Algerine-class gunboat
{{for|other Algerine ship classes|Algerine (disambiguation)}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=September 2020}}
| {{Infobox ship begin}}
{{Infobox ship image |Ship image=HMS Leven (1857).jpg |Ship caption=Leven rigged as a barquentine }} {{Infobox ship class overview |Name=Algerine-class gunboat |Builders=*R & H Green, Blackwall Yard |Operators=*{{navy|United Kingdom}}
|Class before= {{sclass|Albacore|gunboat|4 | 1855}}
|Class after={{sclass|Britomart|gunboat|4}} |Subclasses= |Cost=Hull £5,668, machinery £4,350 (Jaseur)A total cost accounting for inflation of approximately £{{formatnum:{{Inflation|UK|10018|1856|r=-2}}}} in today's money.Winfield (2004), p.230 |Built range=1856–1857 |In service range= |In commission range=1857–1873 |Total ships building= |Total ships planned= |Total ships completed=6 |Total ships cancelled= |Total ships active= |Total ships laid up= |Total ships lost=3 |Total ships retired=3 |Total ships preserved= }} {{Infobox ship characteristics |Hide header= |Header caption= |Ship class= |Ship type= Wooden screw gunboat (gunvessels from 1859) |Ship displacement= 370 tons |Ship tons burthen= 300 {{frac|88|94}} bm |Ship length=* {{convert|125|ft|0|in|m|abbr=on|1}} (gundeck)
|Ship beam={{convert|23|ft|0|in|m|abbr=on|1}} |Ship height= |Ship draught= |Ship hold depth={{convert|9|ft|3|in|m|abbr=on|1}} |Ship depth= |Ship power=* 80 nominal horsepower
|Ship propulsion=* 2-cylinder horizontal direct-acting single-expansion steam engine
|Ship sail plan=* As built:
|Ship speed={{convert|9|kn|km/h|abbr=on}} |Ship range= |Ship endurance= |Ship complement= |Ship armament=* As built:
|Ship armour= |Ship notes= }} |
File:Algerine class gunboat drawing.jpg
The Algerine-class gunboats were a class of six 3-gun wooden gunboats (reclassified as gunvessels from 1859) built for the Royal Navy in 1857. A further pair were built in India for the Bombay Marine in 1859.
An enlarged version of the very numerous {{sclass|Albacore|gunboat|4||1855}}, they reflected the change in use from coastal operations towards deep-water cruising, but were delivered too late to see action in the Crimean War. They were the first class of Royal Navy gunboat to incorporate a hoisting screw, which gave them improved performance under sail. The last man hung from the yardarm in the Royal Navy was a Royal Marine executed on 13 July 1860 in Leven.
Design and construction
Developed during the Crimean War as an enlarged version of W. H. Walker's {{sclass|Albacore|gunboat|4||1855}}, the Algerines were an acknowledgement that gunboats designed for coastal operations would inevitably be called upon to act in a cruising role, both in shallow and in deeper water. Their increased size gave them much improved accommodation, and in general they were effective vessels, leading to the construction of two identical vessels for the Bombay Marine.
=Armament=
As built, they were armed with one {{convert|8|in|mm|adj=on}} 68-pounder (87 cwt) muzzle-loading smoothbore gun{{#tag:ref|In some ships a {{convert|10|in|mm|adj=on}} muzzle-loading smoothbore gun was fitted instead of the 8-inch gun.|group=Note}} and two 24-pounder howitzers. By 1863 the three surviving vessels of the class were armed with one 110-pounder Armstrong breech-loading gun and one 40-pounder Armstrong breech-loading gun.
=Propulsion=
The class were each fitted with a 2-cylinder horizontal direct-acting single-expansion steam engine manufactured by Maudslay, Sons & Field.{{#tag:ref|The cost of these marine steam engines was £4,350, or adjusting for inflation, £{{formatnum:{{Inflation|UK|4350|1856|r=-2}}}} in today's prices.|group=Note}} This engine drove a single screw, which for the first time in a gunboat was provided with a hoisting mechanism; this ensured a better performance under sail than previous classes. These engines were rated at 80 nominal horsepower and produced on trials {{convert|294|ihp|kW|lk=in}}. The design speed under steam was {{convert|9|kn|km/h|lk=in}}.
=Rig=
Fitted at first with a simple schooner rig (often known as a "gunboat rig" in the Royal Navy), the use of these vessels as cruisers encouraged commanding officers on far-flung stations to augment their sail area by fitting topmasts and yards, making them barquentines.The picture of Leven at the head of this article shows a vessel of the class rigged as a barquentine.
