By the late 1860�s Britain had reached the zenith of its empire and needed a significant sized army and navy to help maintain it. The industrial revolution was making a dramatic impact on the technology available to the armed forces. Incendiary shells, steam power, screw propulsion and iron cladding for ships had all moved from their early prototypes into practical realities. The first ironclad warship HMS Warrior had been laid down in 1859 yet by 1869 most of the navy still comprised wooden hulled sailing ships with auxiliary steam power. It was not until 1873, with HMS Devastation, that the first steam only battleship was launched, its advantages becoming immediately apparent.

On the political front the new Liberal administration of 1868, under Gladstone, was embarking upon an ambitious plan of social reform requiring significant reductions in the funds available to the services in support of the empire. In the budget of 1869 the First Lord Hugh Childers was forced, much to the annoyance of the Admiralty, to reduce the number of men serving on foreign stations from 17,000 to 11,000 resulting in many ships being recalled home. In this same budget, largely to allay concerns in the Empire and at the behest of the Admiralty, Childers approved the round the world cruise of the "Flying Squadron".

The squadron was organised by the Lords of the Admiralty for three reasons: to keep up the waning prestige of the wooden ships, to show the British flag in diverse parts of the world and for the furtherance and instruction of seamanship. Under the command of Rear Admiral Geoffrey T Hornby the squadron comprised four frigates and two corvettes and set sail from Plymouth in June 1869 to return home in November 1870 having circumnavigated the world, made seventeen ports of call and sailed some 53,000 miles.

This was to be the last, government sponsored, naval expedition around the world conducted under sail.

CF

© Copyright Charles Fountain May 2002

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