In this ship, designed by Sir Edward Reed, the power-to-weight ratio was increased; the long rows of guns on the broadside were replaced by a small number of guns, centrally placed, of the largest possible calibre; the armour was increased in thickness but reduced in length, and a sharp beak ram was combined with a classical style plough bow.
This double bottom had the added advantage of allowing the engine to be carried higher, raising the centre of gravity of the whole ship and making her thereby a steadier gun platform.[1] Unlike earlier classes, Bellerophons bow and stern had a U-shaped profile, giving increased buoyancy at the ends noticeably absent in some earlier battleships.[1] Bellerophon carried the first balanced rudder in Royal Navy service. Full helm could be applied by eight men in about 27 seconds,[2] whereas in HMS Warrior it took forty men 90 seconds to perform the same manoeuvre.[3]
HMS Bellerophon was 280feet long between perpendiculars. She had a beam of 56feet and a maximum draught of 26feet.[4]
Bellerophon had one 2-cylinder trunk steam engine made by John Penn and Sons driving a single 23feet propeller.[5] Eight rectangular boilers provided steam to the engine at a working pressure of 27psi. The engine produced a total of 6521ihp during the ship's sea trials in August 1864 and the ship had a maximum speed 14.17kn.[6] Bellerophon carried 640LT of coal, enough to steam 1500nmi at .[7]
The ironclad was ship rigged and had a sail area of 23800square feet. Bellerophon was "dull under canvas" and only made under sail in a moderate gale.[8] The ship's propeller could be disconnected to reduce drag while under sail.[9]
Bellerophon was the first British ironclad to carry the 9-inch rifled muzzle-loading gun. All ten of the 9inches guns were mounted on the main deck, five on each side. Five 7-inch rifled muzzle-loaders were mounted outside the battery as chase guns. Four of these were mounted in pairs fore and aft on the main deck; the last gun was mounted on the upper deck at the stern.[2] The ship also had four breech-loading 12-pounder Armstrong guns for use as saluting guns.[10]
The shell of the 14-calibre 9-inch gun weighed 254lb while the gun itself weighed 12LT. It had a muzzle velocity of 1420ft/s and was credited with the ability to penetrate a nominal 11.3inches of wrought iron armour at the muzzle. The 16-calibre 7inches gun weighed 6.5LT and fired a 1121NaN1 shell. It was credited with the nominal ability to penetrate 7.7adj=onNaNadj=on armour.[11]
When the ship was refitted in 1881–85,[8] she became the only British ironclad to have her entire muzzle-loading armament replaced by breech-loaders. Bellerophon received ten BL Mk III guns, mounted in the central battery and four 6-inch (152 mm) guns as chase guns fore and aft. The forward guns were mounted in new embrasures in the forecastle on the upper deck as the original guns were too low and were usually washed out in a head sea.[10] Eight 4-inch breech-loading guns as well as four quick-firing 6-pounder Hotchkiss and 12 machine guns were fitted for defence against torpedo boats.[12] The ship also received two 160NaN0 Whitehead torpedo launchers that were carried on the main deck, outside the armoured battery.[1] The new eight-inch guns were some 7feet longer than the original nine-inch guns and the central battery proved to be too small for effective use of the guns.[10]
Bellerophon had a complete waterline belt of wrought iron that was 6inches thick amidships and tapered to 5inches thick at the bow and stern. From the height of the main deck, it reached 6feet below the waterline. The central battery were protected by a section of 6-inch armour,[7] 98feet[13] long, with 50NaN0 transverse bulkheads at each end. The forward chase guns were protected by a strake of 4.5inches armour. The upper deck was thick over the battery and the main deck was thick. The armour was backed by 8- of teak and the skin of the ship was thick. The total weight of her armour was 1093LT.[7]
For the first time since the construction of, the basic method of construction of an ironclad's hull was altered. The usage of longitudinal girders to impart strength and resistance to the hull was discarded, and a "bracket frame" system devised by Nathaniel Barnaby was adopted. This system allowed for the inclusion into the ship of a double bottom, with clear survival implications if damaged, while at the same time allowing for a saving in weight so that 100feet of the hull of Bellerophon weighed 1123LT, versus 1303LT for 100feet of .[1] Some steel was used in the hull to save weight.[14]
HMS Bellerophon was ordered on 23 July 1863 from the Royal Dockyard in Chatham, Kent. She was laid down on 28 December 1863 and launched on 26 April 1865.[15] The ship was commissioned in March 1866 and completed on 11 April 1866.[16] Bellerophon cost £356,493.[17] [7]
Bellerophon was commissioned at Chatham, and served in the Channel Fleet until 1871. She was struck by in 1868 while leaving Belfast Lough, but only suffered minimal damage. The ship served with the Mediterranean Fleet from 1871 to 1872, and then paid off for refit where she was given a poop deck. Bellerophon relieved as flagship on the North America and West Indies Station in 1873, based at the Royal Naval Dockyard in the Imperial fortress colony of Bermuda. On 24 November 1873, Bellerophon collided with the Liverpool, Brazil and River Plate Steam Navigation Company's steamship, which sank. All on board Flamsteed were rescued by the Portuguese ship Blimani.[18] Bellerophon remained on the North America and West Indies Station until 1881. An extensive refit, including new boilers and new armament was followed by a further period on the North America and West Indies Station until 1892, when she paid off at Plymouth. She was re-commissioned as port guardship at Pembroke until 1903. Bellerophon was converted into a stokers' training ship in 1904, and renamed HMS Indus III. The ship was sold on 12 December 1922 to P. and W. McLellan for scrap, although she did not arrive in Bo'ness for breaking-up until March 1923.[19]
. George Alexander Ballard . The Black Battlefleet . 1980 . Naval Institute Press . Annapolis, Maryland. 0-87021-924-3.