Hermes-class sloop
.jpg) Acheron in New Zealand | |
| Class overview | |
|---|---|
| Name: | Hermes-class paddle sloop |
| Builders: | |
| Operators: |
 Royal Navy |
| Preceded by: | HMS Medea |
| Succeeded by: | HMS Gorgon |
| Cost: | Acheron: £25,509[Note 1] |
| Built: | 1834–1839 |
| In commission: | 1835–1864 |
| Completed: | 4 |
| Lost: | 1 |
| Retired: | 3 |
| General characteristics [1] | |
| Type: | Paddle sloop |
| Displacement: | 1,006 tons |
| Tons burthen: | 715 43/94 bm |
| Length: |
|
| Beam: | 32 ft 9 in (10.0 m) |
| Draught: |
|
| Depth of hold: | 18 ft 2 in (5.5 m) |
| Installed power: | 140 nominal horsepower (160 in Acheron) |
| Propulsion: |
|
| Sail plan: | 3-masted barque rigged |
| Complement: | 135 |
| Armament: |
|
The Hermes class were a class of four paddlewheel steam sloops built for the British Royal Navy in the 1830s. Megaera was wrecked in Jamaica in 1843, but the other three survived to be broken up, with Volcano surviving in Portsmouth as a floating engineers' workshop until 1894, giving the best part of 60 years of service.
Design
The ships were designed by John Edye to a specification by Sir William Symonds and were approved in 1834. They were built of wood, displaced 1,006 tons and had a length on the gundeck of 170 feet (51.8 m).[1]
Propulsion
Power was provided by a two-cylinder side-lever steam engine driving paddle wheels. In Hermes this engine was provided by the Butterley Company, but the other ships had a Seaward and Capel unit fitted.[1] The engines were rated at 140 nominal horsepower, with the exception of Acheron, which was rated at 160 nominal horsepower.[1] Hermes had her original engine removed at Woolwich in 1840, and after she had been lengthened, in 1843 a new Maundsley 220 nominal horsepower 'Siamese'-type steam engine was fitted.[1] This gave her a speed under power of about 8 1⁄2 knots (15.7 km/h).[1] Pictures show Acheron with a barque rig.
Armament
All four ships were initially armed with two 9-pounder (13 1⁄2 cwt) smoothbore muzzle-loading brass guns. In 1842 or 1843 they were re-armed with a single 8-inch pivot gun and two 32-pounder (17 cwt) carronades.[Note 3][1]
Crew
They had a complement of approximately 135 men.[1]
Ships
| Name | Ship builder | Laid down | Launched | Commissioned | Fate |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hermes | Portsmouth Dockyard | April 1834 | 26 June 1835 | 25 November 1835 | Sold for breaking October 1864 |
| Volcano | Portsmouth Dockyard | July 1835 | 30 June 1836 | 17 January 1837 | Engineers' workshop at Portsmouth form 1854; broken up at Portsmouth in 1894 |
| Megaera | Sheerness Dockyard | August 1836 | 17 August 1837 | 30 March 1838 | Wrecked on Bare Bush Key, 5 miles east of Portland Point, Jamaica, 4 March 1843 |
| Acheron | Sheerness Dockyard | October 1837 | 23 August 1838 | 8 January 1839 | Sold at Sydney in 1855 |
Notes
- ↑ A total cost accounting for inflation of approximately £2,051,300 in today's money.
- ↑ Hermes was lengthened in 1842, making her 170 ft 0 in (51.8 m) long on the gundeck, 148 ft 1 1⁄4 in (45.1 m) long at the keel and 32 ft 10 in (10.0 m) in the beam. Her tonnage increased to 827 88/94 bm
- ↑ "cwt", or "hundredweight" refers to the weight of the gun itself. "32-pounder" refers to the weight of the ball fired.
References
- 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. OCLC 67375475.
- Winfield, Rif & Lyon, David (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.
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