Redbreast-class gunboat

HMS Sparrow
Class overview
NameRedbreast-class gunboats
Builders
Operators
  •  Royal Navy
  • New Zealand Government
  • Merchant navy Ensign of the UK British Merchant Navy
Cost
  • Between £38,000 (Widgeon)
  • and £39,300 (Ringdove)[1]
Built1889
In commission1889–1921
Completed9
Lost1
General characteristics [1]
Class and typeRedbreast-class first-class gunvessel
Displacement805 tons
Length165 ft 0 in (50.3 m) pp
Beam31 ft 0 in (9.4 m)
Draught11 ft 0 in (3.35 m) min, 13 ft 9 in (4.19 m) max
Installed power1,200 ihp (890 kW)
Propulsion
  • Triple expansion steam engine
  • 2 × boilers
  • Single screw
Sail planBarquentine-rigged
Speed13 kn (24 km/h)
Range2,500 nmi (4,600 km) at 10 kn (19 km/h)[1]
Complement76
Armament

The Redbreast class comprised nine first-class screw-driven composite gunboats built for the Royal Navy in 1889, mounting six guns.

Construction

Design

The Redbreast class were designed by Sir William Henry White, the Royal Navy Director of Naval Construction in 1888.[1] The hull was of composite construction, that is, iron keel, frames, stem and stern posts with wooden planking. These were the last class of composite-hulled gunboats built for the Royal Navy - the next class of gunboat, the Bramble-class gunboat of 1898, was of steel construction.

Propulsion

The class was fitted with a triple-expansion reciprocating steam engine developing 1,200 indicated horsepower, sufficient to propel them at 13 kn (24 km/h) through a single screw.

Sail plan

The class was given a barquentine rig.

Armament

The first four ships were armed with six 4-inch/25-pounder (25cwt) quick firing guns and four machine guns. The last five had an additional pair of 3-pounder quick firing guns in place of two of the machine guns.[1]

Ships

Name Ship builder Launched Fate
Magpie Pembroke Dockyard 15 March 1889 Boom defence vessel in 1902. Gunboat in 1915, depot ship in October 1915. Sold to Duguid & Stewart on 29 December 1921[1]
Redbreast Pembroke Dockyard 25 April 1889[2] Sold in 1910[1]
Redpole Pembroke Dockyard 13 June 1889 Served on the China Station. Sold to Cox for breaking at Falmouth on 15 May 1906[1]
Ringdove Devonport Dockyard 30 April 1889 Became a salvage vessel on 7 December 1915, renamed Melita. Sold to Ship Salvage Corporation on 22 January 1920,[1] and renamed Telima, she was broken up in the second quarter of 1926.[3]
Lapwing Devonport Dockyard 12 April 1889 Sold at Bombay on 10 November 1910[1]
Goldfinch Sheerness Dockyard 18 May 1889 Survey vessel in February 1902. Sold for breaking on 14 May 1907[1]
Thrush Scott's, Greenock 22 June 1889 Coastguard in 1906, cable ship in 1915, salvage vessel in 1916. Wrecked off Glenarm, Northern Ireland on 11 April 1917[1]
Widgeon Pembroke Dockyard 9 August 1889 Sold to Castle for breaking at Charlton on 15 May 1906[1]
Sparrow Scott's, Greenock 26 September 1889 Transferred to New Zealand as a training ship on 10 July 1906, renamed Amokura. Sold as a coal hulk in February 1922. Abandoned in St Omer Bay.
HMS Ringdove dressed overall at Melbourne in 1896

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m Lyon, David; Winfield, Rif (2004). The Sail and Steam Navy List: All the Ships of the Royal Navy 1815–1889. London: Chatham Publishing. pp. 299–300. ISBN 9781861760326. OCLC 52620555.
  2. ^ "Search Results: launch of the redbreast". Welsh Newspapers Online. Archived from the original on 7 March 2016. Retrieved 4 March 2016.
  3. ^ "1132764". Miramar Ship Index. Retrieved 8 July 2009.
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