Hector-Class
The Hector-class broadside ironclads were essentially a repeat of the Defence class, except with some improvements made to their armour scheme and primary armament, along with a more powerful propulsion plant. The Defence class had been viewed as entirely inferior (except in terms of manoeuvrability) to the preceding Warrior class, yet they were still very expensive ships. These ships attempted a compromise between the two, being more expensive than the Defence class but cheaper than the Warrior class and outfitted with better engines and improved armour and armament compared to the former, to regain some of the fighting ability of the latter, at a reduced cost. The theory was that given how expensive the Defence-class was, more expense might as well be spent at least to achieve some form of parity with the Warrior-class ships. Despite this, however, the Hector-class were still slower, less well-armed ships than the latter and cost nearly as much but were at least a noticeable improvement over the disappointing Defence-class vessels.
Both ships were laid down early in 1861, although their construction was anything but smooth. The lead ship, Hector, was completed satisfactorily by early 1864, commissioning on 22nd February of that year, although several design changes were made during construction, which slightly delayed its completion. This was nothing, however, compared to the disastrous efforts to build her sister ship, Valiant, whose builders – Westwood, Baillie – went bankrupt in November 1861, less than a year into her construction. Her construction was taken over by Thames Ironworks, based in Blackwall, London, although this, combined with a shortage of necessary muzzleloading guns led to a substantial five-year delay to her completion. Valiant didn’t enter service until 15th September 1868, by which time her sister ship had been in active service for over four years. She was also completed to a different specification than Hector by that time, the changes made to the Warrior and Defence-class ships in the late 1860s refits being applied to Valiant ahead of her final completion. These changes were entirely in her armament composition, now comprising new muzzleloading rifles. Hector received this same armament in a refit conducted at around the same time as Valiant’s delayed completion.
The ships were 85.39 metres long between perpendiculars, with no length given overall, so it’s been assumed that their total length would’ve been similar – if not identical – to the preceding Defence-class ships that they were largely repeating. This would set their overall length at 92.04 metres. Their beam was 17.14 metres, and their draught was 7.62 metres, again both very similar to the preceding ships. Their designed displacement was 6,818 tonnes, but as built, they were substantially overweight, with a loaded displacement of 7,100 tonnes. As a result, their coal supply was reduced and thus their steaming range to compensate. Like the other early ironclads, the hull was subdivided by watertight transverse bulkheads into 92 compartments and had a double bottom underneath the engine and boiler rooms. They were designed with a low centre of gravity and had a metacentric height of only 1.40 metres. And while these were manoeuvrable ships, especially compared to the Warrior class, they rolled badly in heavy seas.
Hector was named after Hector of Troy, a Trojan prince and the greatest Trojan warrior during the Trojan War and a major character in Homer’s Iliad. Valiant was a common Royal Navy ship name, it didn’t have any meaning other than simply to represent valiantly defending our country. Many Royal Navy names were strong adjectives to describe great might or power.
The Hector-class ships were fitted with a single 2-cylinder horizontal return connecting-rod steam engine driving one 5.50 metre propeller. Six boilers provided steam to the engines, which produced a total of between 3,258 to 3,560 indicated horsepower. During sea trials, this allowed for speeds of between 12.36 and 12.65 knots, an improvement over the disappointingly slow Defence-class ships. However, due to being substantially overweight, their coal capacity had been reduced and this meant that they could only carry 450 tonnes of coal, which was enough to steam for just 800 nautical miles at their top speed of 12.0 knots. However, they were equipped with sails, like the preceding ships, which therefore allowed them theoretically unlimited sailing range, albeit at a reduced speed and limited by the requirements of the crew and the ship’s maintenance. The sails were barque-rigged, with a sail area of 2,276m2. Their funnel was semi-retractable to reduce wind resistance when under sail power alone. They also had a raisable propeller, which in theory could be lifted out of the water when sailing to reduce drag and improve speed. However, the hoisting gear was never fitted to these ships. The maximum complement was 530 officers and men, a noticeable increase over the preceding ships.
