HMS ''Eclipse'' was a four-gun ''Cormorant''-class first-class gunvessel 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 Poplar, north of Greenwich and Deptford, east of ...

. She served on the Australia Station, took part in the Second Taranaki War, 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 port 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 13,249, it is the second largest town on the island after the nearby ...

in 1867, only seven years after her launch.

Design

Propulsion

The first 6 ships, including ''Eclipse'', had a two-cylinder horizontal single-expansion steam engine provided by Robert Napier and Sons and rated at 200

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 ...

, driving a single screw.

Armament

The main armament, which was principally intended for shore bombardment, was originally designed with two 68-pounder 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 ship, sailing vessel with three or more mast (sailing), masts of which the fore mast, mainmast, and any additional masts are Square rig, rigged square, and only the aftmost mast (mizzen in three-maste ...

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

Construction

The first six 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 three of the seven 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

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off

Beachy Head Beachy Head is a Chalk Group, chalk headland in East Sussex, England. It is situated close to Eastbourne, East Sussex, Eastbourne, immediately east of the Seven Sisters, Sussex, Seven Sisters. Beachy Head is located within the administrative ar ...

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

Ramsgate Ramsgate is a seaside resort, seaside town and civil parish in the district of Thanet District, Thanet in eastern Kent, England. It was one of the great English seaside towns of the 19th century. In 2021 it had a population of 42,027. Ramsgate' ...

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the next day. She was sent to Australia Station in 1863 under the command of Commander Richard Charles Mayne. During the Second Taranaki War she participated in an attack which was made by the garrison of

New Plymouth New Plymouth () is the major city of the Taranaki region on the west coast of the North Island of New Zealand. It is named after the English city of Plymouth, in Devon, from where the first English settlers to New Plymouth migrated. The New Pl ...

on the

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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 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 Abel Janszoon Tasman, who in 1642 wa ...

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

Onehunga Onehunga is a suburb of Auckland in New Zealand and the location of the Port of Onehunga, the city's small port on the Manukau Harbour. It is south of the city centre, close to the volcanic cone of Maungakiekie / One Tree Hill. Onehunga is ...

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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 during the invasion of Waikato, where five seamen were killed and 10 wounded, including Commander Mayne who was invalided home. Coming under the command of Commander Edmund Fremantle, she took part in the capture of

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

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 (, Māori language for "resting place," or "safe anchorage") is a coastal city in the Bay of Plenty Region and the List of cities in New Zealand, fifth-most populous city of New Zealand, with an urban population of or roughly 3% of t ...

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

Wellington Wellington 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 third-largest city in New Zealand (second largest in the North Island ...

. A Court of Enquiry blamed one 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 (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 members of the mili ...

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

Whanganui Whanganui, also spelt 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. Whanganui is ...

Ōpōtiki Ōpōtiki (; from ''Ōpōtiki-Mai-Tawhiti'') is a town in the eastern Bay of Plenty in the North Island of New Zealand. It houses the headquarters of the Ōpōtiki District Council, the mayor of Ōpōtiki and comes under the Bay of Plenty Region ...

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.

Citations

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