HMS Phoenix (1879)

The Doterel class was designed by Nathaniel Barnaby as a development of William Henry White's 1874 Osprey-class sloop. The graceful clipper bow of the Ospreys was replaced by a vertical stem and the engines were more powerful. The hull was of composite construction, with wooden planks over an iron frame.[1]

Phoenix was ordered from Devonport Dockyard[1] and laid down on 8 July 1878. She was launched on 16 September 1879 and commissioned on 20 April 1880.[1]

Sloops of her type were designed for patrolling Britain's extensive maritime empire, and were normally sent to foreign stations for extended periods. Typically the crews would serve commissions of several years before handing their ship over to a newly arrived crew and returning home in another ship. Phoenix was sent to the North America and West Indies Station.[2]

Phoenix left Gaspé, Quebec on the morning of 12 September 1882 under the command of Commander Hubert Grenfell. In company with Northampton, she was on her way to Canso, Nova Scotia. The wind was a north-east gale and the sea was thick with rain squalls.[2] As she approached East Point from the north-west, under short sail and in the dark, the distance to East Point Light was judged to be 4 or 5 miles. In fact, the distance was deceptive, and with the tidal stream carrying the ship towards East Point at as much as 6 knots (11 km/h), the ship was swept onto the East Point Reef[2] in an approximate position of 46°28.5′N 61°58′W.

The water-tight doors were immediately closed, and all hands were summoned to save ship. The sailors worked calmly and without confusion. As she was bumping heavily on the reef steam was got up, when suddenly the sternpost was smashed, and the screw propeller dropped into the sea. There upon the captain ordered part of the men to construct a raft, the remainder being engaged on pumping, as sea had by this time forced its way through the bottom, and flooded the engine-room and cabins.

— The Graphic, London, 21 October 1882

The whole of 13 September was spent trying to save the ship, but the sea was too rough for boats to travel between the ship and the land. By 14 September 4 local fishermen were able to take a boat to Phoenix, which by now was sitting upright on the reef and flooded to the deck. Grenfell ordered the boats and rafts to make for the shore, and everybody on board was landed safely.[2]

Northampton was recalled by telegram from Halifax and brought with her Rear Admiral Sir Francis Leopold McClintock, the commander-in-chief of the North America and West Indies Station. The weather remained poor, and it was not until 19 September that the ship's company of Phoenix could be embarked. With the help of two small vessels, Foam and Charger, Phoenix's guns and heavy equipment were salvaged, but it was clear that the ship could not be refloated, and the salvage rights to the wreck were sold for £3,000.[2]

The board of enquiry found that insufficient efforts had been made to establish the range of the light, and that the courses steered had been hazardous. Commander Grenfell was given a severe reprimand and dismissed ship,[Note 1] Lieutenant John Hill, the navigating officer, forfeited a year's seniority, and the gunner was reprimanded.[2]

By December 1883 there were only a few ribs to be seen at low water,[2] and the scattered remains of the wreck now lie in less than 30 feet (9.1 m) of water. The wreck can be dived, although strong tidal streams make the area dangerous for all but the most experienced.[3]

• 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.
• Preston, Antony; Major, John (2007). Send a Gunboat: The Victorian Navy and Supremacy at Sea, 1854–1904 (2nd ed.). London: Conway. ISBN 978-0-85177-923-2.
• "Phoenix at the Naval Database website". Retrieved 28 July 2011.