Naval Historywith Dr. Alex

Q&A · 2:31:02-2:33:00

HMS Victoria appears in place of HMS Warrior

A time-displaced HMS Victoria would confront the navies of 1860 with a much larger armored ship and guns outside their expected scale.

ArmourCounterfactual HistoryHMS VictoriaHMS Warrior (1860)IroncladsNaval GunneryVictorian Royal Navy
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Question

What happens if HMS Victoria replaces HMS Warrior at the moment of Warrior's launch?

Short answer

Victoria becomes an overwhelming technological shock: far heavier guns and armor make her capable of defeating contemporary fleets with little precedent to guide a response.

Notes

The scenario substitutes an 11,000-ton HMS Victoria for HMS Warrior at her launch. A ship built entirely around steam propulsion would already look unfamiliar beside the contemporary fleet. Victoria's armament adds a pair of 16.25-inch guns forward, a 10-inch gun aft, twelve 6-inch guns, and twelve six-pounders. Protection includes an 18-inch belt, 16-inch bulkheads, and 17 inches on the turret in the figures given here. The immediate prediction is alarm among navies confronting a ship so far beyond their existing expectations.