HMS Thunderer (1872)

History
United Kingdom
Name	Thunderer
Builder	Pembroke Dockyard
Cost	£368,428
Laid down	26 June 1869
Launched	25 March 1872
Completed	26 May 1877
Out of service	1909
Fate	Sold for scrap, 13 July 1909
General characteristics (as built)
Class and type	Devastation-class ironclad turret ships
Displacement	9,330 long tons (9,480 t)
Length	285 ft (86.9 m) (p/p) 307 ft (93.6 m) (o/a)
Beam	62 ft 3 in (19.0 m)
Draught	27 ft 6 in (8.4 m)
Installed power	5,600 ihp (4,200 kW) 8 rectangular boilers
Propulsion	2 shafts; 2 Direct-acting steam engines
Speed	12.5 knots (23.2 km/h; 14.4 mph)
Range	4,700 nmi (8,700 km; 5,400 mi) @ 10 knots (19 km/h; 12 mph)
Complement	358
Armament	4 × 12-inch (305 mm) rifled muzzle-loading guns
Armour	Waterline belt: 12–8.5 in (305–216 mm) Deck: 3–2 in (76–51 mm) Gun turrets: 14–10 mm (1–0 in) Conning tower: 9–6 in (229–152 mm) Bulkheads: 6–5 in (152–127 mm)

HMS Thunderer was one of two Devastation-class ironclad turret ships built for the Royal Navy in the 1870s. She suffered two serious accidents before the decade was out and gained a reputation as an unlucky ship for several years afterward. The ship was assigned to the Mediterranean Fleet in 1878 and was reduced to reserve in 1881 before being recommissioned in 1885. Thunderer returned home in 1887 and was again placed in reserve. She rejoined the Mediterranean Fleet in 1891, but was forced to return to the UK by boiler problems the following year. The ship became a coast guard ship in Wales in 1895 and was again placed in reserve in 1900. Thunderer was taken out of service in 1907 and sold for scrap in 1909.