After two captains had struggled with the converted ship of the line HMS Neptune, Hornby restored her effectiveness and argued that steam power demanded new ways of fighting rather than old sailing tactics with engines added. As flag captain of the Channel Squadron, he had to coordinate ironclads such as Warrior and Black Prince with wooden steam ships and other vessels of unequal speed and handling. Warrior and Black Prince were powerful frigates but awkward members of a battle fleet, making equal-speed manoeuvres a practical necessity. The episode shows that steam-era tactical innovation began with the handling limits of real mixed squadrons rather than a clean break between sailing and powered fleets.
Chapter · 31:11-36:45
Hornby adapted fleet tactics to steam and ironclads
Hornby rejected the idea that steam merely freed sailing formations from the wind and worked out maneuvers for a squadron of radically different ships.