HMS Lord Warden ( 1865 ) HMS " Lord Warden " was the second and last ship of the wooden - hulled of armoured frigate s built for the Royal Navy during the 1860s . She and her sister ship , , were the heaviest wooden ships ever built and were also the fastest steaming wooden ships . They were also the slowest - sailing ironclads in the Royal Navy . After a brief deployment with the Channel Squadron upon commissioning in 1867 , " Lord Warden " was transferred to the Mediterranean Squadron later that year . She became the squadron flagship in 1869 and retained that duty until 1875 when she returned home for a refit . Upon recommissioning in 1876 , the ship became the guardship of the First Reserve in the Firth of Forth . " Lord Warden " was mobilised in 1878 when war with Russia seemed imminent during the Russo - Turkish War . She was paid off in 1885 and broken up in 1889 . Design and description . " Lord Warden " was long between perpendiculars and had a beam of . The ship had a draught of forward and aft . She displaced and had a tonnage of 4 , 080 tons burthen . " Lord Warden " had a low centre of gravity which meant that she rolled very badly ; she was said to be second only to her sister as the worst roller in the Victorian fleet . This characteristic was so dramatic that when the rolling propensities of ships were compared , it was usual to say " as bad a roller as the " , the " Lord Clyde " s being beyond compare . In sea trials in 1867 with , " Lord Warden " was taking water through her gun ports , while " Bellerophon " could have fought her main armament in safety . She was , however , very handy and sailed well in all weathers under sail or steam . Her crew consisted of 605 officers and enlisted men . Propulsion . The ship had a single three - cylinder Horizontal return connecting rod - steam engine , made by Maudslay , Sons and Field , that drove a single propeller using steam provided by nine rectangular boilers . The engine produced during sea trials on 13 September 1867 which gave " Lord Warden " a speed of under steam . The engine proved to be the most powerful and the most reliable ever placed in a wooden hull for the Royal Navy . She carried a maximum of of coal . " Lord Warden " was ship - rigged with three masts and had a sail area of . To reduce drag , the funnels were telescopic and could be lowered . Her best speed under sail alone was , nearly the slowest of any British ironclad . Armament . The ship was designed to carry an armament of 14 rifled muzzle - loading ( RML ) guns eight - inch and 2 RML seven - inch guns . " Lord Warden " was completed , however , with a pair of RML nine - inch guns , 14 RML guns , and 2 RML guns . The latter guns served as forward chase gun s on the main deck where they were very wet and useless in a head sea . One of the guns was the forward chase gun on the upper deck and the other became the stern chase gun on the main deck . A dozen of the guns were mounted on the main deck on the broadside amidships and the remaining pair were positioned on the quarterdeck on the broadside . The shell of the nine - inch gun weighed while the gun itself weighed . It had a muzzle velocity of and was rated with the ability to penetrate of wrought - iron armour . The eight - inch gun weighed ; it fired a shell at a muzzle velocity of and was credited with the ability to penetrate of armour . The seven - inch gun weighed and fired a shell that was able penetrate of armour . Armour . The entire side of " Lord Warden " s hull , except for the side of the upper deck , was protected by wrought - iron armour that tapered from at the ends to amidships . It extended below the waterline . The forward chase guns on the upper deck were protected by 4 . 5 - inch armour plates on the sides of the hull and a 4 . 5 - inch transverse bulkhead to their rear protected them from raking fire . The armour was backed by of oak and the iron skin of the ship . Construction and service . " Lord Warden " , named after the position of the Lord Warden of the Cinque Ports , was ordered on 25 May 1863 from Chatham Naval Dockyard . She was laid down on 24 December 1863 and launched on 27 May 1865 . The ship was commissioned in July 1867 to run her sea trials and completed on 30 August , for the cost of £328 , 998 or £322 , 843 , exclusive of armament . After a few months service with the Channel Squadron , " Lord Warden " was posted to the Mediterranean . On 30 January 1868 , the wooden steam frigate was caught by a squall whilst taking up her berth in Valletta Harbour , Malta . She collided with the , knocking off her bowsprit and then collided with " Lord Warden " , damaging some of the latter ' s boats and an accommodation ladder . " Endymion " was reported to be undamaged . " Lord Warden " relieved as the squadron flagship in 1869 and served in this position until 1875 . In 1872 , " Lord Clyde " ran aground herself whilst attempting to rescue a British steamship that had gone aground off the island of Pantellaria . Attempts to lighten " Lord Clyde " enough to float her off were futile , but " Lord Warden " was able to pull the ship free and tow her to Malta for repair . In 1875 , she returned to the UK for a refit that lasted until the following year . Upon recommissioning , " Lord Warden " was assigned to the First Reserve , where she served as a guardship in the Firth of Forth . In this role , she went on annual summer cruises to various ports . During the Russo - Turkish War , she was mobilised and assigned to the Particular Service Squadron formed from all of the ships of the First Reserve , due to concerns that the victorious Russians might be about to attack Constantinople , forcing Great Britain to intervene , but nothing transpired and the ship returned to the Forth after making her summer cruise to Ireland and participating in a fleet review of the Particular Service Squadron by Queen Victoria on 13 August 1878 . " Lord Warden " was equipped in 1884 with torpedo launchers and torpedo nets before the ship was paid off the following year with her crew being transferred " en masse " to . She was broken up in 1889 .