The Ship
History
Origins
Construction
Commission
Obsolescence
In Battle
Life on Board
Armament
Technology
Restoration
Collection & Archive
Obsolescence
Warrior was obsolete within a decade. She was relegated to the reserve Fleet ranks and in 1883, withdrawn from sea service. She was now little more than a floating hulk, although still officially classed an armoured cruiser.
Her masts and guns were stripped when she was used as a depot ship for two years. Her name became Vernon III, the Navy’s torpedo training school. Her role was supplying steam and electricity to neighbouring hulks. A year later, another armoured cruiser called Warrior was launched.
Nobody wanted the old battleship when she went up for sale in 1924. Five years on, she inherited the name Oil Fuel Hulk C77 when starting life as a ship keeper’s home and floating oil jetty at Pembroke Dock in Wales.
Some 5,000 ships refuelled alongside her in her 50 years at Pembroke. However, the Royal Navy kept her in reasonable condition with occasional maintenance trips into dry dock keeping her hull intact. Warrior was the only example of the 45 iron hulls built between 1861 and 1877 to survive.
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