HMS Hercules

1869.Balanced Rudder designed by Edward James Reed.

1910. HMS Hercules.

1911.

1866 'DIFFICULT TRANSIT. Large masses of manufactured material sometimes give rise to considerable difficulties in their transit from their place of manufacture to their ultimate destination, and we have lately had a case in point in the metropolis.
A large crankshaft of Her Majesty's steamer Hercules, weighing 34 tons 11 cwt. 0 qrs. 7 lb., and supposed to be the largest iron forging ever made, was lately completed at the Mersey Steel and Iron Works, Liverpool. The forging is intended for the main crank shaft of engines of 1,200 nominal or 7,200 indicated horse-power now being constructed by Messrs. John Penn and Sons, the eminent engineers of Greenwich, who have been so successful in their manufacture of engines for the navies of the world. When the forging was made, it had to wait a considerable time at Liverpool before the London and North-Western Railway Company could spare their large trolly to carry it to Camden Town station.
When the trolly was procured arrangements had to be made for the conveyance by special train, which was only permitted to move at the rate of ten miles per hour, and on Sunday, so as not to interfere with the other important traffic of the line. Arriving safely at Camden, its chief difficulties seemed to commence. Messrs. Pickford, the great railway carriers, on making inquiries respecting the best route to take it from Camden to Messrs. Penn's factory at Greenwich, where it had to be delivered, found all sorts of obstacles present themselves. The noble new bridge at Westminster, one of the latest achievements modern engineering was closed against them under threats of official pains and penalties, and special care was taken for fear the terrible shaft should be smuggled over the bridge unawares.
Waterloo Bridge came to the rescue, and was pronounced by its owners as sufficiently strong any weight and was accordingly selected, but there were several other difficulties to surmount, such as the underground railway, two railway bridges at New-cross, where the traffic was suspended for a few minutes whilst the monster crossed ; and last, but not least, was the Ravensbourne, at Deptford, where an old-fashioned bridge looked rather shaky, but, by perseverance, these difficulties were surmounted, and the shaft was landed in safety at Messrs. Penn's, Greenwich. The shaft, which, with the trolly upon which it was carried, weighed 45 tons, left Camden at six o'clock in the morning, drawn by 30 of Messrs. Pickford's fine horses, and was followed by crowds the whole way.
Going down Regent-street and Waterloo-place the shaft appeared at times to be in danger of overrunning the horses; in fact at one part of the latter, the Guards' Monument appeared to be rather in danger from the momentum the shaft had acquired in the steep gradient, but the powerful breaks on the trolly which conveyed it brought it up in time to round the corner safely.'

1869 Construction of a ship bearing the name HMS Hercules, sister of HMS Bellerophon

1910 A new battleship of the Dreadnought class, bearing the name Hercules, was constructed by Palmers Shipbuilding and Iron Co; her sister ships included HMS Colossus and HMS Neptune

Article on the history of the ship, later named Fisgard II.

1945 An aircraft carrier was constructed with this name

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