Trafalgar Class Battleship (1887)

Overview of 2 vessels
Citations for this data available on individual ship pages
Name	Builder	Laid Down	Launched	Completed	Fate
Nile	Pembroke Royal Dockyard	8 Apr, 1886	27 Mar, 1888	10 Jul, 1891	Sold 9 Jul, 1912
Trafalgar	Portsmouth Royal Dockyard	18 Jan, 1886	20 Sep, 1887	Mar, 1890	Sold 9 Mar, 1911

Armament

Torpedoes

• two submerged 14-in tubes, angled directly abeam.

Both ships, along with Anson lost torpedoes fired from their above-water stem tubes on a single day on 20 November 1895. The issue arose when the mouths of these tubes became submerged above certain speeds, prompting a cessation of practice and a review of whether these tubes should be used in practice, action, or simply abolished. The consensus was that battleships did not require these tubes, but "cruizers" and torpedo boats might yet. The thinking was that these ships were not strong enough for safely ramming, and the bow tubes, when fired at slow to moderate speeds offered, in effect, an extended ram and the only torpedo fire into undisturbed water.