Left behind by progress

Left behind by progress. . , Second Commission 1867-1871 , When her first commission ended in November 1864 Warrior spent two and a half years in harbour undergoing her first major re-fit. On 8th July 1867 she steamed out of Portsmouth to re-join the Channel Squadron for another four years. To many on board it must have seemed that Warrior's career would go on forever. , , The design of ships changed rapidly once Warrior had led the way. Every advance was countered by another - mainly in the battle between size of gun and thickness of armour. Masts altered and sails disappeared as engines became more reliable and as bunkering points for coal, and later oil, were established. , In only ten years, Warrior, once at the peak of Victorian technology was herself overtaken by progress. She was no longer a fearsome deterrent. By the end of that commission things had moved on to the extent that Warrior was herself becoming outdated. , Coastguard and Reserve 1875-1883 , In 1875 Warrior began life as a Coastguard and Reserve ship and found herself moored at Portland harbour for the majority of the next six years, making a single extended voyage each summer in the company of the reserve squadron. , In May 1881 Warrior was stationed at Greenock, where she would spend the remainder of her career in the coastguard. , Warrior's sea-going service ended in May 1883, when during her routine pre-summer cruise refit it was discovered that her main and foremasts were rotten, and would need replacing. , Time and money were against the ship and, just 22 years after entering service, she was decommissioned for the last time and relegated to 'Rotten Row' in Portsmouth Harbour.