The armament of the Hector-class ships changed several times during the design phase, construction period and service lives of these two ships. The originally intended armament was to be thirty-two 206mm/15 68pdr 95cwt Smoothbore Muzzleloading Guns, with fifteen on each side of the main deck and one each fore and aft as chase guns on the upper deck. This was changed during construction to only twenty-four 206mm guns, with a complementary armament of four 183mm/17 110pdr 82cwt Breechloading Guns instead, the latter of which were mounted on the upper deck with the 206mm guns being fitted to the main deck. Valiant never received this armament, as she was substantially delayed by the bankruptcy of her original constructor and then by changes made to her armament and delays in fitting her with said armament, so she was completed to a revised design, outlined below. As for Hector, due to her being greatly overweight upon completion, her final armament was reduced to help compensate. Four of the 206mm guns were landed, reducing total fit to twenty such guns, spread along the broadside of the ship.
The 206mm/15 68pdr 95cwt Smoothbore Muzzleloading Rifles weighed 4,826.2KG, with the solid shot that it fired weighing in at 30.8KG. The gun had a muzzle velocity of 481 M/S and a maximum firing range of 2.9 km at an elevation of 12.0 degrees. The 183mm/17 110pdr 82cwt Breechloading Guns weighed 4,165.79KG and fired a shot weighing 48.5-49.9KG. It had a muzzle velocity of 350 M/S and could fire out to a maximum range of 3.7 km at an elevation of 11.25 degrees. All the guns fitted to the ships could fire both solid shot and explosive shells.
Valiant received new armament during her construction, with Hector receiving the same armament in a refit conducted between 1867 and 1868. The reasons for the change in armament were the same as those ships that preceded them and had largely to do with the proven inferiority (and hazardousness) of the Armstrong 183mm gun, which was found to be both dangerous and unsuccessful in combat. The new armament consisted of two 203mm/15 Mark III Muzzleloading Rifles, with their primary armament now consisting of sixteen 178mm/16 Mark III Muzzleloading Rifles. The two 203mm guns were fitted to the quarterdeck, where they could be fired in all weathers. They were complemented by four of the 178mm guns, which were fitted to the upper deck. The remaining twelve 178mm guns were mounted on the main deck. The 203mm/15 Mark III Muzzleloading Rifles weighed 9.1 Tonnes and fired a shell weighing 79.4KG. It had a muzzle velocity of 430 M/S and could penetrate up to 244mm of wrought iron armour. The 178mm/16 Mark III Muzzleloading Rifles weighed 6.6 Tonnes and fired a 50.8KG shell. It had a muzzle velocity of 465 M/S and could penetrate up to 196mm of wrought iron armour. It had a maximum firing range of 5.0 km.
The armour of both ships was an improvement over the Defence-class ships and consisted of 114mm of wrought iron backed by 457mm teak along the armoured belt, which was longer than the Defence-class at 65.8 metres long. It was made up of 0.91-3.66m plates that interlocked by the tongue and groove method and were directly bolted through the teak to the iron hull. The teak was made up of 229mm layers at right angles, which strengthened the armour by dampening the shockwaves caused by the impact of shells. The guns on the main deck were protected by 114mm transverse bulkheads, which protected against raking fire. The main deck was protected by a strake of armour that ran the full length of the ship. Amidships, it was 114mm thick and tapered to a thickness of 64mm at the ends. The ends of the ship were unprotected, although they were subdivided into watertight compartments to minimise flooding. However, the lack of armour at the stern of the vessels left their steering gear and rudder vulnerable, just the same as the preceding ships.
Hector served with the Channel Fleet from her commissioning in 1864 until 1867, when she underwent the refit discussed earlier. She was then placed in reserve from 1868 until 1886. Valiant was placed in reserve immediately upon her delayed commissioning in 1868 and remained there until 1885, albeit with one brief spell in the Particular Service Squadron, commanded by Admiral Geoffrey Hornby, from June to August 1878 during the Russian war scare during the Russo-Turkish War. Hector was assigned as Queen Victoria’s guardship nearly every summer during this period until she was paid off in 1886. She remained in Portsmouth until 1900 when she briefly became part of the torpedo school, HMS Vernon as a store hulk. She was notable for becoming the first British warship to have wireless telegraphy installed when she trialled the technology for the Royal Navy.
