Phoenix-class sloop

The Phoenix class was a two-ship class of 6-gun[3] screw steel sloops[3] built for the Royal Navy in 1895. Both ships participated in the suppression of the Boxer Rebellion, but Phoenix was destroyed in a typhoon while alongside in Hong Kong in 1906. Algerine became a depot ship at Esquimalt, was sold in 1919, and was finally wrecked in 1923.

Algerine
Class overview
Name: Phoenix-class sloops
Operators:
Built: 1895
In commission: 1895–1919
Completed: 2
Lost: 1
General characteristics
Type: Steel screw sloop
Displacement: 1050 tons[1]
Length:
  • 185 ft (56 m) pp
  • 210 ft 6 in (64.16 m) oa[2]
Beam: 32 ft 6 in (9.91 m)[2]
Draught: 13 ft 1 in (3.99 m)[2]
Installed power: 1,400 hp (1,044 kW)[2]
Propulsion:
  • 3-cylinder vertical triple-expansion steam engine
  • 2 screws
Sail plan: Barquentine rigged
Speed: 13 kn (24 km/h)[2]
Armament:
Armour: Protective deck of 1 to 1 1⁄2 in (2.5 to 3.8 cm) steel over machinery and boilers

Design

Phoenix and Algerine were constructed of steel and powered by both barquentine-rigged sails and a twin-screw steam engine developing 1,400 horsepower. They were essentially a twin-screw version of the Alert-class sloop.

Operational lives
Phoenix at anchor in the Hai River in about 1900
Phoenix foundered alongside a coaling pier in Hong Kong after a typhoon in 1906

Screw sloops like Phoenix had been obsolete for many years, but they remained ideal for patrolling Britain's far flung maritime empire, and both Phoenix and Algerine were deployed to the China Station. Both ships recommissioned at Hong Kong and served in Chinese waters during the Boxer Rebellion.[1] In June 1900 Algerine was involved in an attack on the Taku Forts, including contributing to a multi-national landing party, and had 6 men wounded.[4] She also landed a 4-inch gun, and this was used in the capture of Tientsin.[5] Phoenix had the misfortune to be alongside a coaling pier in Hong Kong on 18 September 1906 when a typhoon struck the colony. She foundered and became a total loss. Algerine continued to serve, including time at Esquimalt and the West Coast of the United States.[5] In 1914 her crew was sent to man Niobe, and in 1917 she was lent to the Royal Canadian Navy to serve as a depot ship at Esquimalt. She was sold in 1919 and converted to a salvage vessel.[6] In her new guise she was wrecked on 13 October 1923 in the Principe Channel, British Columbia.[7]

Ships
NameShip BuilderLaunchedFate
PhoenixDevonport Royal Dockyard[8]25 April 1895Foundered 18 September 1906 during a typhoon alongside a coaling pier in Hong Kong.[1][3] Raised and sold on 7 January 1907.[2]
AlgerineDevonport Royal Dockyard[6]28 December 1895Sold 1919.[3] Wrecked 1924.[5]

See also

Media related to Phoenix class sloop at Wikimedia Commons

References
  1. "HMS Phoenix at Naval Database website". Retrieved 1 September 2008.
  2. Winfield (2004) p.278
  3. "Naval cruisers at battleships-cruisers.co.uk". Retrieved 30 August 2008.
  4. "Algerine name history at World Naval Ships website". Retrieved 2 September 2008.
  5. "HMS Algerine at Naval Database website". Retrieved 2 September 2008.
  6. "Naval History.net". Retrieved 2 September 2008.
  7. "HMCS Algerine at the Canadian Navy Heritage site". Archived from the original on 24 February 2012. Retrieved 16 May 2010.
  8. "Devonport built ships at battleships-cruisers.co.uk". Retrieved 2 August 2008.
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