HMS Reynard (1848)

HMS Reynard was an 8-gun screw sloop of the Royal Navy. She was launched in 1848, conducted anti-piracy work in Chinese waters and was wrecked near Pratas Island in the South China Sea on 31 May 1851.

For other ships with the same name, see HMS Reynard.

The ship's company of Reynard on a raft, with the ship aground behind them near Pratas Island in 1851
History
UK
Name: HMS Reynard
Ordered:
  • 25 April 1847
  • Re-ordered 12 August 1847
Builder: Deptford dockyard
Cost:
  • £10,262 (hull)
  • £8,625 (machinery and fitting)[1]
Laid down: August 1847
Launched: 21 March 1848
Commissioned: 1 August 1848
Fate: Wrecked 31 May 1851
General characteristics [1]
Type: Screw sloop
Displacement: 656 tons
Tons burthen: 516 37/94 bm
Length:
  • 147 ft 0 in (44.8 m) (gundeck)
  • 128 ft 4 1⁄2 in (39.1 m) (keel)
Beam: 27 ft 10 in (8.5 m) overall
Draught: 11 ft 6 in (3.5 m) mean
Depth of hold: 14 ft 6 in (4.4 m)
Installed power:
Propulsion:
  • 2-cylinder horizontal single-expansion steam engine
  • Single screw
Speed: 8.2 kn (15.2 km/h) under power
Complement: 100
Armament:
  • 8 guns:
  • 2 × 32-pdr (56cwt) muzzle-loading smooth-bore guns[Note 1]
  • 6 × 32-pdr (25cwt) muzzle-loading smooth-bore guns

Construction

The Admiralty originally ordered the ship on 25 April 1847 from Woolwich Dockyard as the steam schooner Plumper.[1] She was re-ordered from Deptford Dockyard as the screw sloop Reynard on 12 August 1847 to a design by John Edye, and laid down in August that year. She was launched on 21 March 1848 at Deptford and commissioned at Woolwich on 1 August 1848.[1]

Reynard was the only ship ever built to the design. She was constructed of wood, was 147 feet 0 inches (44.8 m) long and 27 feet 10 inches (8.5 m) in the beam, and had a mean draught of 11 feet 6 inches (3.5 m). She had a displacement of 656 tons.[1]

She was powered by a J. and G. Rennie two-cylinder horizontal single-expansion steam engine driving a single screw. Rated at 60 nominal horsepower, and developing 165 indicated horsepower, this unit was capable of driving her at 8.2 knots (15.2 km/h).[1]

Her armament of 8 guns consisted of two 32-pounder (56 cwt) muzzle-loading smooth-bore guns and six 32-pounder (25 cwt) muzzle-loading smooth-bore guns mounted to fire in a traditional broadside arrangement.[1][Note 1]


Service
Map of Tung-sha Tao (Pratas Island) showing the location of the wreck of the HMS Reynard near the SE Bend (NAVOCEANO, 1969)
The original plans of Reynard

After commissioning, Reynard served in the Channel Fleet under Sir Charles Napier.[2] On 15 September 1848, she ran aground at Cobh, County Cork. She was refloated.[3] Reynard took part in an abortive amphibious landing against Riff pirates in February 1849.[2] On leaving the Channel Fleet. she sailed for the East Indies, leaving Singapore in company with HMS Cleopatra for Labuan and China on 10 October 1849,[4] and arriving in Hong Kong on 14 November. She served on the China Station in an anti-piracy role, recapturing two junks and apprehending 15 Chinese pirates on 23 March 1850.[5] She left Hong Kong to return to Woolwich to pay off, but on her way was required to accompany the brig HMS Pilot to rescue the crew of the brig Velocipede, which had run aground on Pratas shoal, 170 miles southeast of Hong Kong.[6][7]

Fate

In rescuing the crew of Velocipede, Reynard herself was wrecked near Pratas Island in the South China Sea on 31 May 1851.[1] The whole crew survived the sinking. HMS Pilot' rescued them and also the crew of Velocipede.[6][7] Reynard could not be saved, and she was paid off as a total loss on 27 February 1852.[6]

Notes
  1. "32-pounder" denotes the weight of projectile fired, 56 (or 25) cwt is the weight of the gun ("cwt" = hundredweight)

References
  1. Winfield (2004), p.213
  2. Piracy and Maritime Crime, Historical and Modern Case Studies, Naval War College Press, Newport, Rhode Island. Newport Paper 35, January 2010. ISBN 978-1-884733-65-9.
  3. "Ireland". The Morning Chronicle (24619). London. 16 September 1848.
  4. "Shipping News". The Singapore Free Press and Mercantile Advertiser. Newspapers.nl.sg. 6 November 1849. p. 3. Retrieved 15 November 2012.
  5. "Expedition against pirates - the Reynard". South Australian. Adelaide. Retrieved 8 February 2014.
  6. "HMS Reynard". William Loney website. Retrieved 8 February 2014.
  7. "The Navy". The Standard (8430). London. 18 August 1851.

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