Введение
HMS Thunderer был одним из двух башенных кораблей, построенных для Королевского флота в 1870-х годах. Он потерпел две серьезные аварии до окончания десятилетия и на несколько лет после этого приобрел репутацию корабля-неудачника. В 1878 году корабль был назначен Средиземноморскому флоту, а в 1881 году отправлен в резерв, после чего в 1885 году вновь был введен в строй. В 1887 году "Thunderer" вернулся на родину и снова был помещен в резерв. В 1891 году он вернулся в Средиземноморский флот, но в следующем году был вынужден вернуться в Великобританию из-за проблем с котлами. В 1895 году корабль стал сторожевым судном в Уэльсе, а в 1900 году вновь был отправлен в резерв. В 1907 году "Thunderer" был выведен из состава флота и в 1909 году продан на слом.
HMS Thunderer was one of two turret ships built for the Royal Navy in the 1870s. She suffered two serious accidents before the decade was out and gained a reputation as an unlucky ship for several years afterward. The ship was assigned to the Mediterranean Fleet in 1878 and was reduced to reserve in 1881 before being recommissioned in 1885. Thunderer returned home in 1887 and was again placed in reserve. She rejoined the Mediterranean Fleet in 1891, but was forced to return to the UK by boiler problems the following year. The ship became a coast guard ship in Wales in 1895 and was again placed in reserve in 1900. Thunderer was taken out of service in 1907 and sold for scrap in 1909.
История и описание
Класс "Devastation" был разработан как увеличенная, океанская версия более ранних кораблей. Длина по перпендикулярам составляла 285 футов (87 м), общая длина – 307 футов (94 м). Ширина составляла 62 фута (19 м), осадка – 26 футов (8 м). Корабли класса "Devastation" имели водоизмещение. Их экипаж состоял из 358 офицеров и матросов. Они оказались устойчивыми артиллерийскими платформами и хорошими мореходными кораблями, хотя и довольно мокрыми в носовой части. Низкий форкастель создавал проблемы при встречном волнении и ограничивал скорость в таких условиях. "Thunderer" был оснащен двумя двухцилиндровыми горизонтальными паровыми машинами прямого действия "Humphry & Tennant", использующими пар, производимый восемью прямоугольными котлами; каждая машина приводила в движение один винт. Машины были рассчитаны на общую мощность в для достижения скорости , но во время морских испытаний "Thunderer" достиг максимальной скорости в при мощности . В то время как обе башни вращались паровым приводом, новые носовые орудия заряжались гидравлически, в отличие от оригинальных орудий, которые заряжались вручную. "Thunderer" стал первым кораблем с гидравлическим механизмом заряжания. Начиная с 1874 года, только носовая башня была переоборудована для гидравлического привода для наведения (поворота башни), подъема и заталкивания снаряда. Это позволило сократить численность экипажа башни с 48 до 28 человек; кормовая башня оставалась с ручной зарядкой для сравнения. Гидравлический привод был признан успешным, хотя позже он был замешан во взрыве 1879 года. Магазин был защищен 6-дюймовой переборкой в носовой части и в кормовой. Толщина боевой рубки варьировалась от 9 до 6 дюймов. Корабли имели полную верхнюю палубу, усиленную еще одной толщиной внутри цитадели. Закладка киля состоялась 26 июня 1869 года на верфи Пемброк, Уэльс. В 1871 году строительство было временно приостановлено для модификации корабля с целью повышения его устойчивости и плавучести путем расширения бортовой переборки, чтобы она покрывала всю ширину корпуса, что увеличило высоту надводного борта в миделе и обеспечило дополнительное размещение для экипажа. 14 июля 1876 года на "Thunderer" произошел катастрофический взрыв котла, в результате которого погибли 45 человек. Один из котлов взорвался, когда корабль вышел из Портсмутской гавани в залив Стоукс для проведения испытаний на полную мощность. Взрыв мгновенно унес жизни 15 человек, включая командира корабля; около 70 человек получили ранения, из которых 30 позже скончались. Это был самый смертоносный взрыв котла в Королевском флоте за все столетие. Была изготовлена модель поврежденного котла, которая сейчас находится в Музее науки в Лондоне. Взрыв произошел из-за того, что манометр был сломан, а предохранительный клапан заржавел. Когда паровой клапан к машинам был закрыт, давление в котле возросло и не могло быть сброшено. Четыре ящичных котла были последними на вооружении флота и работали при относительно низком давлении, даже по тем временам, по сравнению с более современными котлами. Котел был отремонтирован, и корабль был завершен 26 мая 1877 года стоимостью £368 428. "Thunderer" был введен в строй в мае 1877 года для службы в Резервном флоте и Специальном эскадроне и затем был назначен в Каналский эскадрон. В это время на корабле были установлены экспериментальные торпеды. В 1878 году он отплыл в Средиземное море под командованием капитана Альфреда Чатфилда. Покинув Гибралтар в направлении Мальты в ноябре 1878 года, "Thunderer" сел на мель и получил повреждения. Корабль был снят с мели и продолжил свой рейс. Его отремонтировали на Мальте. 