HMS Shannon (1875) - Service

Service

Shannon was something of a failure as a warship. While she accomplished more than Swiftsure or Audacious on a more limited displacement, and was the equal of a foreign 'station ironclad', she turned out to be far too slow to be an effective cruiser. While her heavy reliance on sailing efficiency was inevitable given her role, this was incompatible with the speed required to catch a foreign cruiser.

These problems meant that Shannon spent very little time on the overseas stations she was designed for. She was commissioned in July 1877, but she was found to be over-weight and there were problems with her engines, which kept her in dock until March 1878, when she went on a shakedown cruise with the Channel Fleet. In April 1878 she departed for the China Station but was recalled from there in July, and went into dock for further changes. In December 1878 she was commissioned again, serving in Channel and Mediterranean fleets, and was despatched to the Pacific in July 1879, returning in July 1881 when she was refitted. In the Pacific, Shannon was the only ship equipped with 10-inch guns, and no spare ammunition of this calibre was kept at Esquimault; since the expense of moving ammunition to a base that remote was prohibitive, she was prohibited from practicing with her 10-inch guns. This problem could have been addressed by replacing the 10-inch guns in the 1881 refit, but there was little purpose to doing so as Shannon would never see overseas service again.

In May 1883 she briefly became a tender to Warrior and then was relegated to being a coastguard ship. During a war scare in 1885 she was briefly readied for operations. From May 1895 she was in reserve, and she was sold for breaking up in December 1899 for £10,105.