HMS Monarch (1868)

In the mid-1860s, among British naval specialists, there was an acute discussion of a question that was of fundamental importance for the further development of shipbuilding: how to combine sailing equipment (which was preserved at that time on most ocean armored ships) with the presence of large-caliber rifled guns on the ships. On the one hand, the problem was solved when building armadillos with battery-mounted guns, that is, as on wooden battleships, but such a scheme extremely limited the firing angles. On the other hand, the advantages of the towers with their wide angle of fire were obvious, but the presence of the mast greatly reduced this advantage. Many reputable experts considered the idea of ​​completely abandoning sails unreasonable: sailing equipment was considered an essential element of the ship, since the steam engines of those years were not reliable, they required a large consumption of coal and limited sailing range. For example, the famous designer K. Collz , being an apologist for tower artillery (and one of the leading designers of gun turrets), considered the presence of a mast on armadillos absolutely necessary. E. Reed , who was appointed in 1863 the chief designer of the English fleet, who, although he was also a supporter of tower artillery, held a different point of view, considered the simultaneous presence of masts and towers inappropriate and anachronistic. There were disagreements between Reed and Colz regarding the location of the towers on the ship - the first was a supporter of their installation in the extremities, the second considered their installation closer to the center more rational. In 1866, two armadillos of a project close to each other with tower artillery were laid, the scheme of which bore the imprint of the discussion and to one degree or another took into account both points of view. The first was the "Monarch", to a greater extent implementing the concept of Reed (especially with regard to the increased height of the side), the second - " Captain ", designed according to the plan of Colz ^[1] .

"Monarch" was founded on June 1, 1866 at the shipyard in Chatham . In general, his project was the development of the project of the battleship “ Bellerophon ” with slightly more optimal contours of the hull, as well as load distribution, which contributed to its more stable behavior at sea; the new ship also had a pointed ram instead of a round one. The ratio of hull length to width was 5.7: 1, which was an unprecedentedly large value for British battleships. The freeboard height in the middle of the hull was 4.27 m, the turret guns were 5.2 m above the water. This was in line with the views of E. Reed, who advocated an increased side height. A light hinged deck was mounted above the towers, allowing the crew to work with rigging without interference ^{[1] [2]} .

Two towers were installed on the battleship, located in the middle part of the ship in the diametrical plane, which could only shoot in sectors on the sides, but were deprived of the possibility of firing on the bow and stern. Each tower was equipped with two recently adopted armament 12-inch (305 mm) guns, listed on the Royal Navy as 25-ton. Like all the heavy guns of the English fleet of those years, they were loaded from the barrel; they fired a projectile weighing 500 pounds (227 kg) at a distance of up to 6 thousand meters (although the combat distances assumed in the theory were much smaller) at a speed of one shot in two minutes. To compensate for the lack of ability of the towers to conduct longitudinal fire, three 178-mm guns were installed on the Monarch - two in the bow and one in the stern. In general, the ship’s artillery weapons were considered very powerful, although many shortcomings of gun installations were revealed during operation. So, in the towers due to poor ventilation during the shooting a lot of powder gases accumulated. With anxiety, it took a lot of time to fold bulwarks , to clean davits and some pillers that interfered with shooting ^[3] .

The ship received a full armored belt along the waterline with a thickness of 114-178 mm. In the middle of the hull was an armored citadel with side armor of 178 mm and traverses of 102-114 mm, which had bevels to the sides. This armor covered the base of the towers and part of the ammunition cellars. The fore and aft 178 mm guns were covered by a 127 mm semicircular bulkhead. Already at the time of construction, the nasal lateral reservation was considered weak ^[1] .

The most powerful steam engine of the Humphries & Tennant company for the Royal Navy of that time was mounted on the Monarch; there was one propeller. In tests, the battleship developed a capacity of 7840 liters. with., giving a course of 14.9 knots . For the first time in British practice, artificial thrust was used on this ship, which increased the power of the machine, although it led to an increased consumption of coal. The three masts of the battleship carried sailing equipment of the barquentines ^[1] . There were complaints about the poor handling of the Monarch under sail under normal conditions, but in bad weather and great excitement, the ship showed excellent seaworthiness, giving a speed of 13 knots ^[2] .

The battleship was launched on May 25, 1868. Formally, he was commissioned on June 12, 1869. The ship was introduced into the English Channel Squadron , where it remained until 1872 . In early 1870, the ship made a visit to the United States , visiting Portland . The purpose of the visit was to transport the bodies of J. Peabody , a major American businessman who died in London , to the United States, but this occasion was used by the British to demonstrate their naval potential - one of the newest and most powerful ships of the Royal Navy, which the moment was the "Monarch."

Then the battleship was re-equipped. The mast, in particular, has undergone changes: the mizzen mast was re-equipped as a barque , the yards were replaced by wooden ones. The fixed metal bowsprit was replaced by a retractable wooden bowsprit that fit onto a forecastle ^[3] . Two 178 mm guns were replaced by more powerful 229 mm . The ship returned to service in 1874 , and in 1876 ​​it was sent to the Mediterranean Sea . In 1878, he was equipped with two single-tube torpedo tubes ^[4] .

The "monarch" had a chance to take part in hostilities: he was part of the British squadron under the command of Admiral F. Beauchamp-Seymour , who fought with Alexandria’s coastal batteries on July 11–13, 1882 (the Anglo-Egyptian war began with this battle). The "Monarch" opened fire, being approximately 1300 yards (~ 1180 m) from the forts, and then maneuvered and carried out fire several times. During the battle, the ship fired 125 rounds of the main caliber, 54 - 229 mm and 27 - 178 mm, and with its fire an ammunition cellar was blown up on one of the Egyptian batteries. The damage caused to the battleship by the return fire was negligible ^{[5] [1]} .

In 1885 , during another exacerbation of Great Britain’s relations with Russia , the Monarch was sent to Malta , where the commander of the Mediterranean fleet, J. Haye , raised the flag on it, but due to an accident in the car, the battleship lost speed and was carried out to sea. For several days nothing was known of his whereabouts. When the "Monarch" was found, it was towed back to Malta, and after repair it was sent to the waters of the metropolis. After repair, the ship again became part of the English Channel Squadron; in 1890 put on repair. Until 1897, most of the time the ship was under repair and modernization. From 1900 to 1902, the Monarch was a firewall in the port of Simonstown in South Africa . In July 1902, he visited Zanzibar as part of a squadron on the occasion of the coronation of another Sultan there . In 1904, the battleship was converted into a floating warehouse and renamed “Saimum” (HMS Simoom, English sumum), and in 1905 it was decommissioned ^{[1] [4]} .