HMS Cordelia (1856)
HMS Cordelia was an 11-gun Racer-class sloop of the Royal Navy launched in 1856 and sold in 1870.
.jpg.webp) HMS Icarus, sister-ship to Cordelia | |
| History | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Name: | HMS Cordelia |
| Ordered: | 3 April 1854 |
| Builder: | Pembroke Dockyard |
| Laid down: | October 1855 |
| Launched: | 3 July 1856 |
| Completed: | at Plymouth |
| Commissioned: | 11 April 1857 |
| Decommissioned: | 1870 |
| Fate: | Sold on 12 May 1870 for breaking |
| General characteristics | |
| Class and type: | Racer-class sloop |
| Displacement: | 861 tons |
| Tons burthen: | 577 30/94 bm |
| Length: |
|
| Beam: | 29 ft 1 in (8.9 m) |
| Depth of hold: | 15 ft 10 in (4.8 m) |
| Installed power: | 461 ihp (344 kW) |
| Propulsion: |
|
| Sail plan: | Barque rig |
| Speed: | 9.9 knots (18.3 km/h) |
| Complement: | 120 |
| Armament: |
|
Design
Built of a traditional wooden construction, the Racer class were a lengthened version of the Swallow-class sloop,[Note 1] which in turn had been intended as "type of screw vessel below the Cruizer". The extra length gave greater speed, and combined with a considerable increase in power, this gave a speed of about 10 knots (19 km/h), rather more than the 7 knots of the previous class.[1]
The class were armed with a single 32-pounder gun (58cwt) gun on a pivot mount and ten 32-pounder (25cwt) carronades on the broadside. These guns were all smoothbore muzzle-loading, and were little changed from the standard guns of Nelson's era.[2]
Propulsion was provided by a James Watt & Co two-cylinder horizontal single-expansion steam engine developing 461 indicated horsepower (344 kW) and driving a single screw. At maximum power under steam, her top speed was about 9.9 knots (18.3 km/h). A barque rig of sails was carried, which meant she had three masts with a square rig on the fore and main masts.[1]
Construction
Cordelia was laid down at Pembroke Dockyard in October 1855 and launched on 3 July 1856.[2] The total cost was £33,428, of which the machinery cost £9,014.[1]
Royal Navy service
She was commissioned on 11 April 1857 under Commander Charles Egerton Harcourt-Vernon and initially sent to the East Indies Station until being assigned to the Australia Station in 1859. In 1860 she served in the First Taranaki War.[2] Command passed in June 1861 to Commander Francis Alexander Hume; on returning to the UK, she was paid off at Plymouth on 2 April 1862.[3]
She was recommissioned on 24 June 1864 under Commander John Binney Scott and then served in the North American and West Indies Station until she was paid off on 9 July 1868 at Plymouth; meanwhile Commander Thomas Alexis De Wahl had been given command on 3 March 1865 when Scott became invalided, and was in turn succeeded on 16 September 1867 by Commander Charles Parry.[3]
Fate
She was sold on 12 May 1870 for breaking up at Plymouth.[1]
Notes
- Cordelia and Gannet were ordered as Swallow-class ships but the design was changed before construction.
Citations
- Winfield (2004) p.216
- Bastock, p.29.
- William Loney website
References
- Bastock, John (1988), Ships on the Australia Station, Child & Associates Publishing Pty Ltd; Frenchs Forest, Australia. ISBN 0-86777-348-0
- 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.
- "HMS Cordelia at William Loney website". Retrieved 9 October 2010.