HMS Hood was a 91-gun, second rate built for the Royal Navy (RN) during the 1850s, the last sailing ships of the line ordered for the RN. She was converted to screw propulsion while still under construction. The ship was completed in 1859, but was never fitted for sea duty or commissioned. Hood was in ordinary from 1860 to 1870. The ship served as a barracks ship from 1872 until 1888 when she was sold for scrap.
Background and description The Orion-class ships were originally ordered as 80-gun, ships of the line, but the design of their hull was significantly revised by the Assistant Surveyors of the Navy, John Edye and Isaac Watts. The ships were intended to measure at the gun deck and at the keel. They would have had a beam of , a depth of hold of and had a tonnage of 2,600 tons burthen. Their crew would have numbered 720 officers and ratings.Winfield, p. 37 The ships had the usual three-masted full-ship rig.Lambert 1984, pp. 122, 129 Their muzzle-loading, smoothbore armament was intended to consist of twenty 32-pounder (56 cwt) guns"Cwt" is the abbreviation for hundredweight, 56 cwt referring to the weight of the gun. and eight (65 cwt) shell guns on the lower gun deck. The upper gun deck was intended to have had twenty-four 50 cwt, 32-pounder and four 8-inch shell guns. Between their forecastle and quarterdeck, the ships would have carried twenty-four 32-pounder (42 cwt) guns.
Screw conversion Based on the experiences gained during the Crimean War, Captain Baldwin Wake Walker, Surveyor of the Navy, favored converting first- and second-rate ships as they could accommodate the engines and their required coal better than smaller ships. He ordered Hood converted in 1856 while she was still under construction.Lambert 1984, pp. 37–38 She had to be lengthened by to incorporate a steam engine and a propeller. Unlike her sister , her stern was modified to improve the water flow to the screw. The ship measured on the gun deck and on the keel. She had a beam of , a depth of hold of ,Winfield, pp. 39–40 a deep draught of Lambert 1984, p. 129 and had a tonnage of 3,350 tons burthen. The ship was fitted with a two-cylinder trunk steam engine built by John Penn and Sons that was rated at 600 nominal horsepower and drove a single propeller shaft. To reduce drag and improve performance under sail, the ship could hoist her propeller into the hull and retract the telescoping funnel. Her boilers provided enough steam for the engine to produce that was good for a speed of during her sea trials on the Thames River on 24 November 1859, although her masts and stores were not yet fitted. Her crew numbered 860 officers and ratings.Lambert 1984, pp. 57, 59, 129
The ship's armament consisted of thirty-four 8-inch shell guns on her lower gun deck and thirty-four 56 cwt, 32-pounder guns on her upper gun deck. Between her forecastle and quarterdeck, she carried twenty-two 32-pounder, 45 cwt guns and a single 68-pounder gunWinfield, p. 40 on a pivot mount.Lambert 1984, p. 35
Construction and career
Hood was originally ordered with the name Edgar on 30 March 1848 as an 80-gun second rate. The ship received her final name on 29 June and was the first ship of her name to serve in the RN.Colledge, Warlow & Bush, p. 200 She was laid down to a modified design at Chatham Dockyard on 13 August 1849; together with Orion, they were the last sailing ships of the line to be laid down for the RN. With the advent of steam propulsion in warship design, she was reordered on 9 April 1856. Her stern had to be partially launched to allow the hull to be lengthened and the official launching occurred on 4 May 1859. Hood was never outfitted for sea and was completed for ordinary by 15 June at Sheerness Dockyard. The ship remained at Sheerness until 1870, by which time she had been reduced to 54 guns. Hood was loaned to the War Department to serve as a barracks ship at Woolwich in 1872. The ship was sold for scrap in 1888.Warlow, p. 73
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