HMS Gorgon (1837)
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| Career (UK) |  |
|---|---|
| Name: | HMS Gorgon |
| Launched: | 1837-08-31 |
| Fate: | Broken up, 1864 |
| General characteristics | |
| Displacement: | 1,610 long tons (1,640 MT) |
| Tons burthen: | 1,111 long tons (1,129 MT) |
| Length: | 235 feet (72 m) |
| Beam: | 37 feet 6 inches (11.4 m) |
| Propulsion: | paddle |
| Complement: | 160 |
| Armament: | 6 guns: 2 x 10 in 4 x 30 pdr |
HMS Gorgon was a wooden steam paddle frigate of 6 guns. She was launched on 1837-08-31 and broken up in 1864. She was teak built with oak main beams, had a displacement of 1,610 long tons (1,640 MT), and her paddle wheels were 27 feet (8.2 m) in diameter.
Gorgon was designed by Sir William Symonds and was the first vessel to be fitted with direct-acting engines (in which the engine's cylinders are placed under the crankshaft), the engines being built by Seaward and Company. In addition to saving space over previous side-lever engines, they weighed 60 tons less.
[edit] Service
In 1840 Gorgon saw action with three other paddle sloops, HMS Vesuvius, HMS Stromboli and HMS Phoenix, in the bombardment of the city of Acre under the command of Admiral Robert Stopford.
In 1843, during the Uruguyan civil war, Gorgon arrived in the River Plate to join the Royal Navy squadron commanded by Commodore John Purvis. She anchored in the bay as a deterrent to potential attackers. She ran aground on 1844-05-10 but was subequently refloated.
In 1858 Gorgon assisted in the laying of the first transatlantic telegraph cable by taking soundings for the former warship Agamemnon, which had been converted into a cable ship.
[edit] References
- Colledge, J. J. and Warlow, Ben (2006). Ships of the Royal Navy: the complete record of all fighting ships of the Royal Navy, Rev. ed., London: Chatham. ISBN 9781861762818. OCLC 67375475.
- Dumpleton, Bernard (2002), The Story Of The Paddle Steamer, Bristol: Intellect Books, p. 174, ISBN 1841508012
- Cooper Key, Sir Astley (1847), A Narrative of the Recovery of the HMS Gorgon, London: Smith, Elder & Co., ISBN 1841508012
