HMS Cordelia (1856)

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

HMS Icarus, sister-ship to Cordelia
History
United Kingdom
NameHMS Cordelia
Ordered3 April 1854
BuilderPembroke Dockyard
Laid downOctober 1855
Launched3 July 1856
Completedat Plymouth
Commissioned11 April 1857
Decommissioned1870
FateSold on 12 May 1870 for breaking
General characteristics
Class and typeRacer-class sloop
Displacement861 tons
Tons burthen577+30⁄94 bm
Length
  • 151 ft (46.0 m) (gundeck)
  • 131 ft 3.75 in (40.0 m) (keel)
Beam29 ft 1 in (8.9 m)
Depth of hold15 ft 10 in (4.8 m)
Installed power461 ihp (344 kW)
Propulsion
  • 2-cylinder horizontal single-expansion steam engine
  • Single screw
Sail planBarque rig
Speed9.9 knots (18.3 km/h; 11.4 mph)
Complement120
Armament

HMS Cordelia was an 11-gun Racer-class sloop of the Royal Navy launched in 1856 and sold in 1870.

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; 12 mph), rather more than the 7 knots (13 km/h; 8.1 mph) of the previous class.[1]

The class were armed with a single 32-pounder (58 cwt) gun on a pivot mount and ten 32-pounder (25 cwt) 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; 11.4 mph). 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

  1. ^ Cordelia and Gannet were ordered as Swallow-class ships but the design was changed before construction.

Citations

  1. ^ a b c d Winfield (2004) p.216
  2. ^ a b c Bastock, p.29.
  3. ^ a b 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. OCLC 52620555.
  • "HMS Cordelia at William Loney website". Retrieved 9 October 2010.