HMS WARRIOR

HMS CAROLINE

 The original figurehead (on left) was replaced during the restoration.

REFITTED IN THE 1870s Another refi t, 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 fi nal 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 fl oating 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 fi ttings removed and armament reproduced. By 1987 Warrior was ready to be moved to a permanent home at the Portsmouth Historic Dockyard, where restoration was complet ed. Now she looks as she did in her heyday and is open to the public. HMS Warrior has a fi tting place in Royal Navy history and represents one of many stepping stones to the modern navy.