HMS Iris (1877)
HMS Iris the lead ship of her class of two ships built for the Royal Navy in the 1870s. They were the first all-steel warships to serve with the Royal Navy.
 A lithograph of Iris | |
| History | |
|---|---|
 United Kingdom | |
| Name: | Iris |
| Builder: | Pembroke Dockyard |
| Laid down: | 10 November 1875 |
| Launched: | 12 April 1877 |
| Completed: | April 1879 |
| Fate: | Sold for scrap, 11 July 1905 |
| General characteristics (as built) | |
| Class and type: | Iris-class despatch vessel, later second-class cruiser |
| Displacement: | 3,730 long tons (3,790 t) |
| Length: | 331 ft 6 in (101 m) |
| Beam: | 46 ft (14 m) |
| Draught: | 20 ft 6 in (6.2 m) |
| Installed power: | 12 boilers; 6,000 ihp (4,500 kW) |
| Propulsion: | 2 × shafts; 2 × compound-expansion steam engines |
| Sail plan: | Barque-rigged |
| Speed: | 17 knots (31 km/h; 20 mph) |
| Range: | 4,400 nmi (8,100 km; 5,100 mi) at 10 knots (19 km/h; 12 mph) |
| Complement: | 275 |
| Armament: | 10 × 64 pdr rifled muzzle-loading (RML) guns |
Design and description
The Iris-class ships were designed as dispatch vessels and were later redesignated as second-class protected cruisers. Iris had an overall length of 331 feet 6 inches (101 m), a beam of 46 feet (14 m), and a draught of 20 feet 6 inches (6.2 m). They displaced 3,730 long tons (3,790 t) at normal load[1] and were the first British warships with an all-steel hull.[2] Their crew consisted of 275 officers and ratings.[1]
The Iris class was powered by a pair of horizontal four-cylinder Maudslay, Sons and Field compound-expansion steam engines, each driving one propeller shaft using steam from eight oval and four cylindrical boilers.[1] The engines were designed to produce a total of 6,000 indicated horsepower (4,500 kW) for a speed of 17 knots (31 km/h; 20 mph). Iris initially reached a maximum speed of 16.6 knots (30.7 km/h; 19.1 mph) from 7,086 ihp (5,284 kW) during her sea trials, but after new propellers were fitted, achieved 17.89 knots (33.13 km/h; 20.59 mph) from 7,330 ihp (5,470 kW).[3] The ship carried enough coal to steam 4,400 nautical miles (8,100 km; 5,100 mi) at 10 knots (19 km/h; 12 mph). She was initially fitted with a barque sailing rig, but this was removed after a few years.[1]
The Iris-class ships were originally armed with ten 64-pounder (6.3-inch (160 mm)) rifled muzzle-loading (RML) guns, eight on the main deck and the remaining pair on the upper deck on pivot mounts to serve as chase guns fore and aft.[1]
Construction and career
Iris was laid down at the Pembroke Dockyard on 10 November 1875, launched on 12 April 1877 and completed in April 1879.[1] She served with the Mediterranean Fleet from 1879 to 1887, then in the Portsmouth Reserve from 1887 to 1903. She was a tender to HMS St Vincent in 1903– 1904[4] and was sold for scrap on 11 July 1905.[1]
Citations
Media related to HMS Iris (1877) at Wikimedia Commons
- Lyon & Winfield, p. 270
- Gardiner, p. 90
- Roberts, p. 74
- Morris, p. 12
Bibliography
- Gardiner, Robert, ed. (1992). Steam, Steel and Shellfire: The Steam Warship 1815–1905. Conway's History of the Ship. London: Conway Maritime Press. ISBN 1-55750-774-0.
- Lyon, David & Winfield, Rif (2004). The Sail & Steam Navy List: All the Ships of the Royal Navy 1815–1889. London: Chatham Publishing. ISBN 1-86176-032-9.
- Morris, Douglas (1987). Cruisers of the Royal and Commonwealth Navies. Liskeard: Maritime Books. ISBN 0-907771-35-1.
- Roberts, John (1979). "Great Britain". In Gardiner, Robert (ed.). Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships 1860–1905. Greenwich: Conway Maritime Press. ISBN 0-8317-0302-4.