HMS ''Eclipse'' was a 4-gun ''Cormorant''-class first class

gunvessel A gunboat is a naval watercraft designed for the express purpose of carrying one or more guns to bombard coastal targets, as opposed to those military craft designed for naval warfare, or for ferrying troops or supplies. History Pre-stea ...

launched in 1860 from the shipyard of J. Scott Russell & Co.,

Millwall Millwall is a district on the western and southern side of the Isle of Dogs, in east London, England, in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets. It lies to the immediate south of Canary Wharf and Limehouse, north of Greenwich and Deptford, ea ...

. She served on the

Australia 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, ...

, took part in the

Second Taranaki War The Second Taranaki War is a term used by some historians for the period of hostilities between Māori and the New Zealand Government in the Taranaki district of New Zealand between 1863 and 1866. The term is avoided by some historians, who ei ...

, including contributing men to a naval brigade which attacked the Maori stronghold at Gate Pā. The entire class were never satisfactory as gunvessels, partly due to their excessive draught, and ''Eclipse'' was broken up at

Sheerness Sheerness () is a town and civil parish beside the mouth of the River Medway on the north-west corner of the Isle of Sheppey in north Kent, England. With a population of 11,938, it is the second largest town on the island after the nearby tow ...

in 1867, only 7 years after her launch.

Design

Propulsion

The first 6 ships, including ''Eclipse'', had a 2-cylinder horizontal single-expansion steam engine provided by

Robert Napier and Sons Messrs Robert Napier and Sons was a famous firm of Clyde shipbuilders and marine engineers at Govan, Glasgow founded by Robert Napier in 1826. It was moved to Govan for more space in 1841. His sons James and John were taken into partnership in 1 ...

and rated at 200

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, driving a single screw.

Armament

The main armament, which was principally intended for shore bombardment, was originally designed with two

68-pounder The 68-pounder cannon was an artillery piece designed and used by the British Armed Forces in the mid-19th century. The cannon was a smoothbore muzzle-loading gun manufactured in several weights, the most common being , and fired projectiles o ...

and two 32-pounder muzzle-loading smoothbore guns. They were finished, however, with a single 7-inch/110-pounder Armstrong breech-loading gun and a 68-pounder muzzle-loading smoothbore gun. A pair of broadside 20-pounder Armstrong breech-loading guns were also fitted. The 68-pounders were later replaced by a pair of 64-pounder muzzle-loading rifled guns.

Sail plan

In common with all other Royal Navy wooden screw gunvessels, the ''Cormorant''s were rigged as

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 ...

s, that is with three masts, with the fore and main masts square rigged, and the mizzen fore-and-aft rigged.

Construction

The first 6 ships were ordered on 14 June 1859 from commercial yards, with ''Eclipse'' built by J Scott Russell at Millwall. The first completed ships had a draught of , exceeding the intended by a considerable margin. Since gunvessels were intended to work in shallow water while bombarding the shore, work on the later two batches was suspended, with 3 of the 7 suspended ships later completed as survey vessels and the rest cancelled. ''Eclipse'' was launched on 18 September 1860.Bastock, p.39.

Service

On 16 October 1862, she collided with the merchant ship ''Louise'' in the

English Channel The English Channel, "The Sleeve"; nrf, la Maunche, "The Sleeve" ( Cotentinais) or (Jèrriais), ( Guernésiais), "The Channel"; br, Mor Breizh, "Sea of Brittany"; cy, Môr Udd, "Lord's Sea"; kw, Mor Bretannek, "British Sea"; nl, Het Kan ...

off

Beachy Head Beachy Head is a chalk headland in East Sussex, England. It is situated close to Eastbourne, immediately east of the Seven Sisters. Beachy Head is located within the administrative area of Eastbourne Borough Council which owns the land, for ...