2 января 1879 года корабль потерпел еще одну серьезную аварию, когда левое 12-дюймовое 38-тонное орудие в носовой башне взорвалось во время артиллерийских учений в Мраморном море, убив 11 человек и ранив еще 35. Орудие было перезаряжено дважды после осечки. По словам адмирала флота Э. Г. Сеймура: "Оба орудия башни стреляли одновременно, и, очевидно, одно из них не выстрелило. Может показаться трудно поверить, что такое могло произойти и остаться незамеченным, но я понимаю это из собственного опыта. Люди в башне часто закрывали уши и, возможно, глаза в момент стрельбы, а затем мгновенно приводили в действие рычаги перезарядки и не замечали, насколько откатилось орудие. Это, несомненно, произошло. Оба орудия были немедленно перезаряжены, и индикатор затвора, работающий по механизму, зафиксировался и не показал, как далеко продвинулся новый заряд". Этот инцидент способствовал переходу Королевского флота к орудиям с казнозарядным механизмом, которыми было удобнее управлять изнутри башен. Его отремонтировали на Мальте. "Thunderer" был признан неудачливым кораблем и в 1881 году был поставлен на резерв на Мальте, где был проведен капитальный ремонт его машин. Его вооружение было дополнено парой торпедных аппаратов и полудюжиной 1-дюймовых (25 мм) пушек Норденфельдта на ураганной палубе. Он был вновь введен в строй в 1885 году и оставался в составе Средиземноморского флота до вывода из состава в Чатэмской верфи. Будущий король Георг V служил на "Thunderer" в 1885–86 годах. Корабль был назначен в Портсмутский резерв в январе 1888 года, прежде чем в следующем году началась его масштабная модернизация. Его орудия были заменены четырьмя казнозарядными 10-дюймовыми орудиями. Корабль вернулся в Средиземноморский флот в марте 1891 года, но был вынужден вернуться домой в сентябре 1892 года из-за постоянных проблем с котлами и был переведен в резерв Чатэма. "Thunderer" стал стражевым кораблем в Пемброкской верфи в мае 1895 года и оставался там до возвращения в резерв Чатэма в декабре 1900 года, но был выведен из эксплуатации пять лет спустя. "Thunderer" был продан на металлолом за £19 500.
While both gun turrets were rotated by steam power, the new forward guns were loaded by hydraulic power, unlike the original guns which were hand worked. Thunderer was the first ship to have hydraulic loading gear. From 1874, the forward turret alone was converted to hydraulic power operation for training (turret traverse), elevation and ramming. This allowed the turret crew to be reduced from 48 to 28; the aft turret remaining hand worked as a comparison. Power operation was considered successful, although it was later implicated in the 1879 explosion. The magazine were protected by a 6 inch forward bulkhead and a one aft. The conning tower ranged in thickness from 9 to 6 inches in thickness. The ships had a complete upper deck that was reinforced by another thick inside the citadel. was laid down on 26 June 1869 at Pembroke Dockyard, Wales. Construction was subsequently halted for a time in 1871 to modify the ship to improve her stability and buoyancy by extending the breastwork to cover the full width of the hull which increased the ship's freeboard amidships and provided additional accommodation for the crew. On 14 July 1876, Thunderer suffered a disastrous boiler explosion which killed 45 people. One of her boilers burst as she proceeded from Portsmouth Harbour to Stokes Bay to carry out a full power trial. The explosion killed 15 people instantly, including her commanding officer; around 70 others were injured, of whom 30 later died. This was the Royal Navy's most deadly boiler explosion through the whole century. A model representing the failed boiler was made and is now in the Science Museum, London. The explosion was caused because a pressure gauge was broken and the safety valve had corroded in place. When the steam stop valve