Design and description
These ships were designed by Sir Edward Reed, the Director of Naval Construction, as replacements for the various gunvessels built for the Crimean War. Being built of green timber, their hulls were starting to rot after a decade or more in service, but their engines were still generally sound. As the older ships were broken up their engines were salvaged and transferred to Beacon-class ships under construction. Combat experience against Chinese fortifications had shown that the single 32-pounder smoothbore armament of the earlier ships was not powerful enough so Reed was directed to prepare a twin-screw, shallow draft design suitable for riverine operations that incorporated a pair of steam engines from the older gunboats, a heavy armament, and enough freeboard to allow for service at sea. These rather contradictory requirements forced Reed to discard traditional wooden framing for these ships and the Beacon class became the first ships of the Royal Navy to be framed in iron with wooden planking. [2]
The ships were 155 feet (47.2 m) long between perpendiculars and had a beam of 25 feet (7.6 m). Forward, the ships had a draught of 7 feet 9 inches (2.4 m), but aft they drew 9 ft 6 in (2.9 m). They displaced 603 long tons (613 t) as built and had a burthen of 464 tons. [3] The depth of hold was 11 feet (3.4 m) and the hull was subdivided by watertight bulkheads. [4] Their crew consisted of 80 officers and enlisted men. [3]
Two different types of engines were used with this class. Twelve ships received two-cylinder horizontal return connecting rod engines built by Maudslay, Sons and Field while the remaining six got two-cylinder horizontal trunk engines from John Penn and Sons. Each engine powered a single 6-foot (1.8 m) propeller. The engines produced between 472 and 641 indicated horsepower (352 and 478 kW) which gave the ships a maximum speed between 9 and 10 knots (17 and 19 km/h; 10 and 12 mph). Three cylindrical boilers provided steam to the engines, although the working pressure varied; the ships with trunk engines used 80 psi (552 kPa ; 6 kgf/cm2 ) while the other engines used 60 psi (414 kPa; 4 kgf/cm2). The ships carried 90 long tons (91 t) of coal although no range figures are available. [3]
To minimise their draught the Beacons were given a very full hull shape with squared-off bilges and a flat bottom. Admiral G. A. Ballard commented that they were built "along the lines of an extremely elongated packing crate." [5] This made them steady gun platforms and gave them quite a bit of buoyancy. If they ran aground, this shape allowed them to be pulled off easily and they remained upright if stranded by a receding tide. However, this hull shape made their steering erratic at low speeds or in a following sea and they made a large amount of leeway in a strong side breeze. [5]
The class was barque rigged and their best speed under sail alone was over 12 knots (22 km/h; 14 mph) if running before the wind, despite the drag of the propellers, which could neither be hoisted out of the water, nor feathered. In a headwind, Ballard described them as "quite unmanageable under sail alone", [6] while Preston claims they "sailed like tea trays". [7] Their funnels were hinged to lower horizontally to reduce wind resistance while under sail. Avon, Dwarf and Elk were re-rigged as barquentines after 1880. A poop deck was added in between commissions to some of the ships, but this was the only major structural change made during their careers. [8]
The ships were initially armed with a mix of 7-inch and 64-pounder 56 cwt [Note 1] rifled muzzle-loading guns and a pair of 20-pounder rifled breechloading guns. The 7-inch (178 mm) and 64-pounder guns were mounted on the centreline as pivot guns while the two 20-pounder guns were mounted at the bow and stern as chase guns. [9] The 16-calibre 7-inch gun weighed 6.5 long tons (6.6 t) and fired a 112-pound (50.8 kg) shell. It was credited with the nominal ability to penetrate 7.7-inch (196 mm) armour. [10] A lighter, 4.5-long-ton (4.6 t), 7-inch gun developed in the 1870s replaced the heavier gun in Avon and Elk. It replaced both heavy guns in Lynx, Hornet, Flirt, and Rocket. [1]
Service
