Intrepid-class gunvessel

Victor in her later guise as CSS Rappahannock in c.1864
Class overview
NameIntrepid-class gunvessel
Builders
Operators
Preceded byVigilant class
Succeeded byPhilomel class
Built1855-1856
In commission1855-1865
Planned8
Completed6
Scrapped5
General characteristics
TypeWooden gunvessel
Displacement1,042 tons[1]
Tons burthen868 49/94 bm
Length200 ft (61 m) pp
Beam30 ft 4 in (9.25 m)
Draught12 ft 6 in (3.81 m) (deep)[1]
Depth of hold14 ft 6 in (4.42 m)
Installed power350 nominal horsepower[2]
Propulsion
  • 2-cylinder horizontal single-expansion steam engine
  • Single screw
Sail planBarque
SpeedAbout 11.5 knots (21.3 km/h)
Complement100
Armament

Intrepid-class gunvessels were a class of six Royal Navy first-class wooden gunvessels built in 1855-56. They were rated as sloops from 1859 to 1862,[Note 1] and were scrapped by 1865. Victor was sold to the Confederate States of America as the raider CSS Rappahannock, but she was interned by the French at Calais and never fulfilled her intended function.

Design and construction

Designed in 1855, the Intrepid-class gunvessels were intended to serve in the shallow waters of the Black and Baltic seas during the Crimean War.[3] They were built quickly, and of inferior wood, which explains their short lifespan of 10 years.

Propulsion

A two-cylinder horizontal single-expansion steam engine produced between 930 indicated horsepower (690 kW) and 1,302 ihp (971 kW) through a single screw, giving a speed of about 10.5 knots (19.4 km/h).[2] Twin funnels distinguished them from most other British classes of gunvessel.[1]

Sail plan

The vessels of the class were designed to be barque-rigged,[2] which required less manpower than the traditional full-rigged ship.

Armament

The Intrepid-class gunvessels were designed with one 68-pounder muzzle-loading rifle and four 32-pounder (25cwt) muzzle-loading smoothbore guns. This armament was later replaced with a single 7-inch/110-pounder breech loader, one 40-pounder breech loader and four 20 pounder breech loaders.[2]

Ships

The first pair were ordered on 18 April 1855, the second pair were ordered on 15 May 1855, and the final pair were ordered on 27 July 1855. A further two were ordered on 9 April 1856 from Pembroke Dockyard, but were cancelled.[2]

Name Ship Builder Launched Fate
Flying Fish Pembroke Dockyard 20 December 1855 Broken up by Castle, Charlton, arriving in August 1866
Pioneer Pembroke Dockyard 19 January 1856 Sold to Marshall in October 1864 for breaking at Plymouth in 1865
Victor Money Wigram & Sons 2 November 1855 Sold as Scylla to Gordon Coleman & Company in November 1863, who resold her later the same month to the Confederacy as the raider CSS Rappahannock. She was interned by the French at Cherbourg and never served the Confederacy at sea
Intrepid Money Wigram & Sons 13 November 1855 Sold to Marshall on 7 October 1864 for breaking at Plymouth in 1865
Roebuck J Scott Russell 22 March 1856 Sold to Castle, Charlton for breaking in 1864
Nimrod J Scott Russell 21 April 1856 Sold to White, Cowes for breaking on 2 June 1865

Notes

  1. ^ Except Victor, which remained a gunvessel throughout the period

Citations

  1. ^ a b c Preston (2007), p. 149
  2. ^ a b c d e f Winfield (2008) pp. 220–221
  3. ^ Winfield (2008) p. 218

References

  • 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.
  • 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.