HMS Acheron (1838)

For other ships of the same name, see HMS Acheron.

Acheron in New Zealand
Career (United Kingdom)
Name: HMS Acheron
Ordered: 15 September 1837[Note 1][1]
Builder: Sheerness dockyard
Cost: £25,509[Note 2]
Laid down: October 1837[1]
Launched: 23 August 1838[1]
Commissioned: 8 January 1839[1]
Fate: Survey ship, 1847
Sold at Sydney, 23 April 1855[1]
General characteristics
Class and type: Hermes-class sloop
Tons burthen: 715 43/94 bm
Length: 150 ft 0 in (45.7 m) (gundeck)
128 ft 0 in (39.0 m) (keel)
Beam: 32 ft 9 in (10.0 m)
Draught: 11 ft 6 in (3.5 m) (forward)
12 ft 0 in (3.7 m) (aft)
Depth of hold: 18 ft 2 in (5.5 m)
Installed power: 160 nominal horsepower
Propulsion:
  • 2-cylinder side lever steam engine
  • Paddles
Sail plan: Brig rigged
Complement: 135
Armament:

As built:

  • 2 × 9-pounder brass guns
  • 2 × 32-pounder carronades

From 1842:

  • 1 × 8-inch pivot gun
  • 2 × 32-pounder carronades

HMS Acheron was a Hermes-class wooden paddle sloop of the Royal Navy. Between 1848 and 1851 she made a coastal survey of New Zealand, the first such survey since Captain Cook.

Contents

Career

Acheron, under the command of Captain John Lort Stokes, was despatched to New Zealand in January 1848, arriving in November the same year.[2] In March 1851, due to a budget cut to the Hydrographer of the Navy, Acheron was ordered to be laid up in Sydney, Australia and her crew returned to England.[2]

Fate

Acheron was sold at Sydney on 23 April 1855 for £2,067 16s.[1]

Notes

  1. ^ Acheron was ordered from Chatham dockyard on 15 September 1837, but this was changed to Sheerness on 18 September, because the relevant tooling was already present there.
  2. ^ A total cost accounting for inflation of approximately £1,847,200 in today's money.

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g Winfield (2004) p.158
  2. ^ a b Hydro International: By the Old Hydrographer
Royal Navy paddle sloops (1831 - 1851)
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