HMS Amethyst (1873)

HMS Amethyst was the lead ship of the Amethyst-class corvettes built for the Royal Navy in the early 1870s. She participated in the Third Anglo-Ashanti War in 1873 before serving as the senior officer's ship for the South American side of the South Atlantic. The ship was transferred to the Pacific Station in 1875 and fought in the Battle of Pacocha against the rebellious Peruvian ironclad warship Huáscar two years later. This made her the only British wooden sailing ship ever to fight an armoured opponent. After a lengthy refit, Amethyst again served as the senior officer's ship on the South American station from 1882 to 1885. She was sold for scrap two years later.

For other ships with the same name, see HMS Amethyst.

Amethyst at anchor
History
United Kingdom
NameHMS Amethyst
NamesakeAmethyst
BuilderDevonport Dockyard
CostApproximately £77,000
Laid down1872
Launched19 April 1873
CompletedJuly 1873
FateSold for scrap, November 1887
General characteristics (as built)
Class and typeAmethyst-class wooden screw corvette
Displacement1,934 long tons (1,965 t)
Tons burthen1,405 bm
Length220 ft (67.1 m) (p/p)
Beam37 ft (11.3 m)
Draught18 ft (5.5 m)
Installed power2,144 ihp (1,599 kW)
Propulsion
  • 1 × shaft
  • 1 × 2-cylinder compound expansion steam engine
  • 6 × cylindrical boilers
Sail planShip rig
Speed13 knots (24 km/h; 15 mph)
Range2,060–2,500 nmi (3,820–4,630 km; 2,370–2,880 mi) at 10 knots (19 km/h; 12 mph)
Complement225
Armament
  • 12 × 64-pounder (160 mm) 71-cwt rifled muzzle-loading guns
  • 2 × 64-pounder (160 mm) 64-cwt rifled muzzle-loading guns
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.