The ''Alert'' class was a two-ship class of 6-gun screw steel

sloop A sloop is a sailboat with a single mast typically having only one headsail in front of the mast and one mainsail aft of (behind) the mast. Such an arrangement is called a fore-and-aft rig, and can be rigged as a Bermuda rig with triangular ...

s built for the

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by Kingdom of England, English and Kingdom of Scotland, Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were foug ...

in 1894.

Design

''Alert'' and ''Torch'' were constructed of steel to a design by William White, the

Director of Naval Construction The Director of Naval Construction (DNC) also known as the Department of the Director of Naval Construction and Directorate of Naval Construction and originally known as the Chief Constructor of the Navy was a senior principal civil officer resp ...

. They were powered by a three-cylinder vertical triple-expansion steam engine developing and driving a single screw.

Sail plan

The class was originally designed and built with

barque A barque, barc, or bark is a type of sailing vessel with three or more masts having the fore- and mainmasts rigged square and only the mizzen (the aftmost mast) rigged fore and aft. Sometimes, the mizzen is only partly fore-and-aft rigged, b ...

-rigged sails, but both ships were re-rigged as

barquentine A barquentine or schooner barque (alternatively "barkentine" or "schooner bark") is a sailing vessel with three or more masts; with a square rigged foremast and fore-and-aft rigged main, mizzen and any other masts. Modern barquentine sailing ...

s before 1900 by removing the main yards.

Armament

Both ships of the class were armed with six 4-inch and four 3-pounder guns, and three

machine gun A machine gun is a fully automatic, rifled autoloading firearm designed for sustained direct fire with rifle cartridges. Other automatic firearms such as automatic shotguns and automatic rifles (including assault rifles and battle rifl ...

Ships

Operational lives

Screw sloops of ''Alert's'' type had been obsolete for many years, but they remained ideal for patrolling Britain's far flung maritime empire.

HMS ''Alert''

''Alert'' served on the

North America and West Indies Station The North America and West Indies Station was a formation or command of the United Kingdom's Royal Navy stationed in North American waters from 1745 to 1956. The North American Station was separate from the Jamaica Station until 1830 when th ...

, including a period in late 1902 and early 1903 when, under Commodore Montgomerie in HMS ''Charybdis'', she enforced a blockade of the Venezuelan coast. During this period she captured the Venezuelan ''Zumbador''. She was laid up for a time at

Bermuda ) , anthem = " God Save the King" , song_type = National song , song = "Hail to Bermuda" , image_map = , map_caption = , image_map2 = , mapsize2 = , map_caption2 = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = , ...

, but after 1910 served on the

East Indies Station The East Indies Station was a formation and command of the British Royal Navy. Created in 1744 by the Admiralty, it was under the command of the Commander-in-Chief, East Indies. Even in official documents, the term ''East Indies Station'' was ...

in the

Persian Gulf The Persian Gulf ( fa, خلیج فارس, translit=xalij-e fârs, lit=Gulf of Fars, ), sometimes called the ( ar, اَلْخَلِيْجُ ٱلْعَرَبِيُّ, Al-Khalīj al-ˁArabī), is a mediterranean sea in Western Asia. The bo ...

, employed in the suppression of gun-running. She was sold to the civil authority at

Basra Basra ( ar, ٱلْبَصْرَة, al-Baṣrah) is an Iraqi city located on the Shatt al-Arab. It had an estimated population of 1.4 million in 2018. Basra is also Iraq's main port, although it does not have deep water access, which is han ...

in 1926 for use as a

pilot vessel A maritime pilot, marine pilot, harbor pilot, port pilot, ship pilot, or simply pilot, is a mariner who maneuvers ships through dangerous or congested waters, such as harbors or river mouths. Maritime pilots are regarded as skilled profession ...

. She was broken up in 1949.

HMS ''Torch''

''Torch'' joined the

Australian Station The Australia Station was the British, and later Australian, naval command responsible for the waters around the Australian continent.Dennis et al. 2008, p.53. Australia Station was under the command of the Commander-in-Chief, Australia Station, ...

in February 1897, serving in New Zealand waters in 1898 and 1899. After a refit, she recommissioned at Sydney on 29 November 1913, and in August 1914 became part of the New Zealand Division of the

Eastern Fleet Eastern may refer to: Transportation *China Eastern Airlines, a current Chinese airline based in Shanghai * Eastern Air, former name of Zambia Skyways *Eastern Air Lines, a defunct American airline that operated from 1926 to 1991 * Eastern Air ...

. On 16 August 1917 she was transferred to the New Zealand Government as the Training Ship ''Firebrand''. She was sold, renamed ''Rama'' and fitted out as a refrigerated ship for the

Chatham Islands The Chatham Islands ( ) ( Moriori: ''Rēkohu'', 'Misty Sun'; mi, Wharekauri) are an archipelago in the Pacific Ocean about east of New Zealand's South Island. They are administered as part of New Zealand. The archipelago consists of about t ...

fishing trade. While approaching the

on 17 November 1924 she struck an uncharted rock, and was beached and abandoned.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Alert Class Sloop Sloop classes Alert