, Sussex. ''Louise'' was abandoned; her crew were rescued by HMS ''Eclipse''. ''Louise'' survived the encounter, and was taken in to

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the next day. She was sent to

in 1863 under the command of Commander Richard Charles Mayne. During the

she participated in an attack which was made by the garrison of

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on the Māori position at the mouth of the Katikara River on 4 June 1864, by shelling the Māori positions from about offshore. Afterwards she was sent back to Australian waters. She towed the New Zealand colonial government river paddle-steamer ''Pioneer'' across the

Tasman Sea The Tasman Sea ( Māori: ''Te Tai-o-Rēhua'', ) is a marginal sea of the South Pacific Ocean, situated between Australia and New Zealand. It measures about across and about from north to south. The sea was named after the Dutch explorer ...

on her delivery voyage from Sydney on 22 September and arriving at

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on 3 October 1863. During the voyage the two ships collided and ''Eclipse''s bow was stoved-in. In October 1863, Commander Mayne led a naval brigade of 200 seamen which captured Merrimi and later fortified the town. On 20 November a naval brigade of 400 men, under Commander Mayne participated in the

battle of Rangiriri The Battle of Rangiriri was a major engagement in the invasion of Waikato, which took place on 20–21 November 1863 during the New Zealand Wars. More than 1400 British troops defeated about 500 warriors of the Kingitanga (Māori King Movement), ...

during the

invasion of Waikato The Invasion of the Waikato became the largest and most important campaign of the 19th-century New Zealand Wars. Hostilities took place in the North Island of New Zealand between the military forces of the colonial government and a federation ...

, where five seamen were killed and 10 wounded, including Commander Mayne who was invalided home. Coming under the command of Commander

Edmund Fremantle Admiral The Honourable Sir Edmund Robert Fremantle (16 June 1836 – 10 February 1929) was a Royal Navy officer who served as Commander-in-Chief, Plymouth (at the time, and from 1845 to 1900, formally known as Commander-in-Chief, Devonport). Na ...

, she took part in the capture of

Waikato Waikato () is a local government region of the upper North Island of New Zealand. It covers the Waikato District, Waipa District, Matamata-Piako District, South Waikato District and Hamilton City, as well as Hauraki, Coromandel Peninsula, t ...

in January 1864, and contributed to a naval brigade which defeated the Maoris at Rangiawahia. Again on 29 April 1864 she contributed to a naval brigade which attacked the Maori stronghold at Gate Pā. On 1 September 1864, ''Eclipse'' ran aground at

Tauranga Tauranga () is a coastal city in the Bay of Plenty region and the fifth most populous city of New Zealand, with an urban population of , or roughly 3% of the national population. It was settled by Māori late in the 13th century, colonised by ...

, New Zealand. She ran aground again on 20 October at

Wellington Wellington ( mi, Te Whanganui-a-Tara or ) is the capital city of New Zealand. It is located at the south-western tip of the North Island, between Cook Strait and the Remutaka Range. Wellington is the second-largest city in New Zealand by m ...

. A Court of Enquiry blamed on of her officers on each occasion. On 13 July 1865, she was driven ashore on the coast of Australia. Repairs cost £3,337. A

Court Martial A court-martial or court martial (plural ''courts-martial'' or ''courts martial'', as "martial" is a postpositive adjective) is a military court or a trial conducted in such a court. A court-martial is empowered to determine the guilt of me ...

censured several of her officers. In September 1865 the ''Eclipse'' was engaged in transporting militia from

Whanganui Whanganui (; ), also spelled Wanganui, is a city in the Manawatū-Whanganui region of New Zealand. The city is located on the west coast of the North Island at the mouth of the Whanganui River, New Zealand's longest navigable waterway. Whang ...

to Opotiki as part of the East Cape War and in response to the Völkner Incident.

Fate

She left the Australia Station in mid-1866 and returned to Britain where she was paid off and broken up at Sheerness in 1867.

References

* *Bastock, John (1988), ''Ships on the Australia Station'', Child & Associates Publishing Pty Ltd; Frenchs Forest, Australia. {{DEFAULTSORT:Eclipse (1860) 1860 ships Ships built in Millwall Cormorant-class gunvessels Maritime incidents in September 1864 Maritime incidents in October 1864 Maritime incidents in July 1865