3-021-268 - The Print Collector/Heritage Images

Our Iron-Clad Fleet: floating of Her Majesty's ship Hercules, at Chatham, 1868. 'The new iron-clad ship Hercules, built from the designs of Mr. E. J. Reed, Chief Constructor of the Navy, was floated out of dock...The ceremony of "christening" the ship had first been performed by Miss Corry. The Hercules is an entirely iron-built armour-clad frigate, 325 ft. long between the perpendiculars, 59 ft. in extreme breadth, and, when fully equipped for sea, will have a mean draught of water of 24 ft. 6 in...Her ram-bow does not protrude proportionately so far as in former examples; it is a solid forging...upwards of 5 tons in weight. The entire bow, too, is more vertical and less receding than the previous instances of this style. The armour plates, of 8 in. and 9 in. thick, were rolled by Sir John Brown and Co.; and the 6-in. plates by Messrs. Cammell...The total weight of armour-plating on the sides of the ship is 1145 tons, and that of the bolts, nuts, and washers used in securing them 73 tons - 1218 tons in all. To this must be added 91 tons of armour plates in connection with the bulkheads, and upwards of 4 tons of bolts &c., in securing them. The total weight of iron and metal taken at the scales worked into the ship is 4252 tons'. From "Illustrated London News", 1868.