Baldwin Wake Walker Admiral Sir Baldwin Wake Walker , 1st Baronet KCB ( 6 January 1802 – 12 February 1876 ) was Surveyor of the Navy from 1848 to 1861 . and was responsible for the Royal Navy ' s warship construction programme during the 1850s naval arms race and at the time of the introduction of the Ironclad warship ; it was his decision to build HMS " Warrior " . He was created 1st Baronet Wake Walker , of Oakley House in 1856 . Early life . Baldwin Wake Walker was the eldest son of John Walker of Whitehaven and Frances , daughter of Captain Drury Wake . Career . Naval service . Walker entered the Royal Navy in 1812 , and was made a Lieutenant in April , 1820 . He served 2 years on the Jamaica station , then for 3 years on the coast of South America and the west coast of Africa . In 1827 he entered service in the Mediterranean aboard HMS " Rattlesnake " and was first lieutenant of the bomb vessel HMS " Aetna " at the attack on Morea Castle during the Morea expedition . For this service he received the crosses of the Légion d ' honneur and of the Greek Order of the Redeemer . He saw further service in the Mediterranean aboard the ships HMS " Asia " , HMS " Britannia " and HMS " Barham " , being promoted to Commander in 1834 . In that rank he served in HMS " Vanguard " from 1836 – 1838 . Walker married Mary Catherine Sinclair Worth , daughter of Captain John Worth and Catherine Sinclair , on 9 September 1834 . In 1838 Walker was given special permission of the Admiralty to accept a command in the Turkish Navy , in which he was known as Walker Bey and later as Yavir Pasha . In July 1840 Ahmet Fevzi Paşa , the Capitán - Pasha ( the chief admiral of the Turkish fleet ) , took the fleet to Alexandria and delivered it to Muhammad Ali of Egypt , who then refused to part with it . Walker summoned the Turkish Captains to a Council of War , and proposed a night landing where he would surround the palace , carry off Muhammad Ali , and despatch him to Constantinople . This operation was cancelled due to Muhammad Ali letting the ships go . While serving with the Turkish Navy he commanded the Turkish squadron at the bombardment of Acre in November 1840 , for which service he was became a Knight Commander of the Bath on 12 January 1841 ; he also received the second class of the Austrian Order of the Iron Crown , the Russian Order of St . Anna , and the Prussia n Order of the Red Eagle . Following his return to England in 1845 he commanded HMS " Queen " as flag - captain to Sir John West at Devonport , and from 1846 – 1847 , the frigate HMS " Constance " in the Pacific . From 1848 – 1861 , he was Surveyor of the Navy ( the post being known as Controller of the Navy from 1859 ) . He was created a baronet on 18 July 1856 , gaining the title " 1st Baronet Wake Walker , of Oakley House " , appointed Rear Admiral of the Blue in 1858 , and Rear Admiral of the White in 1861 , in which year he was also appointed Commander - in - Chief , Cape of Good Hope and West Coast of Africa Station . He returned to England in 1864 , being promoted to Vice Admiral in 1865 and being appointed Commander - in - Chief , The Nore in 1866 . He was promoted to Admiral in 1870 . Surveyor of the Navy . In his capacity as Surveyor of the Navy , Walker specified the requirements that led to the design of the large wooden screw frigates HMS " Diadem " , HMS " Doris " , HMS " Ariadne " , HMS " Galatea " , HMS " Mersey " , and HMS " Orlando " which were known simply as " Walker ' s Big Frigates " . These large vessels were designed to compete with the United States Navy which had decided to build five steam frigates and one steam corvette . The ships had only a short service history as they were both too large for wooden ships and expensive to operate , as they required large crews . It is reported that due to the stresses caused by their powerful engines , " Orlando " and " Mersey " were both broken up after less than 20 years service . When in 1858 the French started building " La Gloire " , the first armoured iron - hulled ship , the Admiralty was asked what it was doing to match this " new engine of war " . Walker replied that he believed iron hulls would never replace wooden ships . After strong representations by Walker and Henry Corry , the Parliamentary under - secretary to the Admiralty , the Board of Admiralty was moved on 22 November 1858 to call for designs for a wooden - hulled , armour - plated warship , whose dimensions were approximately equal to those of La Gloire . Eventually it was decided to construct an iron - hulled ship instead , and HMS " Warrior " was the result . Later life . Baldwin Wake Walker died on 12 February 1876 at his house in Diss , Norfolk . He was succeeded as Baronet by his eldest son Baldwin Wake Walker ( born 1846 – 1905 ) . His grandson Sir Frederic Wake - Walker also achieved flag rank and served in both World Wars , playing a leading role in the evacuation of Dunkirk and the hunt for the battleship " Bismarck " .