Beagle-class sloop
{{Use dmy dates|date=July 2021}}
| {{Infobox ship begin}}
{{Infobox ship image |Ship image=HMS Nymphe (1888).jpg |Ship caption=A photograph of Nymphe, visually identical to the Beagle class }} {{Infobox ship class overview |Name=Beagle-class sloop |Builders= |Operators={{navy|United Kingdom}} |Class before= |Class after= |Subclasses= |Cost= |Built range=1889 |In service range= |In commission range=1889–1920 |Total ships building= |Total ships planned= |Total ships completed=2 |Total ships cancelled= |Total ships active= |Total ships laid up= |Total ships lost=0 |Total ships retired= |Total ships preserved= }} {{Infobox ship characteristics |Hide header= |Header caption= |Ship class= |Ship type=Screw steel sloop |Ship length={{convert|195|ft|m|abbr=on}} pp |Ship beam={{convert|30|ft|m|abbr=on}}{{cite web|url=http://www.battleships-cruisers.co.uk/cruisers.htm|title=HMS Basilisk at Battleships-Cruisers website|accessdate=2008-08-31}} |Ship draught={{convert|13|ft|m|abbr=on}} |Ship depth= |Ship sail plan=Barquentine rig |Ship decks= |Ship power={{convert|2000|ihp|kW|lk=in|abbr=on}} |Ship propulsion=*3-cylinder horizontal triple-expansion steam engine
|Ship speed={{convert|14.5|kn|km/h|abbr=on}} |Ship range= |Ship endurance={{convert|3000|nmi|km|abbr=on}} at {{convert|10|kn|km/h|abbr=on}} |Ship armament=*As built:
|Ship armour=Protective deck of {{convert|1|to|1+1/2|in|cm|abbr=on}} steel over the machinery and boilers |Ship notes= }} |
The Beagle class was a two-ship class of 8-gun screw steel sloops{{cite web|url=http://www.battleships-cruisers.co.uk/naval_sloops_.htm|title=Naval Sloops at battleships-cruisers.co.uk|accessdate=2008-08-30}} built for the Royal Navy in 1889.
Design
Beagle and Basilisk were constructed of copper-sheathed steel to a design by William White, the Royal Navy Director of Naval Construction. They were powered by a twin-screw three-cylinder horizontal triple-expansion steam engine developing {{convert|2000|ihp|kW|lk=in}} and carried a barquentine sail rig.Winfield (2004) p.277 They were essentially the same design as the preceding Nymphe class, but built of steel rather than of composite wood-and-steel.
Operational use
In common with other designs of Royal Navy sloop of the period, the Beagle class were not intended or designed to fight a modern fleet action; they were intended to patrol Britain's extensive maritime empire, and this is how they were employed. Beagle conducted three foreign commissions between 1890 and 1900, at least two of which were on the South Atlantic Station.{{cite web|url=http://www.pbenyon.plus.com/18-1900/B/00499.html|title=HMS Beagle at Naval Database website|accessdate=2008-08-31}} She was refitted in 1900, during which her {{convert|5|in|mm|adj=on}} breech-loading guns were replaced with quick-firing guns. Basilisk also spent all or part of her career on the South Atlantic Station.{{cite web|url=http://www.pbenyon.plus.com/18-1900/B/00480.html|title=HMS Basilisk at Naval Database website|accessdate=2008-08-31| archiveurl= https://web.archive.org/web/20080830051905/http://www.pbenyon.plus.com/18-1900/B/00480.html| archivedate= 30 August 2008 | url-status= live}}
Ships
| class="wikitable" style="text-align:left"
!Name | Ship Builder | Launched | Fate |
| {{HMS|Beagle|1889|2}} | Portsmouth Dockyard | 28 February 1889 | Sold for breaking on 11 July 1905 |
| {{HMS|Basilisk|1889|2}} | Sheerness Dockyard | 6 April 1889 | Became coal hulk C7 and sold as Maggie Grech in 1905 |
Citations
{{Reflist}}
References
- {{winfield}}
- {{gunboat}}
{{Beagle class sloop}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Beagle Class Sloop}}