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HMS ''Ocean'' was laid down on 23 August 1860 as a wooden two-deck, 90-gun ship of the line by [[HMNB Devonport|Devonport Dockyard]]. The Admiralty ordered on 5 June 1861<ref name=b0>Ballard, p. 240</ref> that she be lengthened {{convert|23|ft|m|1}}, cut down one deck,<ref>Ballard, pp. 116–17</ref> and converted to an armoured frigate for the price of £298,851.<ref name=p5/> The ship was launched on 19 March 1863 and commissioned in July 1866, but was not completed until 6 September 1866.<ref name=b0/> ''Ocean'' initially served with the Channel Fleet, but she was almost immediately transferred to the Mediterranean, and from there to the Far East; she arrived in [[Jakarta|Batavia]] (now Jakarta) on 15 October 1867. She was the only armoured ship ever to double the [[Cape of Good Hope]] under canvas alone.<ref name=b5>Ballard, p. 125</ref> During this voyage ''Ocean'' set a record in having sailed {{convert|243|nmi}} on 26 August 1867 with cold boilers, the greatest distance ever covered under sail power by a British ironclad.<ref>Ballard, p. 124</ref>
''Ocean'' served on the China Station for five years, 1867–1872, without docking once. The ship relieved the old two-decker {{HMS|Rodney|1833|6}} as station flagship in 1869 when [[Vice-Admiral]] [[Henry Kellett]] took command; a new crew was carried out by {{HMS|Donegal|1858|6}} and [[Captain (Royal Navy)|Captain]] [[William Nathan Wrighte Hewett|William Hewett]], [[Victoria Cross|VC]] assumed command of the ship.<ref name=b5/> In 1871, ''Ocean'' ran down and sunk a large [[qing dynasty|Chinese]] [[junk (ship)|junk]] at [[Amoy]].<ref name=S181071>{{Cite news |title=Mercantile Ship News |newspaper=The Standard |location=London |date=18 October 1871 |issue=14730 |page=7 }}</ref> ''Ocean'' was relieved in turn by {{HMS|Iron Duke|1870|6}} in 1872, but drew too much water to pass through the [[Suez Canal]]. The Admiralty therefore ordered that she return home via the Cape of Good Hope using steam. The ship's bottom was very foul and she averaged only 4.5 knots (8.3 km/h) during the voyage. ''Ocean'' had lost a lot of sheathing during her time in the Far East and much of her planking was in a bad state. The ship was therefore relegated to dockyard reserve until sold in 1882
==Footnotes==
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