HMS Bulwark (1899) - Technical Description

Technical Description

HMS Bulwark was laid down at Devonport Dockyard on 20 March 1899 and launched on 18 October 1899. She began trials in May 1901 and was completed in March 1902.

Like the first three Formidable-class ships, Bulwark and her four London-class sisters were similar in appearance to and had the same armament as the Majestic and Canopus classes that preceded them. The Formidables and Londons are often described as improved Majestics, but in design were essentially enlarged Canopuses; while the Canopuses took advantage of the greater strength of the Krupp armour so they could remain the same size as the Majestics, with increased tonnage devoted to speed and less to armour without sacrificing protection, the Formidables and Londons used Krupp armour to improve protection without reducing their size. The Formidables and Londons thus were larger than the two preceding classes, and enjoyed both greater protection than the Majestics and the higher speed of the Canopuses. The armour scheme of the Formidables and Londons was similar to that of the Canopuses, although — unlike in the Canopuses — the armour belt ran all the way to the stern; it was 215 ft (66 m) long and 15 ft (4.6 m) deep and 9 in (23 cm) thick, tapering at the stem to 3 in (7.6 cm) thick and 12 ft (3.7 m) deep and at the stern to 1.5 in (3.8 cm) thick and 8 ft (2.4 m) deep. The main battery turrets had Krupp armour, 10 in (25 cm) on their sides and 8 in (20 cm) on their backs.

The Formidables and Londons improved on the main and secondary armament of previous classes, being upgunned from 35-calibre to 40-calibre 12 in (300 mm) guns and from 40-calibre to 45-calibre 6 in (150 mm) guns. The 12 in (300 mm) guns could be loaded at any bearing and elevation, and beneath the turrets the ships had a split hoist with a working chamber beneath the guns that reduced the chance of a cordite fire spreading from the turret to the shell and powder handling rooms and to the magazines.

The Formidables and Londons had an improved hull form that made them handier at high speeds than the Majestics. They also had inward-turning screws, which allowed reduced fuel consumption and slightly higher speeds than in previous classes but at the expense of less maneuverability at low speeds.

A change in design from that of the first three Formidables occurred in Bulwark and the other four Londons, which is why the Londons often are considered a separate class. The main difference in the Bulwarks and the other four Londons from the first three ships was thinner deck armour and some other detail changes to the armour scheme.

Like all pre-dreadnoughts, Bulwark was outclassed by the dreadnought battleships that began to appear in 1906. Like other pre-dreadoughts, however, Bulwark took on some first-line duties during the early part of the First World War.