HMS Goldfinch (1889)

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The gunboat HMS Goldfinch, by Bloomfield Douglas BHC3373.jpg
The gunboat HMS Goldfinch, a painting by William Bloomfield Douglas
History
Naval Ensign of the United Kingdom.svg United Kingdom
NameHMS Goldfinch
Builder Sheerness Dockyard
Cost£39,300 [1]
Launched18 May 1889
FateSold 14 May 1907 for breaking
General characteristics [1]
Class and type Redbreast-class gunboat
Displacement805 tons
Length165 ft 0 in (50.3 m) pp
Beam31 ft 0 in (9.4 m)
Draught11 ft 0 in (3.35 m) min, 13 ft 9 in (4.19 m) max
Installed power1,200  ihp (890 kW)
Propulsion
  • Triple expansion steam engine
  • 2 × boilers
  • Single screw
Sail plan Barquentine-rigged
Speed13 kn (24 km/h)
Range2,500 nmi (4,600 km) at 10 kn (19 km/h) [1]
Complement76
Armament

HMS Goldfinch was a Redbreast-class gunboat of the Royal Navy, built at Sheerness Dockyard and launched on 18 May 1889. [2]

Contents

Service

Officers aboard Goldfinch at Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada, early 1900s HMS Goldfinch officers at Halifax 1900s LAC 3332950.jpg
Officers aboard Goldfinch at Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada, early 1900s

She commenced service on the Australia Station in March 1890. [2] She left the Australia Station in August 1899 and returned to England. She was converted into a survey vessel in January 1902, [2] and commissioned by Commander Frederick Charles Learmonth on 4 February 1902. [3] [4] She left Sheerness for the Mediterranean later that month on surveying duties. [5] In October 1902 she left Malta for the West Coast of Africa, [6] visiting Sierra Leone and Calabar in December. [7]

Fate

Goldfinch returned to Sheerness for refitting for continued service in 1906, but was found to be in poor condition and the sloop Mutine was refitted as a survey ship to replace her. [8] Goldfinch was sold on 14 May 1907 for breaking up. [2]

Citations

  1. 1 2 3 Winfield (2004), pp.299-300
  2. 1 2 3 4 Bastock, p.114.
  3. "Naval & Military Intelligence". The Times. No. 36676. London. 28 January 1902. p. 3.
  4. "Naval & Military intelligence". The Times. No. 36683. London. 5 February 1902. p. 10.
  5. "Naval & Military intelligence". The Times. No. 36697. London. 21 February 1902. p. 9.
  6. "Naval & Military intelligence". The Times. No. 36906. London. 23 October 1902. p. 5.
  7. "Naval & Military intelligence". The Times. No. 36946. London. 9 December 1902. p. 10.
  8. "Naval Matters—Past and Prospective: Sheerness Dockyard". The Marine Engineer and Naval Architect. Vol. 29. 1 November 1909. p. 115.

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References