HMS Swallow (1885)

Summary

HMS Swallow was a Nymphe-class composite screw sloop and the twenty-seventh ship of the Royal Navy to bear the name. Developed and constructed for the Royal Navy on a design by William Henry White, Director of Naval Construction, she was launched at Sheerness Dockyard on 27 October 1885.[5]

History
Royal Navy EnsignUnited Kingdom
NameHMS Swallow
BuilderSheerness Dockyard
Cost£44,797 (hull), £15,000 (machinery)[1]
Laid down1 November 1885[1]
Launched27 October 1885[1]
Commissioned7 October 1886[1]
FateSold 1904[2]
General characteristics [3]
Displacement1,140 long tons (1,160 t)
Length195 ft (59.4 m)
Beam28 ft (8.5 m)
Draught12 ft 6 in (3.8 m)
Propulsion
Sail planSchooner-rigged
Speed13.5 kn (25.0 km/h; 15.5 mph)
Endurance3,000 nmi (5,600 km; 3,500 mi) at 10 kn (19 km/h; 12 mph)
Complement138
Armament
HMS Beagle, Swallow, Basilisk and Flora, unknown artist

Service history edit

On 17 November 1886,[6] Swallow ran aground off Yarmouth, Isle of Wight. She was refloated and taken in to Plymouth, Devon, where she arrived on 20 November.[7] She was engaged in East Africa in the expedition against Fumo Amari, who was the Sultan of Wituland (in modern-day Kenya). The expedition resulted in the capture of Pumwani and Jongeni, between 7 and 13 August 1893.[8] The Ashantee Medal was awarded to those who were employed on her together with the clasp "Witu 1893".[9]

Swallow was commissioned by commander Edward Fitzmaurice Inglefield in 1899 to serve on the South America Station. She was in Montevideo in late February 1900, and visited the Falkland Islands the following month.[10]

Fate edit

Swallow was sold to McCausland & Sons in 1904.[1]

Citations edit

  1. ^ a b c d e f Winfield (2004)
  2. ^ "Naval Sloops at battleships-cruisers.co.uk". Retrieved 8 December 2017.
  3. ^ Chesneau and Kolesnik 1979, pp. 58.
  4. ^ Preston (2007) p.182
  5. ^ Naval sloops
  6. ^ "Naval and Military Intelligence". The Times. No. 31924. London. 23 November 1886. col C, p. 7.
  7. ^ "Naval and Military Intelligence". The Times. No. 31923. London. 22 November 1886. col B, p. 10.
  8. ^ Moyse-Bartlett, Lieutenant-Colonel H. (10 February 2012). The King's African Rifles - Volume 1. Andrews UK Limited. ISBN 978-1-78150-661-5.
  9. ^ THE LONDON GAZETTE, MARCH 20, 1906 https://www.thegazette.co.uk/London/issue/27896/page/1971/data.pdf
  10. ^ "Naval & Military intelligence". The Times. No. 36076. London. 27 February 1900. p. 6.

References edit