HMS Warrior
 | This used to be the view I had from my office, before the building in which our old HQ was sold off and turned into luxury flats. Second only to HMS Victory in my list of favourite ships, HMS Warrior is frequently mistakenly referred to as the world's first iron-clad warship. | |
In fact, iron-clad warships were wooden-hulled vessels, with large iron plates hung along their sides for protection, whereas Warrior was the first iron-hulled warship, launched in 1860 and commissioned the following year. | ||
For a short while, until the world's other navies caught up, she was not only the most formidable ship afloat, she was just about unchallengable, and hence never fired a shot in anger. | ||
Almost lost to us, when she ended her former career as a floating coal bunker in the Falkland Islands, she was eventually rescued, brought back to the UK and lovingly restored. | ||
More than worth a visit - and it's astonishing to compare her interior and accommodation facilities with those of HMS Victory. The improvements in little more than half a century are quite astonishing! | ||
