ABSTRACT
During the Russian War the Royal Navy built two fleets. One consisted of coastal craft for the conflict in hand, the other an ocean-going steam battlefleet for the war to follow. During 1854 the steam battlefleet was expanded by the conversion of five 80-gun ships, which Walker believed would provide battleships at a fraction of the cost of new ships. As he did not want the return of the Baltic fleet to hamper work on new ships, the dockyards were put on notice in September. Ordering the October Programme vessels in private yards assisted this policy, allowing the royal yards to concentrate on battleships. All repair work on the Baltic ships would be carried out by the ships’ artificers; alterations were forbidden. The crank Royal George and the under-masted Amphion were taken into the yards, but the other ships had to fend for themselves. Some Baltic units were used for trooping runs to Malta while the sailing battleships were paid off, together with those returning from the Black Sea, to man the new ships. Monarch went to the Pacific station, but Captain Erskine took the new 91 Orion. To emphasise Walker and Graham’s long-term view, four new battleships were ordered at the turn of the year, although they would take five years to build. Pressure on British yards led Graham to consider reopening the expensive building facilities in India. 1
