Sparrowhawk's sister-ship, Surprise |
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| Career (United Kingdom) | |
|---|---|
| Name: | HMS Sparrowhawk |
| Ordered: | 26 July 1855 |
| Builder: | Young, Magnay & Co., Limehouse Engines by Humphrys, Tennant & Dykes |
| Laid down: | 6 August 1855 |
| Launched: | 9 February 1856 |
| Completed: | By 7 April 1856 |
| Fate: | Sold in 1872 |
| General characteristics | |
| Class and type: | Vigilant-class second-class despatch/gunvessel |
| Displacement: | 860 tons |
| Tons burthen: | 669 79/94 bm |
| Length: | 180 ft (54.9 m) (gundeck) 160 ft 7.5 in (49.0 m) (keel) |
| Beam: | 28 ft 4 in (8.6 m) |
| Draught: | 8 ft (2.4 m) (designed)[1] |
| Depth of hold: | 14 ft (4.27 m) |
| Installed power: | 200 nominal horsepower 726 ihp (541 kW) |
| Propulsion: |
|
| Sail plan: | Barque-rigged |
| Speed: | 11 kn (20 km/h) under steam |
| Complement: | 80 |
| Armament: |
As designed:
As completed: |
HMS Sparrowhawk was a Vigilant-class second-class despatch/gunvessel launched on 9 February 1856 at Limehouse, England and served at various stations in the Far East. By the spring of 1865, her rig was a converted to that of a three-masted barque. She was sold in 1872 and was eventually lost in a typhoon.
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Her class were designed as second-class despatch and gunvessels. They were intended to operate close inshore during the Crimean War and were essentially enlarged versions of the Arrow-class gunvessel, which has been designed by the Surveyor’s Department in 1854.[2]
A two-cylinder horizontal single expansion steam engine by Humphries, Tennant & Dyke provided 726 indicated horsepower (541 kW) through a single screw,[2] and gave a top speed of about 11 knots.[1]
All Vigilant-class gunvessels were barque-rigged.[2]
Although designed with a pair of 68-pounder Lancaster muzzle-loading rifles, the Vigilant class were finished with one 7-inch (180 mm)/110-pound (50 kg) Armstrong breech-loading gun, one 68-pound (31 kg) Lancaster muzzle-loading rifled gun and two 20-pounder breech loaders.[2]
Porcher Island, near Prince Rupert, British Columbia, is named after Edwin Augustus Porcher (1821–1878), who served as captain of HMS Sparrowhawk at Esquimalt Naval Base, Vancouver Island, from the spring of 1865 until he returned to England in autumn 1868. While serving with the North Pacific Squadron, Commander Porcher made four summertime voyages to the North Coast of British Columbia; in 1866, 1867 and twice in 1868.
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