HMS Ajax (1880) Ironclad Battleship
The HMS Ajax was one of two Ajax-class battleship ironclads built for the Royal Navy during the final phase of Britain’s ironclad era. She was laid down at Pembroke Dockyard on 21 March 1876, launched on 27 February 1880, and completed in 1883.
The Ajax class was conceived as a smaller, cheaper and shallower-draught version of the HMS Inflexible. The design sought to retain Inflexible’s heavy armour and turret-mounted guns while producing a vessel that could operate in shallower waters and at significantly lower cost. Ajax displaced around 8,500 tons and carried four 12.5-inch muzzle-loading guns mounted in two armoured turrets. Protection centred on a heavily armoured citadel, while propulsion came from twin compound steam engines driving two screws for a maximum speed of about 13 knots.
Although completed in 1883, Ajax was immediately placed in reserve, reflecting both budgetary constraints and the rapid pace of naval technological change. She was not commissioned until 1885, when she entered service as a Coast Guard ship based in Scotland. In this role she served for six years, undertaking patrol, training and reserve fleet duties rather than operating with the Royal Navy’s front-line battle squadrons. Her employment illustrates how quickly turreted muzzle-loading ironclads had become obsolescent following the introduction of steel warships armed with modern breech-loading guns.
In 1891 Ajax was once again reduced to reserve, where she remained for the rest of her career. She was finally taken out of service in 1900 and, after several years laid up, was sold for scrap in 1904.
