The Duncan class of 101-gun two-decker steam line-of-battle ships are considered by Professor Andrew Lambert to have been the "final statement of the British design progress" for steam two-deckers. The class consisted of HMS Duncan and HMS Gibraltar. The Bulwark class had identical hulls. HMS Gibraltar was the last wooden steam line-of-battleship to commission as a private ship in the Royal Navy.Lambert, "Battleships in Transition", p124.

Design

The first British steam 101-gun two-decker was the St Jean d'Acre, which was ordered and laid down in 1851 and was "the first ship that can be directly attributed to Sir Baldwin Walker's influence. [She was] an expansion of the Agamemnon [91-guns], her superior qualities were developed in the succeeding Conqueror and Duncan classes of 101-gun ships."Lambert, "Battleships in Transition" p. 33 and 35. The Duncan class were longer and broader versions of the Conqueror, which was a success as they were noticeably faster (see table below).Lambert, "Battleships in Transition" p. 123–124.

"The early steam battleships, such as the Agamemnon, combined a measure of speed under sail or steam with similar manoeuvring powers to the sailing ships. This persuaded Walker to try even longer hulls, the Renown being drawn out to and the Bulwark to .Surveyor before the Committee on Marine Engines PP859 xv p47 While the post-war ships, from their greater length and finer lines, reached higher speeds they did so at the expense of the facility and precision of their response to the helm. New ships such as the Donegal, 101 and Renown, 91 were considered slow in their stays. This lack of handiness was emphasised by their operating in company with older ships such the St Jean d'Acre, 101 and James Watt, 91 which lacked speed, but tacked and wore far more easily. Lord Auckland had anticipated this problem in 1847."Auckland to Napier, 25 October 1857, Napier Mss, National Maritime Museum reference NAP/1Lambert, "Battleships in Transition" p63.

Duncan and Gibraltar "presented a very different appearance from the Baroque splendour of the early Eighteenth Century, with their regular outline bereft of almost all embellishment beyond the elliptical stern gallery and the figurehead and painted in the severe black and white bands of the era. These were the most striking and intimidating of all wooden warships, replacing elegance with majesty. As such they were fitting precursors for the industrial architecture of the iron-clads."Lambert, "Battleships in Transition" p67.

Agamemnon 91-gunsSt Jean d'Acre 101-gunsConqueror class 101-gunsDuncan class 101-gunsTonnage (B.O.M.) 3,085 tons 3,200 tons 3,224 tons 3,715 tonsDisplacement 4,614 long tons 5,499 long tons 5,720 long tons 5,950 long tonsOverall length Keel length Breadth (extreme) Depth in hold Engines (nhp) 600 600 800 800Engines (ihp) 2,268 2,136 Conqueror – 2,812 Donegal – 3,103 Duncan – 3,428 Gibraltar – 3,494Speed under steam (kts) 11.243 11.199Conqueror – 10.806 Donegal – 11.912 Duncan – 13.338 Gibraltar** – 12.48

** Note that Gibraltar's trial speed was undertaken without masts or stores.

Source: LambertLambert, "Battleships in Transition" p122-4.

Key dates

The following table shows key dates for the Duncan class.Lambert, "Battleships in Transition", p123-4. History HMS Duncan. History HMS Gibraltar.

ShipBuilderOrderedLaid DownLaunchedTrialsCommissionedLast in Commission as Sea-Going ShipSold Duncan Portsmouth 29 November 1856 2 May 1857 3 December 1859 7 August 1860 6 January 1864 28 February 1870 11 October 1910 Gibraltar Devonport 3 March 1855 October 1858 16 August 1860 17 April 1861 8 September 1863 12 January 1867 16 March 1899

Career HMS Duncan

10 February 1862: Reduction in the number of guns carried in peacetime to 89.The Times newspaper, 11 February 1862.

6 January 1864: Commanded by Captain Robert Gibson, flagship of Vice-Admiral James Hope, North America and West Indies.Lambert, "Battleships in Transition", p124. Online History HMS Duncan. Lambert says that she became flagship in 1865 and paid off in 1868.

Whilst serving on the North America and West Indies Station, Captain John Bythesea VC was carried on the books of Duncan as second captain from 1 April 1866 to Spring 1867, for special service as Naval Attaché in Washington.Online biography John Bythesea

15 June 1867 – 10 September 1867: Commanded by Captain George Hancock, Coast Guard, Leith (Queensferry) (replacing Trafalgar).Online History HMS Duncan. Note the discrepancy with dates in Lambert.

10 September 1867 – 28 February 1870: Commanded (until paying off) by Captain Charles Fellowes, Coast Guard, Leith (and flagship of Commodore of John Walker Tarleton's Coast Guard squadron comprising Duncan, Donegal, Revenge, Irresistible, Lion, Dauntless and Argus).Lambert, "Battleships in Transition", p124. Online History HMS Duncan. Lambert claims she became Coast Guard at Leith in 1868. Inclusion of Argus is suspect. HMS Repulse replaced Duncan as Coast Guard, Queensferry by 20 August 1870.Online History HMS Repulse

1 April 1873 – 1 January 1875: Commanded by Captain George Willes Watson, Sheerness, replacing Pembroke.Lambert, "Battleships in Transition", p124. Online History HMS Duncan. Lambert claims she was at Sheerness 1870–90.

1 January 1875: Commanded by Captain Charles Thomas Curme, flagship of Vice-Admiral George Fowler Hastings, Sheerness.Online History HMS Duncan.

From some time in 1878 – 1 January 1879: Commanded by Captain Thomas Bridgeman Lethbridge, Sheerness.

1 January 1879 – 27 July 1881: Commanded by Captain Thomas Baker Martin Sulivan, Sheerness. Tenders: Hydra, Porcupine, Trent and Wildfire.

27 July 1881 – 31 December 1881: Commanded (until paying off at Sheerness) by Captain John D'Arcy, Sheerness (replaced by the Naval Barracks at Sheerness, renamed Duncan, but retained with a small crew as "saluting ship").

In 1890 she was Chatham. Machinery probably removed. That year she was listed as harbour service and renamed Pembroke.Lambert, "Battleships in Transition", p124. Online History HMS Duncan.

1895: Receiving ship, Chatham.

September 1905: was renamed Tenedos II, and commissioned in January 1906 as part of the new "Tenedos" training establishment for boy mechanician apprentices.Warlow, "Shore Establishments of the Royal Navy", p.140.

11 October 1910 On closure of the "Tenedos" establishment, sold to Castle Shipbreakers for breaking up at London for £7,525.

Career HMS Gibraltar

8 September 1863 – December 1864: Commanded (from commissioning at Plymouth) by Captain James Charles Prevost, Mediterranean Fleet.Lambert, "Battleships in Transition", p124. History HMS Gibraltar.

December 1864 – 12 January 1867: Commanded (until paying off at Plymouth) by Captain Robert Coote, Mediterranean Fleet.

1871 onwards: Lent to the Belfast Training Ship Committee as training ship for boys in Belfast.Lambert, "Battleships in Transition", p124. History HMS Gibraltar. Note Lambert says 1871, whereas the online history says 1872.

1889: renamed Grampian.History HMS Gibraltar.

16 March 1899: Sold to Henry Castle & Sons for breaking up at Charlton.

Notes

References

The Times newspaper, 11 February 1862.

External links

Online History HMS Duncan Online History HMS Gibraltar Online History HMS Repulse Online biography John Bythesea