The Ship
History
Origins
Construction
Commission
Obsolescence
In Battle
Life on Board
Armament
Technology
Restoration
Collection & Archive
First Commission 1861-1864
Warrior was first commissioned into the Royal Navy on 1st August 1861 whilst still being fitted out on the River Thames. The Honourable Arthur Cochrane, the third son of Admiral Thomas Cochrane, tenth Earl of Dundonald, was her Captain.
As she was a new and innovative ship the next few months were spent establishing her performance in trials. This led to some minor modifications and, in June 1862, Warrior was ready for active service in the Channel Squadron, patrolling coastal waters and making voyages to Lisbon and Gibraltar.
Warrior was the focus of attention wherever she went and when she toured the British ports in 1863 as many as six thousand people a day came to marvel at this symbol of British Naval power.
No wonder, as she was the largest, fastest and most heavily armoured and most heavily armed warship in the world. Not for nothing was she described as “The Black Snake amongst the rabbits in the Channel”
Although not the first iron ship, nor the first to use both sail and steam, Warrior combined these and other technological developments together and presented the greatest advance in ship design for centuries. She kept the peace by deterring the enemy. All other warships were obsolete the day Warrior was launched.
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