The crisis with Russia required the Royal Navy to cover two widely separated fleets. The Mediterranean fleet's second-in-command insisted on the steam battleship Agamemnon as his flagship, yet the Mediterranean force could field only two British steam battleships against three French ones. Napier received most of Britain's available steam line-of-battle ships for the Baltic, but still took six sailing battleships, while the French contribution there was also largely sail. Russian fleets remained protected behind major fortresses, so the new steam battleships never received the open fleet action that might have proved their value. Scarce hulls and competing theatre priorities required steam and sailing battleships to serve together.
Notable Point · 1:13:27-1:15:43
Why steamship scarcity forced mixed Crimean War fleets
Britain needed steam battleships in both the Baltic and Black Sea, but too few existed to avoid mixed fleets of steam and sailing ships.