Fantome-class sloop

HMS Egeria
Class overview
Name	Fantome-class sloops
Builders	Pembroke Dock Blackwall Yard Chatham Dockyard Money Wigram & Sons
Operators	Royal Navy
Preceded by	Eclipse class
Succeeded by	Osprey class
Cost	Egeria: Hull £32,468, machinery £10,414 [1]
Built	1873–1874
In commission	1873–1911
Completed	6
Scrapped	6
General characteristics
Type	Screw composite sloop
Displacement	949 long tons (964 t)
Tons burthen	727 bm
Length	160 ft (48.8 m) (p/p)
Beam	31 ft 4 in (9.6 m)
Draught	14 ft (4.3 m)
Depth	15 ft 6 in (4.7 m)
Installed power	836–1,011  ihp (623–754 kW)
Propulsion	1 shaft 1 × 2-cylinder horizontal compound expansion steam engine 3 × cylindrical boilers
Sail plan	Barque rig
Speed	10–11 knots (19–20 km/h; 12–13 mph)
Range	1,000  nmi (1,900 km; 1,200 mi) at 10 knots (19 km/h; 12 mph)
Complement	140
Armament	2 × 7-inch rifled muzzle-loading guns 2 × 6.3-inch 64-pounder rifled muzzle-loading guns

The Fantome class was a six-ship class of 4-gun screw composite sloops ^[2] built for the Royal Navy during 1873 and 1874.

Design

Construction

Fantome and her sister ships were constructed with an iron frame that was sheathed in teak and copper (hence 'composite').

Propulsion

The ships were powered by a two-cylinder horizontal compound-expansion steam engine supplied by Humphrys, Tennant & Co. This engine powered an 11-foot (3.4 m) diameter screw. Steam was generated by three cylindrical boilers operating at 60 pounds per square inch (4.1 bar). The indicated horsepower varied from 836 to 1,011 ihp (623 to 754 kW). Additionally, Daring was equipped with a trunk engine provided by John Penn & Sons. ^[1]

Sailing rig

All ships in the class were provided with a full barque rig.

Armament

The Fantome class carried two 7-inch (180 mm) and two 64-pounder muzzle-loading rifles, all mounted on pivots.

Evaluation

Built during a significant technological change in naval architecture, these composite sloops became obsolete before they were completed. Nevertheless, they served an important role on the far-flung stations of the British Empire, including participation in minor wars, such as the Perak War. They were also used for hydrography, and for this reason, Egeria was retained until 1911.

Ships

Name	Ship Builder	Launched	Fate
Fantome	Pembroke Dock	26 March 1873	Sold 1889 [2] [3]
Albatross	Chatham Dockyard [1]	24 July 1873	Scrapped 1889 [2] [4]
Daring	Blackwall Yard, London	4 February 1874	Sold 1889 [2] [5]
Egeria	Pembroke Dock	1 November 1873	Sold 1911 [2] [6]
Flying Fish	Chatham Dockyard [1]	27 November 1873	Sold 1888 [2] [7]
Sappho	Money Wigram & Sons, Blackwall Yard [1]	20 October 1873	Sold 1887 [2] [8]

Notes

1. Winfield (2004)
2. "Naval Sloops at battleships-cruisers.co.uk" . Retrieved 30 August 2008.
3. "HMS Fantome at William Looney website" . Retrieved 30 August 2008.
4. "RN Ships (A) at William Looney website". Archived from the original on 30 April 2008. Retrieved 30 August 2008.
5. "RN Ships (D) at William Looney website". Archived from the original on 5 July 2008. Retrieved 30 August 2008.
6. "HMS Egeria at William Looney website" . Retrieved 30 August 2008.
7. "HMS Flying Fish at William Looney website" . Retrieved 30 August 2008.
8. "HMS Sappho at William Looney website" . Retrieved 30 August 2008.

Bibliography

• Ballard, G. A. (1939). "British Sloops of 1875: The Smaller Composite Type". Mariner's Mirror. 25 (April). Cambridge, UK: Society for Nautical Research: 151–61.
• Roberts, John (1979). "Great Britain and Empire Forces". In Chesneau, Roger & Kolesnik, Eugene M. (eds.). Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships 1860-1905 . Greenwich, UK: Conway Maritime Press. ISBN   0-8317-0302-4.
• Winfield, R.; Lyon, D. (2004). The Sail and Steam Navy List: All the Ships of the Royal Navy 1815–1889. London: Chatham Publishing. ISBN   978-1-86176-032-6. OCLC   52620555.