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| Name | Swiftsure (1870) | Explanation | |
| Type | Central battery ironclad | ||
| Launched | 15 June 1870 | ||
| Hull | Iron | ||
| Propulsion | Screw | ||
| Builders measure | 3893 tons | ||
| Displacement | 6910 tons | ||
| Guns | 14 | ||
| Fate | 1908 | ||
| Class | Swiftsure | ||
| Ships book | ADM 135/463 | ||
| Note | 1901 hulk. 1904 = Orontes | ||
| Snippets concerning this vessels career | |||
| Date | Event | ||
| 26 September 1872 - 24 June 1874 | Commanded by Captain the Hon. William John Ward, home waters | ||
| 9 July 1874 - 15 December 1877 | Commanded by Captain John Kennedy Erskine Baird, Mediterranean (then 16-30 December 1877 on passage) | ||
| 6 December 1877 - 4 October 1878 | Commanded (until paying off at Plymouth) by Captain Nowell Salmon, Mediterranean | ||
| 27 March 1882 - 11 September 1884 | Commanded by Captain Henry Compton Aitchison, flagship of Rear-Admiral Algernon McLennan Lyons on the Pacific station | ||
| 1904 | Renamed Orontes | ||
| Extracts from the Times newspaper | |||
| Date | Extract | ||
| Fr 9 April 1875 | The following vessels are under orders to return home from their respective stations, to be paid out of commission:- The Avon, 4, double screw composita gun-vessel, Commander A.T. Powlett, from China. This vessel was re-commissioned on that station on the 18th of July, 1871, when a fresh crew was sent out from England. The Blanche, 6, steamship, Capt. C.H. Simpson, from Australia. This vessel has also served two commissions, having been re-commissioned on the Australian station on the 12th of October, 1871, by a fresh crew sent out for that purpose from England. The Boxer, 4, double screw composite gun vessel, Lieut-Commanding William Collins, from the Pacific. This vessel has, like the two previous ones, served two commissions, having been re-commissioned on the 6th of October, 1872. The Cameleon, 7, steamship, Commander A.J. Kennedy, from the Pacific. The Dido, 8, steamship, Capt. W.C. Chapman, from Australia, The Elk, 4, double-screw composite gun-vessel, Commander Robert H. Harris, from China. The Iron Duke, 14, double-screw iron armour-plated ship, flag-ship of Rear-Admiral Sir C.F.A. Shadwell, K.C.B., Capt. William Arthur, from China. The Reindeer, 7, steam sloop, Commander C.V. Anson, from the Pacific. The Rosario, 3, steam sloop, Commander A.E. Dupuis, from Australia. The Scout, 17, corvette, Capt. R.P. Cator, from the Pacific. The Shearwater, 4, surveying vessel, Commander W.J.L. Wharton, from the East Coast of Africa. The Spartan, 8, steam sloop, Capt. Richard Carter, from North America and West Indies. The Swiftsure, 14, iron armour-plated ship, Capt. J.K.E. Baird, temporary flagship of Vice-Admiral the Hon. Sir. J.R. Drummond, K.C.B., from the Mediterranean. The Volage, 18, iron steam corvette, cased with wood, Capt. Henry Fairfax, employed on special service. | ||
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