of . To reduce drag, the funnels were telescopic and could be lowered. Her best speed under sail alone was , nearly the slowest of any British ironclad. The ship holds "the double record of being the largest ship of any type or of any nationality ever to enter Plymouth Sound or Spithead on sail alone". Armament The ship was initially armed with 24 seven-inch rifled muzzle-loading (RML) guns. Four pairs of guns were positioned as fore and aft chase guns on the upper and main decks. The remaining 16 guns were mounted on the broadside amidships. The gun weighed and fired a shell that was able penetrate of armour. Lord Clydes original armament was replaced during her 1870 refit with a pair of RML nine-inch guns and 14 RML eight-inch guns; she only retained a pair of her original seven-inch guns. The latter guns remained in position as forward chase guns on the main deck; one of the guns became the chase gun on the upper deck and the other replaced the pair of seven-inch aft chase guns on the main deck. Also on the upper deck were a pair of guns on the broadside and the remaining 12 eight-inch guns were mounted on the main deck on the broadside amidships. The shell of the nine-inch gun weighed while the gun itself weighed . It had a muzzle velocity of and was rated with the ability to penetrate of wrought-iron armour. The eight-inch gun weighed ; it fired a shell at a muzzle velocity of and was credited with the ability to penetrate of armour. Armour The entire side of Lord Clydes hull, except for the side of the upper deck, was protected by wrought-iron armour that tapered from at the ends to amidships. It extended below the waterline. The forward chase guns on the upper deck were protected by 4.5-inch armour plates on the sides of the hull and a 4.5-inch transverse bulkhead to their rear protected them from raking fire. The armour was backed by of oak and the iron skin of the ship. Construction and service Lord Clyde, named after the recently deceased Field Marshal Colin Campbell, 1st Baron Clyde, was ordered on 3 July 1863 from Pembroke Naval Dockyard. She was laid down on 29 September 1863 and launched on 13 October 1864. The ship was commissioned in June 1866 to run her sea trials