The design of the Trafalgar-class ships was derived from the layout of the earlier ironclad battleship Dreadnought and the Admiral class, coupled with the heavy armour of the preceding Victoria class.[1] The Trafalgars displaced12,590 long tons (12,790t); the addition of more armour and ammunition during construction added an additional 650 long tons (660t) of weight and increased their draught by a foot (0.3m) below their designed waterline.[2] They had a length between perpendiculars of 345 feet (105.2m), a beam of 73 feet (22.3m), and a draught of 28feet 6inches (8.7m).[3]Nile's crew consisted of 537 officers and ratings in 1903 and 527 two years later.[4] The low freeboard of the Trafalgars made them very wet and they could not maintain full speed except in a calm.[3]
The ships were powered by a pair of three-cylinder, vertical inverted, triple-expansion steam engines, each driving one shaft, which were designed to produce a total of 12,000 indicated horsepower (8,900kW) and a maximum speed of 16.5 knots (30.6km/h; 19.0mph) using steam provided by six cylindrical boilers with forced draught. During her sea trials, Nile slightly exceeded this with a speed of 16.88 knots (31.26km/h; 19.43mph) from 12,102ihp (9,024kW). The Trafalgar class carried a maximum of 1,100 long tons (1,118t) of coal which gave them a range of 6,300 nautical miles (11,700km; 7,200mi) at a speed of 10 knots (19km/h; 12mph).[4]
Armament and armour
The Trafalgar-class ships' main armament consisted of four breech-loading (BL)13.5-inch (343mm) guns mounted in two twin-gun turrets, one each fore and aft of the superstructure. Each gun was provided with 80 rounds.[4] The muzzles of these guns were only 3feet 6inches (1m) above the deck, and were very hard to fight in a seaway[5] due to the spray breaking over the forward turret.[6]
The Trafalgars' armour scheme was similar to that of Dreadnought, although the waterline belt of compound armour did not cover the complete length of the ship and a 3-inch (76mm)deck extended fore and aft of the armoured citadel to the bow and stern. The belt was 230 feet (70.1m) long and was 20–14 inches (508–356mm) thick; it was closed off by traverse 16–14-inch (406–356mm)bulkheads. Above it was a strake of 18–16-inch (457–406mm) armour that covered the bases of the gun turrets. Another strake above that protected the secondary armament and was 5–4 inches (127–102mm) thick. The sides of the gun turrets were 18 inches thick and the conning tower was protected by 14-inch plates.[9]
Construction and career
Nile standing by as the ironclad battleship Victoria sinks
After delivery, she was commissioned at Portsmouth on 30 June 1891 for manoeuvres, following which she was assigned to the Mediterranean Fleet.[6] When the battleships Victoria and Camperdown collided on 22 June 1893, Nile was next astern and it was only through the skillful manoeuvring of CaptainGerard Noel that his ship was not also involved in the collision.[14]Nile had her 4.7-inch guns replaced by QF 6-inch (152mm) guns in 1896. She came home in January 1898 to become the port guardship at Devonport.[15] She took part in the fleet review held at Spithead on 16 August 1902 for the coronation of King Edward VII.[16] She paid off at Devonport in February 1903, when her captain and crew transferred to HMS Royal Oak which took her place in the Home Fleet.[17] The Nile was relegated to the reserve at Devonport, where she remained until she was sold on 9 July 1912 for £34,000 to be broken up at Swansea by Thos. W. Ward.[18]
Notes and references
↑ Beeler, p. 168; Brown, location 4085; Burt, pp. 43–46; Chesneau & Kolesnik, p. 31; Gardiner, p. 103; Parkes, pp. 341–42;
Gardiner, Robert, ed. (1992). Steam, Steel and Shellfire: The Steam Warship 1815–1905. Conway's History of the Ship. London: Conway Maritime Press. ISBN1-55750-774-0.
Heathcote, Tony (2002). The British Admirals of the Fleet 1734 – 1995. Barnsley, UK: Leo Cooper. ISBN0-85052-835-6.
Phillips, Lawrie; Lieutenant Commander (2014). Pembroke Dockyard and the Old Navy: A Bicentennial History. Stroud, Gloucestershire, UK: The History Press. ISBN978-0-7509-5214-9.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
Silverstone, Paul H. (1984). Directory of the World's Capital Ships. New York: Hippocrene Books. ISBN0-88254-979-0.
Winfield, R.; Lyon, D. (2004). The Sail and Steam Navy List: All the Ships of the Royal Navy 1815–1889. London: Chatham Publishing. ISBN978-1-86176-032-6. OCLC52620555.
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