HMS Audacious (1869)

Audacious in 1870
History
United Kingdom
NameHMS Audacious
Ordered29 April 1867
BuilderRobert Napier, Govan
Cost£256,291
Laid down26 June 1867
Launched27 February 1869
Completed10 September 1870
CommissionedOctober 1870
Decommissioned1894
Renamed
  • Fisgard in 1904
  • Imperieuse in 1914
ReclassifiedDepot ship in 1902; training hulk 1906; receiving ship in 1914; storeship in 1920.
FateSold for scrap 15 March 1927
General characteristics
Class and typeAudacious-class ironclad
Displacement6,034 long tons (6,131 t)
Length280 ft (85.3 m)
Beam54 ft (16.5 m)
Draught23 ft (7.0 m)
Installed power4,021 ihp (2,998 kW)
Propulsion1 shaft, 1 horizontal return connecting rod steam engine
Sail planship rigged
Speed12 knots (22 km/h; 14 mph)
Range1,260 nmi (2,330 km; 1,450 mi) at 10 kn (19 km/h; 12 mph)
Complement450
Armament
Armour
  • Belt: 6–8 in (152–203 mm)
  • Bulkheads: 4–5 in (102–127 mm)
  • Battery: 4–6 in (102–152 mm)

HMS Audacious was the lead ship of the Audacious-class ironclads built for the Royal Navy in the late 1860s. They were designed as second-class ironclads suitable for use on foreign stations and the ship spent the bulk of her career on the China Station. She was decommissioned in 1894 and hulked in 1902 for use as a training ship. The ship was towed to Scapa Flow after the beginning of the First World War to be used as a receiving ship and then to Rosyth after the war ended. Audacious was sold for scrap in 1929.