The iron armour was backed by of teak. Propulsion Research was fitted with a 2-cylinder Boulton and Watt horizontal single-expansion direct-acting steam engine of 200 nominal horsepower. Steam was provided by two tubular boilers, and the screw, which was in diameter, could be hoisted clear of the water for better performance under sail. The total power of (after a refit in 1869 this was increased to 1,040 ihp) was sufficient to propel her at just over . She carried 130 tons of coal. Construction Having been laid down on 3 September 1861, approval was given for her conversion to an ironclad on 1 September 1862. She was launched from Pembroke Dockyard on 15 August 1863 and commissioned on 6 April 1864. Assessment Research rolled excessively, and was normally retained in harbour during the winter months. Although Edward Reed, her designer, had expected great things of her, the Standard of 27 October 1865 said "probably the very worst vessel, both as a fighting machine and a sea-boat, that ever yet went out of a dockyard of any nation pretending to a maritime reputation". Service She served in the Channel Fleet from 1864 to 1866, and in the Mediterranean from 1871 to 1878. On 1 December 1865, she ran aground off Harrington Point, County Waterford. She was refloated the next day and sailed for Portsmouth, Hampshire. On 1 January 1868, while on patrol duties at the south coast of Ireland, she grounded near Cork Harbour while giving chase to an American ship, Alaska. During the subsequent court martial it was demonstrated that the ship had not in fact grounded on Daunt Rock, but instead on the wreckage of the British steamship , which had wrecked near the rock a year previously, and the ship's officers were exonerated. Repairs cost £293. On 1 September 1873 at Cartagena, Research took part in the Battle of Escombrera Bay as part of a British Squadron, where they attacked and removed the rebel Spanish warships Vitoria and Almansa from the Bay. This was the only time in her short career Research saw action. Fate She was laid up in 1878 and sold for breaking in 1884. Notes References Bibliography Ships built in Pembroke Dock 1863 ships Sloops of the Royal Navy Maritime incidents in December 1865 Maritime incidents in January 1868