HNLMS Adolf van Nassau was a unique ship built for the Royal Netherlands Navy.
Context
The Adolf van Nassau was part of the 1855 program that aimed to provide the Netherlands with a balanced fleet of screw propelled warships. The 1855 program called for three types of ships: frigates with auxiliary power of 400 hp; steam corvettes with 250 hp and steam sloops with 100 hp. The reason to create the program were the worries in the house of representatives about the state of the navy. There was a feeling that the navy was creating an enormous variety of ships, that would turn out to be inefficient and ineffective.
The first frigate with auxiliary power was the Wassenaar, a sail frigate converted during construction. The ships of the Evertsen class were laid down in 1854 and 1856 and were designed for auxiliary steam power. Meanwhile, the years between 1845 (acceptance of screw propulsion) and 1862 (Battle of Hampton Roads) were the most revolutionary years in the history of warship construction. The transition from auxiliary steam power to full steam power is a less obvious aspect of these years. In the late 1840s a screw steam frigate that could make 6 knots was superior to any sail-only or paddle-driven warship. A ship with so-called 'full steam power' was something different. It meant that the ship could outrun any ship that was more or less depended on sail.
The Adolf van Nassau would be the fourth frigate of the 1855 program. The major 'flaw' of the Evertsen class in comparison to contemporary foreign frigates was the maximum speed of about 8 knots. Increasing the speed would be a logical design objective.
Characteristics
Design
The Adolf van Nassau basically seemed to be a lengthened Evertsen class. Her dimensions were the same, except that she was (72.86 - 63.50) 9.36 m longer. This is about 15% longer, and the increased length was no doubt used to install the more powerful steam engine and boilers. The additional space might also have been used for storing 5 months of food and 18 months of other needs.
Machinery
In April 1861 the machinery for the Adolf of 450 horsepower was ready in the factory of Van Vlissingen en Dudok van Heel. In April 1865 she was reported to have attained a speed of 9 knots under steam, and 15 miles with machines and sail on a hard wind.
Sails
The Adolf van Nassau was supposed to move by sail most of the time. She therefore had a full sailing apparatus. Her main mast stood 60 meters above the water. The composition of the mast was: mast (the lowest part) of 34.4 m, topmast (Dutch: steng, first extension) 19.5 m, topgallant (Dutch: bramsteng, second extension) 17.15 m, total 71.05 m. The ship being deep (inside the hull) 5.30 m makes this 65.75 m above water. Counting overlap it makes 60 meters. The later unprotected cruiser Atjeh (which had full steam power) had a main mast standing only 38 m above water.
Armament
From the start the armament of the Adolf van Nassau was given as '51 guns' just like the Evertsen class. Therefore, one can fill in the original armament of 51 guns according to the table in 'Memorandum voor den Jeugdigen Zeeofficier'. This is strange, because the Adolf was 15% longer, and one would therefore expect a longer main battery. That is a stronger main gun deck, even when the total number of guns stays the same.
If one notes that it was 1864 before the Adolf was actually commissioned, this armament was actually fictitious for a very long time. It's not even sure what the actual armament was on her first trip in 1865. There was mention that the Adolf could mount up to 80 guns, which is in line with the number of gun ports on the main deck. In August 1867 she was stated to mount 8 rifled guns, probably in the same configuration as that documented in 1876. In 1873 the armament of the Adolf was stated to be 1 * 60 pdr; 16 * long 30 pdr; 12 * grenade gun 20 cm; 22 * 16 cm RML. Just like the Evertsens. A logical assumption is that the 16 cm RML simply replaced an equal number of long 30 pdr No 4. In the budget for 1876 the Adolf was projected as armed with 1 * 60 pdr; 30 * long 30 pdr; 12 * grenade gun 20 cm; 8 * 16 cm RML.
Criticism
The active service record of the Adolf van Nassau runs from September 1864 to June 1868, less than 4 years! Her service record did extend to 1874, but from 1868 till 1874 she did not see active service, and lots of money were spent on repairs. However, the mid 1874 decision to end her career does not necessarily reflect her condition, and might have been due to considerations about operational cost in combination with being obsolete.