These ships were primarily designed for service in Southeast Asian waters, including the rivers, and most of the ships spent at least one commission there. Hornet, Midge, and Gnat spent their whole careers there. Gnat's service, however, was rather short as she ran aground and was wrecked on Balabac Island, south of the Philippines, less than a year after she was commissioned. Their duties included protecting British lives and property and fighting pirates. Another major deployment area was the Gulf of Guinea in West Africa where Fly, Lynx, Flirt, Dwarf, Beacon, Avon, Pert, Growler, Rocket, Hart, and Boxer all spent part of one or more commissions. Beacon supported British coastal operations during the Third Anglo-Ashanti War in 1873 while most of the others engaged river pirates at various times. Rocket, Elk, Dwarf, Beacon, and Avon served at least one commission off the south-east coast of South America, while Cracker spent her entire career there. Dwarf made a port visit to Asunción, on the Paraguay River, some 600 miles (970 km) from the ocean during one of her tours in the region. Teazer, Lynx, Beacon, and Thistle each made one deployment to the East Indies Station where they helped to suppress the slave trade between East Africa and the Persian Gulf. Beacon, Hart, and Growler were deployed to the Mediterranean where the former participated in the Bombardment of Alexandria in 1882. Fly, Flirt, Boxer, and Pert each spent a commission on fishery patrol on the Grand Banks of Newfoundland. Boxer was also deployed to British Columbia to maintain order with the Indian tribes there. [11]
By the early 1880s, their engines were becoming worn out and most of the ships were placed into reserve for a few years before being sold for breaking up. The machinery of Avon, Dwarf and Elk was in good enough shape that they were assigned as tenders to the coastguard district ships at Hull, Southampton, and Liverpool for a number of years. Growler, Hart and Hornet returned from the China Station to decommission to reserve in England. [12] Midge was also an exception and was retained in Chinese waters until 1907 when she was sold at Hong Kong. [13] Elk lasted nearly as long in harbour service as she was reclassified as a tugboat in 1890 and was then sold as a dredger in 1905. [3] [14] [Note 2]
HMS Iron Duke was the last of four Audacious-class central battery ironclads built for the Royal Navy in the late 1860s. Completed in 1871, the ship was briefly assigned to the Reserve Fleet as a guardship in Ireland, before she was sent out to the China Station as its flagship. Iron Duke returned four years later and resumed her duties as a guardship. She accidentally rammed and sank her sister ship, Vanguard, in a heavy fog in mid-1875 and returned to the Far East in 1878. The ship ran aground twice during this deployment and returned home in 1883. After a lengthy refit, Iron Duke was assigned to the Channel Fleet in 1885 and remained there until she again became a guardship in 1890. The ship was converted into a coal hulk a decade later and continued in that role until 1906 when she was sold for scrap and broken up.
HMS Active was a Volage-class corvette built for the Royal Navy in the late 1860s. Launched in 1869, she entered service in 1873, and was the commodore's ship on the Cape of Good Hope and West Africa Station. Her crew served ashore in both the Third Anglo-Ashanti and Zulu Wars. From 1885 to 1898, the ship was the flagship of the Training Squadron. Active was sold for scrap in 1906.
HMS Centurion was a 80-gun second rate Vanguard-class ship of the line built for the Royal Navy in the 1840s.
HMS Lion was a 80-gun second rate Vanguard-class ship of the line built for the Royal Navy in the 1840s. She was fitted with steam propulsion in 1858–1859. In 1871 Lion was converted into a training ship at HM Dockyard, Devonport. The ship was sold for scrap in 1905.
HMS Colossus was a 80-gun second rate Vanguard-class ship of the line built for the Royal Navy in the 1840s. The ship was fitted with steam propulsion in 1854–1855, and was sold for scrap in 1867.
The Arrow class comprised six second-class screw-driven vessels built as dispatch vessels for the Royal Navy in 1854, mounting six guns. In 1856 they were re-designated as second-class gunvessels. A seventh vessel was built for the Argentine Navy in 1875.
HMS Rattlesnake was a unique design of torpedo gunboat of the Royal Navy. A result of the Russian war scare of 1885, she was designed by Nathaniel Barnaby that year and built by Laird Brothers, of Birkenhead. Quickly made obsolete by the new torpedo boat destroyers, she became an experimental submarine target ship in 1906, and was sold in 1910.
