HISTORIC SHIPS
ON BOARD HMS WARRIOR
The original figurehead (on left) was replaced during the restoration.
REFITTED IN THE 1870s Another refit, which added a poop deck and saw the masts, rigging and decks renewed, was carried out between 1872 and 1875. By then naval ship building had advanced and Warrior had lost her edge to newer ships in both the Royal and foreign navies. Her final commission was part of the Coastguard Reserve service, during which time she spent many years at Portland harbour. In May 1883 her masts were found to be rotten and the venerable ship was decommissioned. Yet that was not the end of her story. She functioned as a depot ship, a mothership for torpedo boats and eventually a floating oil jetty, being renamed Oil Fuel Hulk C77 in 1942. It is testament to Warrior’s construction that she had various roles for over a century, long after her counterparts had gone. The oil depot closed in 1978, but
in 1969 a group of people began to consider how to preserve Warrior. This led to the formation of the Maritime Trust, into whose hands Warrior passed in 1979. Her restoration took place in Hartlepool to utilise local workers with shipyard skills. A period of research and restoration lasted several years. The hull had to be made watertight, missing parts replaced, various fittings removed and armament reproduced. By 1987 Warrior was ready to be moved to a permanent home at the Portsmouth Historic Dockyard, where restoration was completed. Now she looks as she did in her heyday and is open to the public. HMS Warrior has a fitting place in Royal Navy history and represents one of many stepping stones to the modern navy.
The captain’s day cabin, after restoration. GENI, CREATIVE COMMONS
One of three sets of ship’s wheels, on the gundeck behind two compasses. CAROLINE MULLEY
Brass cowl ventilators behind the stern chase gun on the upper deck. CAROLINE MULLEY
HMS Warrior off Plymouth, probably in the late 1860s. NH 71191 COURTESY OF THE US NAVAL HISTORY & HERITAGE COMMAND
HMS Warrior’s gundeck, with replica guns on display. PAUL HERMANS, CREATIVE COMMONS
A fibreglass replica of RBL 7in Armstrong gun on the upper deck. SIMON DAVISON, CREATIVE COMMONS
www.shipsmonthly.com • February 2020 •
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