HMS Royal Oak (1862)

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HMS Royal Oak (1862) was the lead ship of the Prince Consort-class armoured frigates built for the Royal Navy in the 1860s. She began as a wooden line but was converted to ironclad during construction. She is sometimes called a half-sister to her sisters because of different engine and boiler arrangements.

Design and armament
- Length 273 ft; beam 58 ft 6 in; draught 23 ft 11 in forward, 25 ft 2 in aft; displacement 6,366 long tons; crew of 585.
- Propulsion: a 2-cylinder horizontal return steam engine driving one propeller, with six rectangular boilers; about 3,704 indicated horsepower; top speed around 12 knots under steam. She also carried a barque rig and later a full ship rig; the propeller could be hoisted and the engine sometimes displaced by sail to reduce drag, though this was rarely done.
- Armament (as completed in 1863): 24 smoothbore 68-pounder muzzle-loading guns on the main deck and 11 rifled breech-loading Armstrong 7-inch, 110-pounder guns (three on the upper deck as chase guns). In 1867 she was refitted with 20 seven-inch and 8 eight-inch rifled muzzle-loaders (four chase guns).
- Armour: wrought iron belt and battery, 3–4.5 inches thick; armour extended 5 feet 6 inches below the waterline; hull backing 29.5 inches thick.

Service history
- Laid down 1 May 1860 at Chatham Dockyard; launched 10 September 1862; commissioned April 1863; completed 28 May 1863.
- Spent most of her career with the Mediterranean Fleet, with a brief period with the Channel Fleet.
- 1867 refit and re-armament followed by service with the Channel Fleet for six months.
- Accident: rammed by HMS Warrior in heavy weather on 14 August 1868, damaging main and mizzen chainplates and boats on the starboard side.
- 1869: present at the opening of the Suez Canal (15 November) but grounded on a sandbank outside Port Said without damage.
- End of 1871: paid off for a refit, but was instead placed in reserve to save money. Spent 14 years in reserve.

Fate
- Sold for breaking up on 30 September 1885. A housing block at Rochester Riverside is named after her.