HMS Warrior in a dry dock. HMS Warrior was a steam-powered armoured frigate, or ironclad, built between 1859 and 1861. Along with sister ship HMS Black Prince, she was the first ocean-going armour-plated warship with an iron hull to be constructed. She was in active service from 1863 to 1875, when she was put in reserve, before being decommissioned in 1883. In 1979 she was donated to the Maritime Trust and restored as a museum ship. She has been berthed in Portsmouth Historic Dockyard, UK, since 1987.