HEIC Nemesis
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For other uses, see Nemesis.
Launched in 1839, the Honorable East India Company Nemesis was the first British ocean-going iron warship, and was used to great effect in the First Opium War in China. The steam- and sail-powered ship was particularly effective in China because its shallow draft (5-6 feet) allowed it to travel into rivers to pursue and engage other vessels and targets.
The Nemesis was built by John Laird. Its watertight bulkheads were the first to be used in a warship. In 1840, the HEIC Nemesis became the first iron ship to sail around Cape Horn, aided by techniques to adjust a compass for the effect of an iron hull developed the year before by Sir George Airy, the Astronomer Royal.
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