HMS Rover was an 18-gun iron screw corvette built for the Royal Navy in the 1870s, the sole ship of her class. The ship was initially assigned to the North America and West Indies Station until she returned home in 1879. She was transferred to the Training Squadron when it formed in 1885. Rover was not really suitable for such a role and she was placed in reserve four years later and then sold for scrap in 1893.
HMS Druid was a Briton-class wooden screw corvette built for the Royal Navy in the late 1860s. She spent her service life overseas on the Cape of Good Hope and North America and West Indies Stations and was sold for scrap in 1886.
The Philomel-class gunvessel was a class of wooden-hulled screw-driven second-class gunvessels built for the Royal Navy between 1859 and 1867, of which 26 were ordered but only 20 completed. They had a mixed history, with some serving for as little as 5 years, and others surviving into the 1880s. Two of the class were sold and used as Arctic exploration vessels, both eventually being lost in the ice.
The Volage class was a group of two screw corvettes built for the Royal Navy in the late 1860s. Both ships spent the bulk of their active service abroad. Volage spent most of her first commission assigned to the Detached or Flying Squadron circumnavigating the world and then carried a party of astronomers to the Kerguelen Islands to observe the Transit of Venus in 1874. The ship was then assigned as the senior officer's ship in South American waters until she was transferred to the Training Squadron during the 1880s.
HMS Volage was a Volage-class corvette built for the Royal Navy in the late 1860s. She spent most of her first commission assigned to the Flying Squadron circumnavigating the world, and later carried a party of astronomers to the Kerguelen Islands to observe the transit of Venus in 1874. The ship was then assigned as the senior officer's ship in South American waters until she was transferred to the Training Squadron during the 1880s. Volage was paid off in 1899 and sold for scrap in 1904.
HMS Amethyst was the lead ship of the Amethyst-class corvettes built for the Royal Navy in the early 1870s. She participated in the Third Anglo-Ashanti War in 1873 before serving as the senior officer's ship for the South American side of the South Atlantic. The ship was transferred to the Pacific Station in 1875 and fought in the Battle of Pacocha against the rebellious Peruvian ironclad warship Huáscar two years later. This made her the only British wooden sailing ship ever to fight an armoured opponent. After a lengthy refit, Amethyst again served as the senior officer's ship on the South American station from 1882 to 1885. She was sold for scrap two years later.
The Briton class was a group of three wooden screw corvettes built for the Royal Navy in the late 1860s. All three ships of the class only served overseas during their brief service lives. Between them, they were assigned to the China, East Indies, African, North American, and the Pacific Stations. All three were regarded as obsolete 15 years after they were completed, and they were sold in 1886–87.
The Arab-class gunvessels were a pair of composite gunboats built for the Royal Navy in the mid-1870s.
The Frolic-class gunvessels were a class of composite gunboats built for the Royal Navy in the early 1870s. They were generally deployed overseas to the East Indies, West Africa, and China Stations. In addition to showing the flag, the ships fought pirates and suppressed the slave trade in East Africa. They were placed in reserve in the mid-1880s, and two of them were sold for scrap by the end of the decade. The other pair survived for longer as they were either modified for harbour service or became a training ship before being sold or scrapped. The last survivor, Ready, was used in support of William Beebe's expedition in his bathysphere in 1930 off Bermuda.
The Banterer-class gunboat was a class of eleven gunboats mounting two 6-inch and two 4-inch guns, built for the Royal Navy between 1880 and 1892.
The Albacore-class gunboat, also known as "Crimean gunboat", was a class of 98 gunboats built for the Royal Navy in 1855 and 1856 for use in the 1853-1856 Crimean War. The design of the class, by W. H. Walker, was approved on 18 April 1855. The first vessels were ordered the same day, and 48 were on order by July; a second batch, which included Surly, were ordered in early October.
The Bramble-class gunboat was a class of four gunboats mounting six 4-inch guns, built for the Royal Navy in 1886. In 1887 the first three were reclassified as gunvessels.
Royal Navy