Operational lives
Jaseur was lost on the Bajo Nuevo Bank in the Caribbean Sea within two years of her launch, having spent the whole of her short career on the North America and West Indies station, mostly in deterring the slave trade.{{cite web|url=http://www.pbenyon.plus.com/18-1900/I/02505.html|title=HMS Jaseur at the Naval Database website|accessdate=2011-04-15|archive-date=6 June 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120606182246/http://www.pbenyon.plus.com/18-1900/I/02505.html|url-status=dead}} Jasper also served on the West Indies station{{cite web|url=http://www.pbenyon.plus.com/18-1900/I/02517.html|title=HMS Jasper at the Naval Database website|accessdate=2011-04-15|archive-date=14 June 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120614072409/http://www.pbenyon.plus.com/18-1900/I/02517.html|url-status=dead}} before being sold to the Chinese in 1863 to form part of Sherard Osborn's Vampire Fleet. When the venture was called off, she was sold to Egypt to prevent her purchase by the Confederate Navy. Algerine spent her entire career on the China station, and was present at the capture of Canton in 1857.{{cite web|url=http://www.pbenyon.plus.com/18-1900/A/00193.html|title=HMS Algerine at the Naval Database website|accessdate=2011-04-15| archiveurl= https://web.archive.org/web/20110517104343/http://www.pbenyon.plus.com/18-1900/A/00193.html| archivedate= 17 May 2011 | url-status= live}} Lee was also sent to the China station, but her career was abruptly curtailed on 25 June 1859 when she was sunk at the second battle of the Taku Forts.{{cite web|url=http://www.pbenyon.plus.com/18-1900/L/02688.html|title=HMS Lee at the Naval Database website|accessdate=2011-04-15| archiveurl= https://web.archive.org/web/20110517122933/http://www.pbenyon.plus.com/18-1900/L/02688.html| archivedate= 17 May 2011 | url-status= live}} Leven, like Lee and Algerine served on the China station, and took part in the successful first battle of the Taku Forts.{{cite web|url=http://www.pbenyon.plus.com/18-1900/L/02706.html|title=HMS Leven at the Naval Database website|accessdate=2011-04-15| archiveurl= https://web.archive.org/web/20110517104748/http://www.pbenyon.plus.com/18-1900/L/02706.html| archivedate= 17 May 2011 | url-status= live}} The last man hanged from the yardarm in the Royal Navy was a Royal Marine, executed for attempted murder on 13 July 1860 in Leven.Preston (2007), p.155 Slaney served with Algerine at the capture of Canton and with Leven at the first battle of the Taku Forts.{{cite web|url=http://www.pbenyon.plus.com/18-1900/S/04287.html|title=HMS Slaney at the Naval Database website|accessdate=2011-04-15|archive-date=19 March 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120319221332/http://www.pbenyon.plus.com/18-1900/S/04287.html|url-status=dead}}
Ships
| class="wikitable" style="text-align:left"
!Name | Ship Builder | Launched | Fate |
| {{HMS|Jaseur|1857|2}} | R & H Green, Blackwall Yard | 7 March 1857 | Wrecked on the Bajo Nuevo Bank on 26 February 1859, whilst on passage from Port Royal to Greytown, Nicaragua |
| {{HMS|Jasper|1857|2}} | R & H Green, Blackwall Yard | 18 March 1857 | Sold on 2 August 1862 to the Chinese Imperial Customs, renamed Amoy, and sailed in April 1863 (to join Sherard Osborn's "Vampire Fleet"). Resold to the Egyptian Government on 30 December 1865 |
| {{HMS|Algerine |1857|2}} | W & H Pitcher, Northfleet | 24 February 1857 | Sold at Hong Kong on 2 April 1872, became the mercantile Algerine. Broken up in 1894. |
| {{HMS|Lee |1857|2}} | W & H Pitcher, Northfleet | 28 February 1857 | Sunk at the Battle of Taku Forts on 25 June 1859 |
| {{HMS|Leven|1857|2}} | W & H Pitcher, Northfleet | 7 March 1857 | Sold at Shanghai on 21 July 1873 |
| {{HMS|Slaney|1857|2}} | W & H Pitcher, Northfleet | 17 March 1857 | Wrecked in a typhoon in the Paracel Islands near Hong Kong on 9 May 1870 |
Bombay Marine versions
File:Engagement with the Tae-Ping Rebels at Nanking, 20 November 1858.jpgHaving proved their worth in the Royal Navy, two copies were built of teak at Bombay for the Bombay Marine.
| class="wikitable" style="text-align:left"
!Name | Ship BuilderLow, Charles Rathbone. History of the Indian Navy (1613–1863) (Volume 2), R. Bentley and Son (London). {{ISBN|978-1-85207-336-7}}. p. 387 | Launched | Fate |
| Clyde | Bombay | 1859 | |
| Sir Hugh Rose | Bombay | 1860 | 1876? |
Notes
{{reflist|group=Note}}
Citations
{{Reflist}}