Max. Sinking the fformer admiralk ship Red D’Italia and changing the battle’s odds. This suggested that Pallas, even with her modest speed, still could be used by an enterprising commander taking advantage of her fixed underwater weapon in battle, provided a suitable tactical opportunity arisen. However still in 1866-67, the tactics of ramming were still poorly understood by naval planners. Her original compound steam engine from Humphreys & Tennant, or the horizontal type managed 3,580 ihp. This ensired after refit 13 knots (24 km/h) under power. Less capable under sail, which she had a ship-rigging with a sail area 16,716 sq ft (1,553.0 m2), only 9.5 knots (18 km/h) under sail were possible.

Protection

This was limited to a standard Belt and battery as well as bulkheads protecting the central battery from raking fire, of the standard 4.5 inches (110 mm) in compound iron plating. The bow was reinforced around the ram.

Armament

In hr initial design, she carried two 7-inch (180 mm) 110-pounder Armstrong breech-loaders located on either broadside in the battery flanks, with limited traverse, and then four 7-inch (180 mm) muzzle-loading rifles located on the four embrasures or recessed casemates fore and aft, capable of firing both at 90% angles, from 0° (direct) forward or aft to 90° eitehr broadside, making for two guns forward in chase, two aft in retreat and six in broadside for a conventional engagement, plus her ram, which was quite pronounced and located underwater. It seems after her 1870-72 refit she received smaller guns, one directly above the ram, and two in casemates at the poop, possibly 20-pounder (16 cwt) rifled breech-loaders. She perhaps has also saluting guns.

7-inch 110-pounder Armstrong BL & RML (1864)

From Elswick Ordnance Company and available at Woolwich from 1864, they weighted each 7,290 kg while being 3.353-metre (132 in) long for an exact 178 mm bore. They were all rifled, but the ones in the broadsides were breech-loaded and those in the casemates were muzzle-loaded. They were also exported to the Dutch and Chilean Navies.

*Deep loaded versus light.

Career of HMS Pallas

There is not much to say about her career as she never fired her guns in anger. This was for about 15+ years for her, “Pax Victoriana”. She was laid down as said above at Woolwich Dockyard on 19 October 1863, launched on 14 March 1865 and completed on 6 March 1866. She was commissioned at Portsmouth. She had modifications of her bow after trials, and was assigned to the Mediterranean Fleet after full acceptance in 1867. On 31 October 1868, while stationed at Gibraltar she caught fire accidentally and 17 crew were injured. The fire was extinguished with assistance from a a nearby US warship.

She was then transferred back home to the Channel Fleet, until September 1870. She was then taken in hands for a new refit, more radical, likely also provided with three smaller guns (see above). She was paid off for that long and very early refit, which also concerned her hull again, trying to improve on her top speed. She was then sent back to serve in the Mediterranean Fleet from 1872 to 1879, until paid off. Back home, she was transferred to the fourth class reserve, mobilizable in case of war at Devonport, until sold for BU in 1886. Her full carrer was thus quite short: From 1866 to 1870 (5 years) and 1872 to 1879 (8 years) so 13 total.

Gallery

Read More/Src

Books

Ballard, G. A., Admiral (1980). The Black Battlefleet. Annapolis, Maryland: Naval Institute Press.
Baxter, James Phinney The Introduction of the Ironclad Warship, published Harvard University, 1933.
David K. Brown (30 April 1997). Warrior to dreadnought. Naval Institute Press..
Clowes, William Laird Four Modern Naval Campaigns, Historical Strategical, and Tactical, first published Unit Library, 1902, reprinted Cornmarket Press, 1970.
Andrew Lambert (24 September 1984). Battleships in transition.
Friedman, Norman (2018). British Battleships of the Victorian Era. Naval Institute Press
Parkes, Oscar (1990) [1957]. British Battleships. Annapolis, Maryland: Naval Institute Press.
Roberts, John (1979). “Great Britain (including Empire Forces)”. Conway’s All the World’s Fighting Ships 1860–1905.
Reed, Edward J Our Ironclad Ships, their Qualities, Performance and Cost, published John Murray, 1869.

Links

navypedia.org
en.wikipedia.org
7-in RML
Greenwhich coll. pallas hull
Battleships in transition : the creation of the steam battlefleet, 1815-1860
British battleships, “Warrior” 1860 to “Vanguard” 1950
First Naval Exercises by New South Wales Colonial Ships