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Driver-class sloop

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HMS Driver
Class overview
NameDriver-class paddle sloop
Operators Royal Navy
Preceded byAlecto class
Succeeded byBulldog class
CostDriver: £39,707[Note 1]
Built1840-1846
In commission1841–1870s
Completed10
Retired12
General characteristics [1]
TypeWooden paddle sloop
Displacement1,590 tons
Tons burthen1,055+62⁄94 bm
Length180 ft (54.9 m) (gundeck)
Beam36 ft (11.0 m)
Depth of hold21 ft (6.4 m)
Installed power280–300 nhp (except Devastation and Sphinx)
Propulsion
  • 2-cylinder direct-acting steam engine (except Spiteful, Devastation and Sphinx)
  • Paddles
Sail planBrig-rigged
Complement149 (later 160)
Armament
  • As built:
  • 2 × 10-inch/42-pounder (84 cwt) pivot guns
  • 2 × 68-pounder (64 cwt) guns
  • 2 × 42-pounder (22 cwt) carronades
  • After 1856:
  • 1 × 10-inch/42-pounder (84 cwt) pivot guns
  • 1 × 68-pounder (95 cwt) gun
  • 4 × 32-pounder (42 cwt) guns
  • Later:
  • 1 × 10-inch/42-pounder (84 cwt) pivot guns
  • 1 × 110 pdr Armstrong gun
  • 4 × 32-pounder (42 cwt) guns

The Driver class were a class of paddlewheel steam sloops of the British Royal Navy. Six Driver-class ships were ordered in 1840 and a further ten in March 1841, although only six were built. Five were ordered in 1847, but all were either built as paddle frigates or cancelled. Two wrecked in service, while the rest served until being retired and were either broken up or sold.

Design

The ships were designed by Sir William Symonds. They were built of wood, displaced 1,590 tons and had a length on the gundeck of 180 feet (54.9 m).[1]

Propulsion

Power was provided by a two-cylinder direct-acting steam engine driving paddle wheels. Spiteful had a side-lever steam engine, Devastation had a 4-cylinder 'Siamese' steam engine and Sphinx had a 2-cylinder oscillating steam engine. The engines developed between 280 and 300 nominal horsepower, apart from Devastation (400 nhp) and Sphinx (500 nhp). All the ships were capable of about 9 knots (17 km/h) under steam, with the more powerful Devastation and Sphinx making 10 or 12 knots.[1] A brig rig was fitted for operating under sail.

Armament

All three ships were armed with two 10 in (250 mm) (84 cwt) guns on pivot mounts, two 68-pounder (64 cwt) guns and two 42-pounder (22 cwt) carronades.[Note 2][1] In 1856 the armament was changed to a single 10-inch pivot gun, a 68-pounder (95 cwt) gun and four 32-pounder (42 cwt) guns. Later, the 68-pounder was replaced by a 110 pdr Armstrong gun breech-loading gun.[1]

Crew

They had a complement of approximately 149 men, increasing later to 160.[1]

Construction

Six Driver-class ships were ordered in 1840[2] and a further ten in March 1841, although only six were built. Five were ordered in 1847, but all were either built as paddle frigates or cancelled.[1]

Ships

Name Ship builder[1] Laid down[1] Launched[1] Commissioned[1] Fate[1]
Driver Portsmouth Dockyard June 1840 24 December 1840 5 November 1841 Wrecked on Mayaguana Island in the Bahamas on 3 August 1861
Styx Sheerness Dockyard 22 June 1840 26 January 1841 4 October 1841 Broken up 1866
Vixen Pembroke Dockyard June 1840 4 February 1841 28 December 1841 Broken up 12 November 1862
Devastation Woolwich Dockyard 27 July 1840 3 July 1841 30 November 1841 Broken up September 1866
Geyser Pembroke Dockyard August 1840 6 April 1841 8 March 1842 Broken up 1866
Growler Chatham Dockyard January 1841 20 July 1841 9 March 1842 Broken up at Portsmouth by January 1854
Thunderbolt Portsmouth Dockyard April 1841 13 January 1842 8 February 1843 Wrecked on Cape Recife, Algoa Bay, South Africa 3 February 1847
Cormorant Sheerness Dockyard 17 May 1841 29 March 1842 28 June 1843 Broken up at Deptford by August 1853
Spiteful Pembroke Dockyard August 1841 24 March 1842 24 March 1843 Sold September 1883
Eclair Woolwich Dockyard August 1841 31 May 1843 9 September 1844 Originally Infernal (renamed 26 August 1844 before commissioning. Renamed Rosamund 14 October 1846. Floating factory 1863. Broken up 1865
Virago Chatham Dockyard 15 November 1841 25 July 1842 29 July 1843 Broken up at Chatham November 1876
Sphinx Woolwich Dockyard May 1844 17 February 1845 3 November 1846 Broken up at Devonport September 1881
Rattler - - - - Ordered 1841, but changed to Alecto-class sloop, then re-ordered as the screw sloop Rattler
Bulldog - - - - Design lengthened, becoming the first ship of the Bulldog class
Inflexible - - - - Built as Bulldog class
Scourge - - - - Built as Bulldog class
Furious - - - - Ordered in 1847 but then re-ordered as a paddle frigate
Magicienne - - - - Ordered in 1847 but then re-ordered as a paddle frigate
Resolute - - - - Ordered in 1847 but then re-ordered as a paddle frigate and finally cancelled in 1850
Tiger - - - - Ordered in 1847 but then re-ordered as a paddle frigate
Valorous - - - - Ordered in 1847 but then re-ordered as a paddle frigate

Notes

  1. ^ A total cost accounting for inflation of approximately £4,515,800 in today's money.
  2. ^ "cwt", or "hundredweight" refers to the weight of the gun itself. "42-pounder" refers to the weight of the ball fired.

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l Winfield (2004), p. 160.
  2. ^ Friedman, Norman (2012). British Cruisers of the Victorian Era. Seaforth Publishing. ISBN 9781473853126. Retrieved 9 November 2018.

Works cited

  • Winfield, R.; Lyon, D. (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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