Hornet's sister ship, Cruizer, shown at Malta in 1894. | |
History | |
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United Kingdom | |
Name | Hornet |
Ordered | 1 November 1850 [1] |
Builder | Royal Dockyard, Deptford |
Cost | £29,142 [1] |
Launched | 13 April 1854 [2] |
Commissioned | 14 July 1854 [1] |
Fate | Broken up 1868 |
General characteristics | |
Class and type | Cruizer-class screw sloop |
Displacement | 1,045 tons [1] |
Tons burthen | 747+51⁄94 bm [1] |
Length |
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Beam | 31 ft 10 in (9.70 m) [1] |
Depth of hold | 17 ft 6 in (5.33 m) [1] |
Installed power |
|
Propulsion |
|
Sail plan | Barque-rigged |
Speed | 7.75 knots (14.35 km/h; 8.92 mph) |
Armament |
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HMS Hornet was a 17-gun wooden screw sloop of the Cruizer class of the Royal Navy, launched in 1854 and broken up in 1868.
Originally ordered in April 1847 as a "Screw Schooner", she was suspended in August 1847 and re-ordered on 1 November 1850 to the same design as HMS Cruizer. The wooden sloops of the Cruizer class were designed under the direction of Lord John Hay, and after his "Committee of Reference" was disbanded, their construction was supervised by the new Surveyor of the Navy, Sir Baldwin Walker. Hornet was laid down at the Royal Dockyard, Deptford in June 1851. Her two-cylinder horizontal single-expansion steam engine, which was supplied by James Watt & Company at a cost of £5,450, generated an indicated horsepower of 233 hp (174 kW); driving a single screw, this gave a maximum speed of 7.75 knots (14.35 km/h; 8.92 mph). The class was given a barque-rig sail plan.
All the ships of the class were provided with one 32-pounder (56 cwt) long gun on a pivot mount and sixteen 32-pounder (32 cwt) carriage guns in a broadside arrangement.
Hornet served in the Baltic in 1854 during the Crimean War, and from 1854 until 1859 she served in the East Indies and in China, taking part in the Second Opium War. After a refit in 1859–1860 she recommissioned for the Cape of Good Hope Station and served both there and on the East Indies Station.
Under Commander Frederick Archibald Campbell [3] Hornet served in the Baltic campaign of 1854 during the Russian War.
On 25 April 1855 Hornet, along with HMS Sybille and HMS Bittern, under Commodore The Hon. Charles Elliot discovered Liancourt Rocks in the Sea of Japan, at 37°14′22″N131°52′10″E / 37.23944°N 131.86944°E . It was about a mile in extent, running in a NW by W and SE by E direction and formed together by a reef of rocks. [2] The Hornet's commander at the time, Charles Codrington Forsyth, noted in the ship's log:
We could discern no dangers lying off them and the waters appear to be deep close to the shore. They are barren, without exception of a few patches of grass on their sides and landing would be difficult except in very calm weather. The height of the NW island was ascertained to be 410 ft above sea level
On 12 November 1856, in company with Calcutta, Nankin, Encounter, Barracouta and Coromandel, she bombarded and captured the Bogue forts and the next day, the Anunghoy forts. [4] Christmas 1856 was spent as Guardship at Canton (now Guangzhou). In 1857 she spent much of her time at Hong Kong and in the Canton River, culminating in the capture of Canton on 28 December 1857 under Rear-Admiral Sir Michael Seymour. [5] [6] In February 1859 she sailed for England, decommissioning in Portsmouth on 14 July 1859. [2]
On 20 July 1860 Hornet recommissioned for service on the Cape of Good Hope Station under Commander William Buller Fullerton Elphinstone. [2] She also served during this period on the East Indies Station. [3]
Hornet decommissioned at Portsmouth on 22 September 1864 and was broken up by White of Cowes in 1868.
