Britomart-class gunboat
The Britomart-class gunboat was a class of sixteen gunboats built for the Royal Navy in 1859–1867.
.jpg.webp) HMS Cherub Goderich, Lake Huron in 1866 | |
| Class overview | |
|---|---|
| Name: | Britomart class |
| Operators: |
 Royal Navy |
| Preceded by: | Algerine class |
| Succeeded by: | Ariel class |
| Built: | 1859–1867 |
| In commission: | 1860–1890 |
| Planned: | 20 |
| Completed: | 16 |
| Cancelled: | 4 |
| General characteristics [1] | |
| Type: | 'Crimean' gunboat |
| Displacement: | 330 tons |
| Tons burthen: | 267 82⁄94 bm |
| Length: |
|
| Beam: | 22 ft 0 in (6.7 m) |
| Depth of hold: | 9 ft 0 in (2.7 m) |
| Installed power: | |
| Propulsion: |
|
| Speed: | 9 kn (17 km/h) |
| Crew: | 36–40 |
| Armament: |
|
Design
The Britomart class was an improved version of the Dapper class designed by W.H. Walker, and as such comes under the generic group "Crimean gunboats" although this class was ordered and built long after the end of the Crimean War. These were the last Royal Navy gunboats to have wooden hulls: subsequent gunboats were of composite construction, with wooden planking over iron frames.[1]
Propulsion
The class were fitted with a single-cylinder single-expansion reciprocating steam engine. The engines for Britomart and Cockatrice were by John Penn and Sons; the engine builders for the other ships are not recorded. The single screw could be hoisted to give improved performance under sail.[1]
Sail plan
The ships were provided with a three-masted barquentine rig, that is, with square sails on the foremast and fore-and-aft sails on the main and mizzen masts.[1]
Armament
Early ships of the class were armed with two 68-pounder smooth bore muzzle loading cannon (as had been planned, but not implemented, for the Dapper class); but the Heron was fitted with two 112-pounder Armstrong guns. Later ships had two 64-pounder rifled muzzle-loading guns.[1]
Ships
| Name | Ship builder[1] | Launched[1] | Fate[1] |
|---|---|---|---|
| Britomart | T & W Smith, North Shields | 7 May 1860 | Served on Lake Erie.[2] Sold to Henry Castle & Sons on 12 January 1892, and resold to S Williams of Dagenham as a mooring hulk. Broken up in June 1946 |
| Cockatrice | T & W Smith, North Shields | 24 May 1860 | Became luggage lighter YC.10 at Malta in 1882. Sold there in 1885 |
| Wizard | T & W Smith, North Shields | 3 August 1860 | Broken up at Malta in September 1878 |
| Speedy | C Lamport, Workington | 18 July 1860 | Sold to Henry Castle & Sons for breaking at Charlton in August 1889 |
| Doterel | Wm. Cowley Miller, Toxteth Dock, Liverpool | 5 July 1860 | Sold to Marshall, Plymouth on 6 June 1871 |
| Heron | Wm. Cowley Miller, Toxteth Dock, Liverpool | 5 July 1860 | Served on Lake Ontario.[2] Sold in Jamaica in June 1879 and broken up there in 1881 |
| Pigeon | Briggs & Co., Sunderland | 7 June 1860 | Broken up at Devonport on 29 September 1876 |
| Linnet | Briggs & Co., Sunderland | 7 June 1860 | Breaking completed at Chatham on 15 July 1872 |
| Tyrian | Courtenay, Newhaven | 7 September 1861 | Tug in 1883 at Jamaica and sold there in 1891 |
| Trinculo | Joseph Banks, Plymouth | 15 September 1860 | Wrecked after collision with SS Moratin off Gibraltar on 5 September 1870 |
| Cherub | Portsmouth Dockyard | 29 March 1865 | Served on Lake Huron.[2] Sold to Castle for breaking at Charlton 5 May 1890 |
| Netley | Portsmouth Dockyard | 22 July 1866 | Sold at Portsmouth to Castle for breaking at Charlton in September 1885 |
| Minstrel | Portsmouth Dockyard | 16 February 1865 | Coal hulk at Bermuda in 1874 and sold in 1903 |
| Orwell | Portsmouth Dockyard | 27 December 1866 | Sold to the Customs Board on 20 December 1890 |
| Cromer | Portsmouth Dockyard | 20 November 1867 | Sold on 24 August 1886 for breaking |
| Bruiser (or Bruizer) | Portsmouth Dockyard | 23 April 1867 | Broken up at Devonport in May 1886 |
| Bramble | Portsmouth Dockyard | Cancelled 12 December 1863 | |
| Crown | Portsmouth Dockyard | Cancelled 12 December 1863 | |
| Protector | Portsmouth Dockyard | Cancelled 12 December 1863 | |
| Danube | Portsmouth Dockyard | Cancelled 12 December 1863 (never started) |
Citations
- Winfield, p.231–232
- A. Preston & J.Major, Send a Gunboat!: The Victorian Navy and Supremacy at Sea, 1854-1904, Conway, 2007, page 65
References
- Colledge, J. J.; Warlow, Ben (2006) [1969]. Ships of the Royal Navy: The Complete Record of all Fighting Ships of the Royal Navy (Rev. ed.). London: Chatham Publishing. ISBN 978-1-86176-281-8.
- 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.