HMS Bristol was the lead ship of her class of wooden screw frigates constructed for the Royal Navy during the 1860s. Measuring 250 feet (76.2 meters) in length between perpendiculars and approximately 214 feet 7 inches (65.4 meters) at the keel, she had a beam of 52 feet (15.8 meters) and a deep load draught of 18 feet 10 inches (5.7 meters). Her hull's depth of hold was 18 feet 8 inches (5.7 meters). The vessel's tonnage was 3,027 26/94 tons burthen, with a displacement of 4,023 long tons (approximately 4,088 metric tons). She was crewed by around 550 officers and ratings. Power was provided by a horizontal, two-cylinder, single-expansion steam engine built by Robert Napier and Sons. This engine drove a single propeller shaft, utilizing steam generated by four boilers. The engine produced 2,088 indicated horsepower (about 1,557 kW), enabling the ship to reach a maximum speed of 11.8 knots (approximately 21.9 km/h or 13.6 mph). Notably, her propeller could be hoisted into the hull to enhance her sailing qualities when under wind power. Armament initially consisted of thirty eight-inch (203 mm) smoothbore muzzle-loading guns (SBML) of 65 hundredweight on her gundeck, designed to fire explosive shells. Additionally, she carried twenty 32-pounder SBML guns and a single 68-pounder SBML gun on a pivot mount on the upper deck. In January 1868, her armament was reconfigured to include ten eight-inch shell guns and twelve rifled, muzzle-loading 64-pounder guns on the gundeck, with four more 64-pounders added on the upper deck. Ordered in April 1856 and launched in February 1861, HMS Bristol faced delays in commissioning, which occurred in October 1865. Her service record includes running aground off the Nore during sea trials in November 1865, from which she was refloated and proceeded to Portsmouth. In December 1869, she again ran aground, incurring repair costs of £2,197, with the incident attributed to pilot error, leading to the pilot’s license revocation. HMS Bristol is notable for her role as a representative of mid-19th-century naval innovation, combining steam and sail power in a period of significant technological transition.

This description has been generated using GPT-4.1-NANO based on the Vessel's wikidata information and then modified by ShipIndex.org staff.