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HMS ''Devastation'' in 1896
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(UK)
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November 1869
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Portsmouth 12 July 1871
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1873
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Scrapped May 1908
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9180 tons standard<br>
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285 ft (87 m)
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62 ft 3 in (190 m)
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27 ft 6 in (84 m)
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Coal fired steam engines, twin screws<br>
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14 knots (26 km/h) maximum (following 1890 modernisation)
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410
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Four 35 ton 12 in (305 mm) Muzzle Loading Rifle s, six 6 pounder (27 kg) guns Eight 3 pounders
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10 to 12 in (254 to 305 mm) belt
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'' was the first of two
''Devastation''-class mastless
Turret Ship built for the British
Royal Navy . This was the first class of ocean-going
Capital Ship which did not carry
Sail s, and the first which mounted the entire main armament on top of the hull rather than inside it. For the first fifteen years of their lives, they were the most powerful warships in the world.
''Devastation'' was built in the 1870s, a time in which
Steam Power was well established among the world's larger naval powers. However, most ships built at this time were not only equipped with a
Steam Engine but also masts for auxiliary power. This also led to a tendency to mount
Gun Turret s as
Broadside s. ''Devastation'', designed by
Sir Edward J. Reed , changed all of this when she was built without masts and her primary armament of two turrets each with two 12-
Inch (305 mm)
Muzzle-loading guns were placed on the top of the hull, allowing each turret to have a 280
Degree arc of fire. The ship could attain a speed of 13.84 knots (25.6 km/h) and had a range of 5,500 nautical miles (8,850 km), both of which were considered good in their day. In 1891, the 12-
Inch guns were replaced with 10-
Inch Breech-loading guns and she was refitted with new
Engines .
She was deployed to serve near the waters of the
United Kingdom and the
Mediterranean Sea . Afterwards, she was refitted again and assigned to the
First Reserve Fleet based in
Scotland . The ship was broken up in 1908.
