HMS Duke of Wellington began construction in 1849 at Pembroke Dock and was launched by 1852. As war with France seemed all the more unavoidable, the decision was made to refit the vessel with steam engines, effectively creating a "hybrid" design covering two distinct ages of naval history. It would be at least another 30 years before other navies of the world would completely abandon sails altogether in favor of machinery propulsion so the idea of hybrid ship designs were quite commonplace in the latter part of the century. HMS Duke of Wellington was commonly known as the most powerful warship in the world for a few short years, that title eventually falling to the Bretagne of much-hated France by 1855. In 1963, Wellington served at Portsmouth before being broken up by 1909.
Once in service, HMS Duke of Wellington operated as nothing more than a ceremonial ship. Though her sailing characteristics were regarded as highly favorable, the addition of the engines did nothing to compliment her original "wood-and-sail" design and - as might be expected - actually worsened the vessels overall strength and capabilities.
The sister ships of Duke of Wellington became HMS Marlborough, HMS Prince of Wales and HMS Royal Sovereign. These vessels were modified appropriately when under construction as opposed to HMS Duke of Wellington - which saw refitting after being launched.
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