When launched, Victoria was the largest, fastest, and most heavily-armed ironclad. Three years after commissioning, she collided with HMS Camperdown and quickly sank, with the loss of 358 men.
Using a spar torpedo mounted on Picket Boat No.1, Lt. William Cushing and his crew succeeded in sinking CSS Albemarle at Plymouth, North Carolina, on the night of 27 October 1864.