HMS Duke of Wellington received a 780-horsepower auxiliary screw and remained a formidable 131-gun firing platform. The conversion was rushed for the Crimean War, however, so the navy installed second-hand machinery that her log judged distinctly unsatisfactory. Cutting and refitting the hull also weakened her structure, making manoeuvre and battle strain a concern even though firing her guns was not itself the central problem. Commanders kept her as a Baltic flagship and bombardment platform because her size, status, and firepower still mattered. Her later replacement of Victory as the Portsmouth port admiral’s flagship shows how a compromised conversion could retain institutional value.
Notable Point · 27:45-31:15
Duke of Wellington’s rushed conversion created structural risk
Second-hand machinery and a weakened hull limited HMS Duke of Wellington, yet her size and firepower kept the hurried conversion useful as a Baltic and port flagship.