The Camelion class was a class of screw-driven sloops of wood construction, designed by Isaac Watts and operated by the Royal Navy. Eight ships of the class were built from 1858 to 1866 with another eight cancelled. They were initially rated as second-class sloops, but were later reclassified as corvettes.
Design The class was designed by Issac Watts as second-class sloops of 17 guns, and were a lengthened version of the .
Construction Built of a traditional wood structure, they were long at the gundeck, in beam and displaced 1,365 tons. A barque rig was fitted to allow easy sail handling with a relatively small crew of 180.
Propulsion They were fitted with a two-cylinder horizontal single-expansion steam engine (although Perseus and Reindeer received single trunk steam engines) driving a single screw. These engines generated 200 nominal horsepower, giving a speed of approximately .
Armament They were armed with five 40-pounder breech-loading guns and twelve 32-pounder muzzle-loading smoothbore guns, although Reindeer was completed with a single 110-pounder and five 64-pounder guns.Winfield p.216
Ships The first two vessels were ordered on 3 April 1854, although neither was laid down for several years. Another three were ordered on 1 April 1857 and a further three on 27 March 1858. The final eight ships were ordered in two batches on 5 March 1860 and 25 March 1861, but were either cancelled, or in the case of Circassian and Trent, completed as ironclad sloops under new names.
NameShip BuilderLaid downLaunchedCompletedFateDeptford Dockyard8 November 185823 February 186030 July 1861Sold for breaking up 1883Pembroke Dockyard16 June 185919 July 186025 September 1861Sold in February 1867 as mercantile Hawk, then resold to the Portuguese Navy and renamed Infanta Dom HenriquePortsmouth Dockyard1 March 185826 March 18608 June 1861Sold for breaking up April 1884Deptford Dockyard4 July 185913 November 186023 May 1861Sold in the Far East for breaking up 20 August 1873Pembroke Dockyard20 July 186021 August 1861September 1862Became training ship in 1886, renamed Defiance II in March 1904, sold for breaking up 26 June 1931Portsmouth Dockyard2 February 18609 February 1861December 186102.10.1862 paddle ship Iona of David Hutcheson & Co wrecked off Gourock following a collision with the newly launched Chanticleer. April 1866, accompanied Lord John Hervey and Henry Strutt, 2nd Baron Belper on a trip to Astakos to pay ransom for their captured friend Mr Coore 23 January 1875: Sold for breaking up.Chatham Dockyard1 May 1860Work was suspended in 1862 but subsequently restarted in May 186329 March 1866October 1866Sold for breaking up 28 August 1873Deptford Dockyard28 August 186018 March 1862July 1862Wrecked off Japan 24 September 1868HarlequinPortsmouth Dockyard13 February 1861 Cancelled 16 December 1864TeesChatham DockyardFebruary 1861 Cancelled on 12 December 1863SapphoDeptford Dockyard1 May 1861 Cancelled on 12 December 1863TrentPembroke Dockyard3 September 1861 Completed as the ironclad sloop CircassianDeptford Dockyard5 May 1862 Completed as the ironclad sloop DiligenceChatham Dockyard1862 Cancelled on 12 December 1863ImogenePortsmouth Dockyard Cancelled on 12 December 1863SuccessPembroke Dockyard Cancelled on 12 December 1863
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References Citations
Bibliography
External links
Royal Navy cruisers at www.battleships-cruisers.co.uk