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HMS Belleisle (Peik-i-Sheref)

History

Due to Britain's neutrality during the war between Russia and the Ottoman Empire (Russian-Turkish War of 1877-1878, where Russia was victorious), the delivery of the two Ottoman ships was not possible. The Royal Navy therefore bought the pair and they became HMS Belleisle and HMS Orion - No.

2 of the Belleisle class. Originally built by Samuda Bros. in Cubitt, London in 1874, the HMS Belleisle was named Peik-i-Sheref, launched on 12 February 1876 and officially commissioned on 2 July 1878.

Her original design approach was to have a main battery of 10" guns, but was later modified to support 12" guns - always in a central battery design. The Belleisle actually became the Royal Navy's last central battery battleship.

By expanding her onboard coal storage, her range (at engine power) improved while allocating more cabin space for the crew. In addition, torpedo launchers were installed, making her a better warship worthy of the Royal Navy flag.

As a completed HMS Belleisle, she carries 4 x 12" (305 mm) main guns (muzzle loaded and rifled), 4 x 20 pounders (breech loaded) and 2 torpedo "wagons". Rams were used on warships, the bow of the HMS Belleisle was equipped with such a device.

Her armor protection includes a belt up to 12 inches (full length), a conning tower of 9 inches, and a deck thickness of up to 3 inches. She displaces 4,870 tons, measures 245 feet long, 52 feet wide, and has a draft of 21 feet.

Power comes from a Maudslay coal-fired horizontal engine driving two shafts rated at 4,040 hp at speeds up to 12 knots. In addition to her machinery, Belleisle carried the typical mast sails of warship design (square canvas lay), built in the second half of the 18th, her crew of 249 officers and sailors, a short funnel completed her rather simple two-mast profile.

A few small changes changed her appearance before her final death - her chimney was lengthened in 1879 and her rigging was removed.

After serving, HMS Belleisle served with the local Guard near Kingston for over a year, during which time he conducted several shelling exercises. The design was found to have fairly poor seakeeping properties and spent the rest of her life as a coastal defense ship. The ship was refitted at Devonport - adding torpedo nets and light caliber guns - and she had a rather quiet career, culminating in reserve status in 1893. After 1900, she was converted into a target boat for target practice.

After surviving these blows, HMS Belleisle was transferred to Portsmouth, where she assumed the role of a weapons testing platform.

In a specific torpedo damage test - evaluating the use of cellulose to seal damage along the hull - HMS Belleisle flooded and sank where she lay. She grew up in late 1903, was stripped of her usefulness and sold to Germany, where it was eventually scrapped in 1904.