HMS Beagle and Wrangler by Sir Oswald Brierly, 1855
Class overview
NameArrow class
Builders
Operators
Cost
  • £21,234 (Arrow)
  • £24,860 (Wrangler)[1]
Built1854
In commission1854–1866
Completed6
Lost0
General characteristics [1]
Displacement586 tons
Tons burthen476 68⁄94 bm
Length160 ft (48.8 m)
Beam25 ft (7.6 m)
Draught11 ft 8 in (3.6 m) (aft)
Depth of hold13 ft 3 in (4.0 m)
Installed power
  • 160 nhp
  • 460–673 ihp (343–502 kW)
Propulsion
  • Single 2-cylinder horizontal single-expansion steam engine
  • Single screw[1]
Sail planBarque-rigged
Complement65
Armament

The Arrow class comprised six second-class screw-driven vessels built as dispatch vessels for the Royal Navy in 1854, mounting six guns. In 1856 they were re-designated as second-class gunvessels.

Construction

Design

The Crimean War sparked a sudden need for shallow-draught, manoeuvrable vessels for inshore work in the Baltic and the Black Sea. The Arrow class of six wooden-hulled screw steamers were built during 1854 to a design by the Surveyor's Department. Construction was undertaken at two commercial yards on the Thames, R & H Green at Blackwall Yard and C J Mare & Company, at Leamouth. Two further designs of Crimean War gunvessel were ordered during 1855, the Intrepid class and the Vigilant class, and in 1856 the six Arrow-class dispatch vessels were re-classed as second-class gunvessels.

Propulsion

A two-cylinder horizontal single expansion steam engine provided 160 horsepower (119 kW) through a single screw.[1]

Sail plan

All Arrow-class gunvessels were barque-rigged.[1]

Armament

The Arrow class were provided with two 68-pounder Lancaster muzzle-loading rifles weighing 95 long cwt (4,800 kg) on pivot mounts, and four 32-pounder 25 long cwt (1,300 kg) guns.

Ships

NameShip builderLaunchedFate
ArrowC J Mare & Company, Leamouth26 June 1854Hull sold to Marshall on 19 May 1862
BeagleC J Mare & Company, Leamouth20 July 1854Sold at Hong Kong on 16 July 1863, became the Japanese Kanko. Broken up 1889
LynxC J Mare & Company, Leamouth22 July 1854Sold to Marshall on 19 May 1862 for breaking at Plymouth
SnakeC J Mare & Company, Leamouth6 September 1854Sold to Marshall, Plymouth in 1864
ViperR & H Green, Blackwall Yard23 July 1854Sold to Marshall on 19 May 1862 for breaking at Plymouth
WranglerR & H Green, Blackwall Yard19 June 1854Broken up by Castle at Charlton in May 1866

Operational lives

Wrangler was sent to the Baltic on completion, and the others of the class to the Black Sea where they took part in the Crimean War. The Lancaster guns were not entirely successful, and the class had their armament reduced, being employed in their original designation as dispatch vessels.

Citations

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 Winfield (2004), p.219

References

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Arrow class gunvessel.
  • Colledge, J. J.; Warlow, Ben (2006) [1969]. Ships of the Royal Navy: The Complete Record of all Fighting Ships of the Royal Navy (Rev. ed.). London: Chatham Publishing. ISBN 978-1-86176-281-8.
  • 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.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.