to the engines was closed, pressure in the boiler rose and could not be released. The four box boilers were the last in service in the Navy and operated at what would even then would have been considered a relatively low pressure, for more modern boilers, of The boiler was repaired and the ship was completed on 26 May 1877 at a cost of £368,428. Thunderer was commissioned in May 1877 for service with the Reserve Fleet Particular Service Squadron and was then assigned to the Channel Squadron. During this time, she was fitted with experimental torpedoes. She sailed for the Mediterranean in 1878 under the command of Captain Alfred Chatfield. Leaving Gibraltar for Malta in November 1878, Thunderer ran aground and was damaged. She was refloated and resumed her voyage. She was repaired at Malta. The ship suffered another serious accident on 2 January 1879, when the left 12 inch 38 ton gun in the forward turret exploded during gunnery practice in the Sea of Marmora, killing 11 and injuring a further 35. The muzzle loading gun had been double loaded following a misfire. According to Admiral of the Fleet E. H Seymour,
"Both turret guns were being fired simultaneously, and evidently one did not go off. It may seem hard to believe such a thing could happen and not be noticed, but from my own experience I understand it. The men in the turret often stopped their ears, and perhaps their eyes, at the moment of firing, and then instantly worked the run in levers, and did not notice how much the guns had recoiled. This no doubt occurred. Both guns were at once reloaded, and the rammer's indicator, working by machinery, set fast and failed to show how far the new charge had gone." The accident contributed to the Royal Navy changing to breech loading guns, which could be more conveniently worked from inside the turrets. She was repaired at Malta. Thunderer was then regarded as an unlucky ship and was placed in reserve at Malta in 1881 and had her machinery overhauled. Her armament was augmented with a pair of torpedo launchers and a half dozen 1 inch (25 mm) Nordenfelt guns on the hurricane deck. She was recommissioned in 1885 and remained with the Mediterranean Fleet until she was paid off at Chatham Dockyard. The future King George V served aboard Thunderer in 1885–86. The ship was assigned to the Portsmouth Reserve in January 1888 before beginning a major modernisation the following year. Her guns were replaced by four breech loading 10 inch guns. The ship rejoined the Mediterranean Fleet in March 1891, but was forced to return home in September 1892 with persistent boiler problems and she was reduced to the Chatham reserve. Thunderer became the guard ship at Pembroke Dock in May 1895 and remained there until she returned to the Chatham reserve in December 1900. but was taken out of service five years later. Thunderer was sold for scrap for £19,500
The Devastation class became more popular among the civilian population and in the Royal Navy as the ships got older. Rear Admiral John Wilson, a former captain of the ship, stated in a meeting of the Royal United Services Institute discussing the most acceptable types of battleship in 1884, "I also agree with my friend Captain Colomb that we have no type of ship to my fancy equal to the or the good old Thunderer. Give me the Thunderer, the hull of the Thunderer; she had bad engines, she was not arranged as I would like inside, she was badly gunned as we all know, and she had not enough light gun or sufficient armaments; but she carried of coal, could steam at 10 knots from here to the Cape, and could fight any ship of her class on the salt water."
Класс "Devastation" становился все более популярным среди гражданского населения и в Королевском флоте по мере старения кораблей. Адмирал флота Джон Уилсон, бывший капитан корабля, заявил на заседании Королевского объединенного института служб, обсуждавшего наиболее приемлемые типы линкоров в 1884 году: "Я также согласен с моим другом капитаном Коломбом, что у меня нет типа корабля, который бы мне нравился больше, чем или хороший старый "Thunderer". Дайте мне "Thunderer", корпус "Thunderer"; у него были плохие машины, он был устроен не так, как мне хотелось бы внутри, он был плохо вооружен, как мы все знаем, и у него не было достаточно легких орудий или достаточного вооружения; но он перевозил угля, мог идти со скоростью 10 узлов отсюда до Мыса Доброй Надежды и мог сражаться с любым кораблем своего класса в соленой воде".