From | To | Captain |
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15 May 1854 | 13 September 1854 | Commander Frederick Archibald Campbell [3] |
13 September 1854 | 1857? | Commander Charles Codrington Forsyth [3] |
January 1857 | 26 February 1858 | Commander William Dowell [3] |
26 February 1858 | 14 July 1859 | Commander Lord Gilford [3] |
14 July 1859 | 20 July 1860 | Out of Commission (Portsmouth) |
20 July 1860 | 3 May 1861 | Commander William Buller Fullerton Elphinstone [3] |
3 May 1861 | 1864? | Commander Joseph Dayman [3] |
1864? | 12 September 1864 | Acting Commander Richard Hare [3] |
12 September 1864 | Out of Commission (Portsmouth) |
HMS Kingfisher was a Doterel-class screw sloop of the Royal Navy. She was built at Sheerness Dockyard and launched on 16 December 1879. She conducted anti-slavery work in the East Indies in the late 1880s before being re-roled as a training cruiser, being renamed HMS Lark on 10 November 1892, and then HMS Cruizer on 18 May 1893. She was sold in 1919.
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HMS Vulture was one of three 6-gun, steam-powered Cyclops-class second-class paddle frigates built for the Royal Navy in the 1840s. She was initially deployed to the East Indies where she participated in actions against China and then played a minor role in the Crimean War of 1854–1855. The ship was sold for scrap in 1863.
HMS Highflyer was a 21-gun wooden screw frigate of the Royal Navy. She was built on the River Thames by C J Mare and launched on 13 August 1851. She spent twenty years in service, including action in the Crimean War and the Second Opium War, before being broken up at Portsmouth in May 1871.
HMS Cruizer was a 17-gun wooden screw sloop, the name-ship of the Cruizer class of the Royal Navy, launched at the Royal Dockyard, Deptford in 1852. The spelling of her name was formally altered to HMS Cruiser in 1857. She became a sail training vessel in 1872 and was renamed HMS Lark. She was eventually sold for breaking in 1912.
The Algerine-class gunboats were a class of six 3-gun wooden gunboats built for the Royal Navy in 1857. A further pair were built in India for the Bombay Marine in 1859.
The Cruizer class was a class of six 17-gun wooden screw sloops built for the Royal Navy between 1852 and 1856.
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HMS Cordelia was an 11-gun Racer-class sloop of the Royal Navy launched in 1856 and sold in 1870.
HMS Harrier was a Royal Navy Cruizer-class screw sloop launched in 1854. She took part in the Crimean War, served on the Australia Station and took part in the New Zealand Wars. She was broken up in 1865
HMS Salamander was one of the initial steam powered vessels built for the Royal Navy. On 10 January 1831 the First Sea Lord gave orders that four paddle vessels be built to competitive designs. The vessels were to be powered by Maudslay, Son & Field steam engines, carry a schooner rig and mount one or two 10-inch shell guns. Initially classed simply as a steam vessel (SV), she was re-classed as a second-class steam sloop when that categorization was introduced on 31 May 1844. Designed by Joseph Seaton, the Master Shipwright of Sheerness, she was initially slated to be built in Portsmouth, and was changed to Sheerness Dockyard. She was launched and completed in 1832, took part in the Second Anglo-Burmese War and was broken up in 1883.
HMS Falcon was a 17-gun Royal Navy Cruizer-class sloop launched in 1854. She served in the Baltic Sea during the Crimean War and then in North America, West Africa and Australia. She was sold for breaking in 1869.
HMS Phoenix was a 6-gun steam paddle vessel of the Royal Navy, built in a dry dock at Chatham in 1832. She was reclassified as a second-class paddle sloop before being rebuilt as a 10-gun screw sloop in 1844–45. She was fitted as an Arctic storeship in 1851 and sold for breaking in 1864.
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HMS Dee was the first paddle steamer ordered for the Royal Navy, designed to carry a significant armament. She was ordered on 4 April 1827 from Woolwich Dockyard. She was designed by Sir Robert Seppings, Surveyor of the Navy and modified by Oliver Lang. This vessel was considered as new construction as a previous vessel ordered as a flush deck Cherokee-class brig in 1824, had been renamed African in May 1825. She was initially classed as a steam vessel (SV), and in 1837 reclassified as a steam vessel class 2 (SV2). She was converted to a troopship in May 1842 and as a second class sloop in 1846. She was converted into a storeship in 1868. She was broken at Sheerness in 1871.
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