HMS Resistance was the second and last ship of the Defence class to be commissioned

Ship commissioning

Ship commissioning is the act or ceremony of placing a ship in active service, and may be regarded as a particular application of the general concepts and practices of project commissioning. The term is most commonly applied to the placing of a warship in active duty with its country's military...

. She served in the English Channel

English Channel

The English Channel , often referred to simply as the Channel, is an arm of the Atlantic Ocean that separates southern England from northern France, and joins the North Sea to the Atlantic. It is about long and varies in width from at its widest to in the Strait of Dover...

 from 1862 to 1864, and was then posted to the Mediterranean, where she was the first British ironclad to see service. She paid off in Portsmouth

Portsmouth

Portsmouth is the second largest city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire on the south coast of England. Portsmouth is notable for being the United Kingdom's only island city; it is located mainly on Portsea Island...

 in 1867 for a two-year refit and re-armament.

From 1869 until 1873 she served as guardship in the River Mersey

River Mersey

The River Mersey is a river in North West England. It is around long, stretching from Stockport, Greater Manchester, and ending at Liverpool Bay, Merseyside. For centuries, it formed part of the ancient county divide between Lancashire and Cheshire....

, and was then re-commissioned into the Channel Fleet

Channel Fleet

The Channel Fleet was the Royal Navy formation of warships that defended the waters of the English Channel from 1690 to 1909.-History:The Channel Fleet dates back at least to 1690 when its role was to defend England against the French threat under the leadership of Edward Russell, 1st Earl of...

, where she served until 1877. She formed part of the Particular Service Squadron

Flying Squadron (Royal Navy)

The Flying Squadron was a special British Royal Navy squadron that operated during 1896.Following the Jameson Raid in South Africa, the German Emperor Wilhelm II sent a telegram of support to President Kruger. This led to a war scare in Europe...

 during the Russian war scare of 1878, reverting thereafter to Mersey guardship. Her active service finished in 1880 when she finally paid off and was partly stripped and dismantled at Devonport

HMNB Devonport

Her Majesty's Naval Base Devonport , is one of three operating bases in the United Kingdom for the Royal Navy . HMNB Devonport is located in Devonport, in the west of the city of Plymouth in Devon, England...

.

In 1885 she was used as a target in the testing of torpedoes and gunfire. She survived this, to be sold for scrapping

Ship breaking

Ship breaking or ship demolition is a type of ship disposal involving the breaking up of ships for scrap recycling. Most ships have a lifespan of a few decades before there is so much wear that refitting and repair becomes uneconomical. Ship breaking allows materials from the ship, especially...

 on 11 November 1898. She foundered in Holyhead Bay

Holy Island, Anglesey

Holy Island Cybi') is an island on the western side of the larger Isle of Anglesey, North Wales, from which it is separated by a narrow, winding channel. It is called "Holy" because of the high concentration of standing stones, burial chambers and other religious sites on the small island. The...

 on 4 March 1899, but was raised and taken to pieces at Garston, Liverpool

Garston, Merseyside

Garston is a district of Liverpool, Merseyside, England. It is bordered by Aigburth, Allerton, and Speke.-History:Gaerstun, meaning 'grazing settlement' or 'grazing farm' in Old English, is one possible root of the name....

in 1900.