Defence-class ironclad

Defence as she appeared after 1866
Class overview
Name	Defense-class ironclad
Builders	Palmers, Jarrow Westwood, Baillie, Cubitt Town
Operators	Royal Navy
Preceded by	Warrior class
Succeeded by	Hector class
Built	1859–1862
In service	1861–1935
In commission	1861–1885
Completed	2
Scrapped	2
General characteristics
Type	Armoured frigate
Displacement	6,070–6,150 long tons (6,170–6,250 t)
Length	302 ft (92.0 m) o/a 280 ft (85 m) p/p
Beam	54 ft 2 in (16.5 m)
Draught	24 ft 6 in (7.5 m) forward 26 ft (7.9 m) aft
Installed power	4 boilers 2,540 ihp (1,890 kW)
Propulsion	1 shaft; 1 trunk steam engine
Sail plan	Barque rigged
Speed	11 knots (20 km/h; 13 mph)
Range	1,670 nmi (3,090 km; 1,920 mi) at 10 knots (19 km/h; 12 mph)
Complement	460
Armament	6–8 × 7 in (178 mm) rifled breech-loading (RBL) guns 10 × 68-pdr smoothbore muzzle-loaders 2 × 32-pounder smoothbore guns or 4 × 5 in (127 mm) RBLs
Armour	Belt: 4.5 in (114 mm) Bulkheads: 4.5 in (114 mm)

The Defence-class ironclads were a class of two warships built for the Royal Navy between 1859 and 1862. The ships were designed as armoured frigates^{[Note 1]} in response to an invasion scare sparked by the launch of the French ironclad Gloire and her three sisters in 1858. They were initially armed with a mix of rifled breech-loading and muzzle-loading smoothbore guns, but the Armstrong breech-loading guns proved unreliable and were withdrawn from service after a few years.

Both ships were initially assigned to the Channel Squadron, but Resistance was transferred to the Mediterranean Squadron in 1864. The ships were rearmed in the late 1860s after the completion of their first commission. They alternated between assignments with the fleet and guardship duties with the First Reserve for the rest of their careers. Resistance was the first to be paid off in 1880 and was used as a target for gunnery and torpedo trials beginning in 1885. She was sold for ship breaking in 1898, but wrecked en route to the breaker's yard. Defence was paid off in 1885 and she became a stationary training ship in 1890 until she was sold for scrap in 1935.
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