While both gun turrets were rotated by steam power, the new forward guns were loaded by hydraulic power, unlike the original guns which were hand worked. Thunderer was the first ship to have hydraulic loading gear. From 1874, the forward turret alone was converted to hydraulic power operation for training (turret traverse), elevation and ramming. This allowed the turret crew to be reduced from 48 to 28; the aft turret remaining hand worked as a comparison. Power operation was considered successful, although it was later implicated in the 1879 explosion. The magazine were protected by a 6 inch forward bulkhead and a one aft. The conning tower ranged in thickness from 9 to 6 inches in thickness. The ships had a complete upper deck that was reinforced by another thick inside the citadel. was laid down on 26 June 1869 at Pembroke Dockyard, Wales. Construction was subsequently halted for a time in 1871 to modify the ship to improve her stability and buoyancy by extending the breastwork to cover the full width of the hull which increased the ship's freeboard amidships and provided additional accommodation for the crew. On 14 July 1876, Thunderer suffered a disastrous boiler explosion which killed 45 people. One of her boilers burst as she proceeded from Portsmouth Harbour to Stokes Bay to carry out a full power trial. The explosion killed 15 people instantly, including her commanding officer; around 70 others were injured, of whom 30 later died. This was the Royal Navy's most deadly boiler explosion through the whole century. A model representing the failed boiler was made and is now in the Science Museum, London. The explosion was caused because a pressure gauge was broken and the safety valve had corroded in place. When the steam stop valve to the engines was closed, pressure in the boiler rose and could not be released. The four box boilers were the last in service in the Navy and operated at what would even then would have been considered a relatively low pressure, for more modern boilers, of The boiler was repaired and the ship was completed on 26 May 1877 at a cost of £368,428. Thunderer was commissioned in May 1877 for service with the Reserve Fleet Particular Service Squadron and was then assigned to the Channel Squadron. During this time, she was fitted with experimental torpedoes. She sailed for the Mediterranean in 1878 under the command of Captain Alfred Chatfield. Leaving Gibraltar for Malta in November 1878, Thunderer ran aground and was damaged. She was refloated and resumed her voyage. She was repaired at Malta. The ship suffered another serious accident on 2 January 1879, when the left 12 inch 38 ton gun in the forward turret exploded during gunnery practice in the Sea of Marmora, killing 11 and injuring a further 35. The muzzle loading gun had been double loaded following a misfire. According to Admiral of the Fleet E. H Seymour,
"Both turret guns were being fired simultaneously, and evidently one did not go off. It may seem hard to believe such a thing could happen and not be noticed, but from my own experience I understand it. The men in the turret often stopped their ears, and perhaps their eyes, at the moment of firing, and then instantly worked the run in levers, and did not notice how much the guns had recoiled. This no doubt occurred. Both guns were at once reloaded, and the rammer's indicator, working by machinery, set fast and failed to show how far the new charge had gone." The accident contributed to the Royal Navy changing to breech loading guns, which could be more conveniently worked from inside the turrets. She was repaired at Malta. Thunderer was then regarded as an unlucky ship and was placed in reserve at Malta in 1881 and had her machinery overhauled. Her armament was augmented with a pair of torpedo launchers and a half dozen 1 inch (25 mm) Nordenfelt guns on the hurricane deck. She was recommissioned in 1885 and remained with the Mediterranean Fleet until she was paid off at Chatham Dockyard. The future King George V served aboard Thunderer in 1885–86. The ship was assigned to the Portsmouth Reserve in January 1888 before beginning a major modernisation the following year. Her guns were replaced by four breech loading 10 inch guns. The ship rejoined the Mediterranean Fleet in March 1891, but was forced to return home in September 1892 with persistent boiler problems and she was reduced to the Chatham reserve. Thunderer became the guard ship at Pembroke Dock in May 1895 and remained there until she returned to the Chatham reserve in December 1900. but was taken out of service five years later. Thunderer was sold for scrap for £19,500
The Devastation class became more popular among the civilian population and in the Royal Navy as the ships got older. Rear Admiral John Wilson, a former captain of the ship, stated in a meeting of the Royal United Services Institute discussing the most acceptable types of battleship in 1884, "I also agree with my friend Captain Colomb that we have no type of ship to my fancy equal to the or the good old Thunderer. Give me the Thunderer, the hull of the Thunderer; she had bad engines, she was not arranged as I would like inside, she was badly gunned as we all know, and she had not enough light gun or sufficient armaments; but she carried of coal, could steam at 10 knots from here to the Cape, and could fight any ship of her class on the salt water."