HMS Tourmaline (1875)
HMS Tourmaline was a Emerald-class composite screw corvette that served in the Victorian Royal Navy. The Emerald class was a development of the wooden Amethyst class but combined an iron frame and teak cladding. Launched in 1875, Tourmaline was deployed to the North America and West Indies Station in 1878. The ship joined the third flying squadron in 1880, sailing to South Africa at time of the First Boer War and then to Australia, Japan, Singapore and Egypt, arriving in Alexandria in time to participate in the Anglo-Egyptian War. During 1883, the corvette was stationed in Zanzibar and then, in response to the Franco-Hova Wars, was the senior officer's ship in Madagascar. Following an armament upgrade, the vessel returned to the North America and West Indies Station in 1886. Converted to a coal hulk in 1899, Tourmaline was sold in 1920 to be broken up.
Tourmaline in 1876 | |
| History | |
|---|---|
| United Kingdom | |
| Name | HMS Tourmaline |
| Namesake | Tourmaline |
| Builder | Raylton Dixon, Middlesbrough |
| Laid down | 17 July 1874 |
| Launched | 30 October 1875 |
| Completed | October 1876 |
| Fate | Sold to be broken up, November 1920 |
| General characteristics (as built) | |
| Class and type | Emerald-class corvette |
| Displacement | 2,120 long tons (2,150 t) |
| Length | 220 ft (67 m) pp |
| Beam | 40 ft (12 m) |
| Draught | 18 ft (5.5 m) |
| Installed power | 2,000 ihp (1,500 kW) |
| Propulsion |
|
| Sail plan | Full-rigged ship (barque from the 1880s) |
| Complement | 230 |
| Armament | 12 × 64-pounder RML guns |