Valiant was paid off in 1885 and then served as the stoker training establishment HMS Indus from 1897 until 1904. She was converted to a kite balloon storeship in 1915, during World War I. She was offered for sale in the years following the Great War, however, there were no buyers so she was converted into a floating oil tank in 1926 and towed to Hamoaze. She was then sold for scrapping thirty years later, in 1956.
Neither ship fired their guns in anger. They led very bland, albeit long, service lives and like their predecessors, they arrived in the world at a time when naval development was in such a transitory period that their initially modern design was already obsolete within just a few years of completion and were then of only limited use.
CLASS OVERVIEW
| Ships In Class | Builder | Laid Down | Launched | Commissioned | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hector | Robert Napier, Govan, Glasgow, Scotland | 8th March 1861 | 26th September 1862 | 22nd February 1864 | Sold For Scrapping, 11th July 1905 |
| Valiant | Westwood, Baillie and Co, London Yard, Cubitt Town, London, England & Thames Ironworks, Blackwall, London, England | 1st February 1861 | 14th October 1863 | 15th September 1868 | Sold For Scrapping, 1957 |
STATISTICS
| Hector-Class (As Built) | |
|---|---|
| Operators | United Kingdom |
| Preceded By | Defence-Class |
| Succeeded By | Achilles |
| Standard Displacement | 6,818 Tonnes (As Designed) 7,100 Tonnes (As Completed) |
| Full Displacement | N/A |
| Length | 85.39 Metres (PP) 92.04 Metres (Estimate, Overall) |
| Beam | 17.14 Metres |
| Draught | 7.62 Metres |
| Machinery | Sails, 1 x Maudslay 2-Cylinder Horizontal Return Connecting-Rod Steam Engine, 6 x Boilers, 1 x Shaft |
| Power | 3,258 - 3,560 IHP |
| Speed | 12.36 - 12.65 Knots |
| Range | 800 Nautical Miles @ 12.0 Knots Unlimited (Sail) |
| Complement | 530 |
| Armament | Initial Design, Both: 32 x 206mm/15 68pdr 95cwt Smoothbore Muzzleloading Guns [32 x 1] Modified Design, Both: 24 x 206mm/15 68pdr 95cwt Smoothbore Muzzleloading Guns [24 x 1], 4 x 183mm/17 110pdr 82cwt Breechloading Guns [4 x 1] As Built, Hector: 20 x 206mm/15 68pdr 95cwt Smoothbore Muzzleloading Guns [20 x 1], 4 x 183mm/17 110pdr 82cwt Breechloading Guns [4 x 1] As Built, Valiant: 2 x 203mm/15 Mark III Muzzleloading Rifles [2 x 1], 16 x 178mm/16 Mark III Muzzleloading Rifles [16 x 1] |
| Armour | Armoured Belt: 114mm + 457mm Teak Backing Battery: 114 - 64mm Bulkheads: 114mm |
Modernisations
| Hector-Class (As Modernised) | |
|---|---|
| Armament | 1867-1868, Hector, Rearmed: 2 x 203mm/15 Mark III Muzzleloading Rifles [2 x 1], 16 x 178mm/16 Mark III Muzzleloading Rifles [16 x 1] |
| Other Changes | None |
GALLERY
In order of appearance, left-to-right, top-to-bottom. Only where attribution is required has it been provided:
Hero Image & Hector-Class Gallery Image #1: https://www.history.navy.mil/our-collections/photography/numerical-list-of-images/nhhc-series/nh-series/NH-71000/NH-71209.html
Defence-Class Gallery Image #4: By Bernard Gagnon – Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0
Defence-Class Gallery Image #6: By Geni – Photo by user:geni, CC BY-SA 4.0