HMS Abyssinia

Not to be confused with SS Abyssinia.

HMS Abyssinia was a breastwork monitor ordered, designed, and built by J & W Dudgeon specifically for the Bombay Marine for the defense of the harbor at Bombay.

Abyssinia circa. 1895
History
Bombay Marine
Name	HMS Abyssinia
Namesake	Abyssinia
Builder	J & W Dudgeon, Cubitt Town, London
Cost	£116,549[1]
Laid down	23 July 1868
Launched	19 February 1870
Completed	October 1870
Fate	Broken up, 1903
General characteristics
Class & type	Modified Cerberus-class monitor
Displacement	2,901 tons
Tons burthen	1854 bm[1]
Length	225 ft (69 m) pp
Beam	42 ft (13 m)
Draught	14 ft 7 in (4.45 m)
Installed power	1,200 ihp (890 kW)
Propulsion	2 × 2-cylinder diagonal single-expansion steam engines by Dudgeon 2 screws
Speed	9.59 knots (18 km/h)
Complement	100
Armament	From 1870: 4 × 10-inch (254 mm) rifled muzzle-loading guns From 1892: 4 × BL 8-inch (203.2 mm) Mk VI guns
Armour	Belt 7 inches (18 cm) amidships, 6 inches (15 cm) fore and aft Breastwork 7–8 inches (18–20 cm) inches Turrets 10 inches (25 cm) faces, 8 inches (20 cm) sides Deck 1.5 inches (3.8 cm) Breastwork deck 1 inch (2.5 cm)

Designed by Sir Edward Reed, she was a smaller version of, and thus a half-sister to, the Cerberus-class monitors Cerberus and Magdala. It was intended that Abyssinia and Magdala would serve in mutual support on the same station. Given that the stipulated naval requirement was for two ships for the coastal defence of the Bombay area, the India Office was pressured by the Board of Admiralty and the Chief Constructor to order two ships of the Cerberus class. After the order for Magdala was placed, budgetary limitations dictated that a smaller, cheaper vessel had to be acquired.

Abyssinia, while similar in layout to Magdala, was smaller and cost £20,000 less. She had slightly less freeboard, a shorter breastwork, could carry less coal, and had about one knot less speed.

The ferry trip to her base in Bombay was made under her own power, without the use of any sails. Unlike her half-sisters, her hull was not built up for the trip, which she made in a faster time than they did.

Service history

Abyssinia remained at anchor in Bombay harbor, only occasionally venturing out for brief firing practice, for the duration of her service career. When the Indian Harbour Defence Service was discontinued in 1903, she was sold locally and broken up.