The ''Ariel''-class gunboat was a class of nine 4-gun composite gunboats 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 ...
between 1871 and 1873. Although most were sold by 1890, one of them survived into the 1920s as a salvage vessel in private ownership. They were the first class of Royal Navy gunboat built of composite construction, that is, with iron keel, stem and stern posts, and iron framing, but planked with wood.
Design and construction
Designed by
Sir Edward Reed,
Chief Constructor of the Royal Navy, the ''Ariel''-class gunboats were the first Royal Navy gunboats of composite construction.
[Preston (2007) p. 160] They were some of the first vessels to be fitted with compound-expansion engines, allowing the Royal Navy to experiment with new engine designs at little risk in small, cheap vessels.
[''Swinger'', uniquely in the class, was engined by Humphrys, Tennant & Co. with a horizontal single-expansion steam engine.] These engines were rated 60 nominal horsepower
Horsepower (hp) is a unit of measurement of power, or the rate at which work is done, usually in reference to the output of engines or motors. There are many different standards and types of horsepower. Two common definitions used today are th ...
(an indicated horsepower
Horsepower (hp) is a unit of measurement of power, or the rate at which work is done, usually in reference to the output of engines or motors. There are many different standards and types of horsepower. Two common definitions used today are t ...
of between and ). They were armed with two 64-pounder (56cwt) muzzle-loading rifles and two 20-pounder Armstrong breech loaders. All 4 guns were mounted on traversing carriages. Some of the class were re-armed in the 1880s with two 5-inch and two 4-inch breech loaders. All the ships of the class carried a three-masted 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 ...
rig.[
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Ships
Notes
References
Publications
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{{Ariel class gunboats
Ariel
Gunboat classes