HMS ''Firebrand'' was a wooden paddle vessel launched in 1831. She was rebuilt in 1843, renamed HMS ''Black Eagle'' and employed as an

Admiralty Admiralty most often refers to: *Admiralty, Hong Kong * Admiralty (United Kingdom), military department in command of the Royal Navy from 1707 to 1964 *The rank of admiral *Admiralty law Admiralty can also refer to: Buildings * Admiralty, Tra ...

steam yacht. She was broken up in 1876.

Construction and rebuild

Built at Merchant's Yard,

Limehouse Limehouse is a district in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets in East London. It is east of Charing Cross, on the northern bank of the River Thames. Its proximity to the river has given it a strong maritime character, which it retains throu ...

as a wooden paddle vessel, ''Firebrand'' was launched on 11 July 1831. In 1832 her original Butterley side lever steam engine was removed and replaced in 1833 by a Maudsley, and Morgan's paddlewheels were fitted. She was rebuilt in 1843, gaining in length, and receiving an oscillating engine manufactured by John Penn and Sons. Notably, Penn doubled the power output without increasing either the weight or space occupied. On 29 October 1853, she assisted in the refloating of , which had run aground in the

Dardanelles The Dardanelles ( ; ; ), also known as the Strait of Gallipoli (after the Gallipoli peninsula) and in classical antiquity as the Hellespont ( ; ), is a narrow, natural strait and internationally significant waterway in northwestern Turkey th ...

. ''Firebrand'' was renamed ''Black Eagle'' on 5 February 1842. In 1856, the ''Black Eagle'' and the paddle-wheel troopship were used in a trial of J Wethered's apparatus for

superheated steam Superheated steam is steam at a temperature higher than its vaporization point at the absolute pressure where the temperature is measured. Superheated steam can therefore cool (lose internal energy) by some amount, resulting in a lowering of its ...

. This produced an economy of fuel of 18% in the ''Black Eagle'', and 31% in the ''Dee''.

Royal yacht

She was based at

Woolwich Woolwich () is a town in South London, southeast London, England, within the Royal Borough of Greenwich. The district's location on the River Thames led to its status as an important naval, military and industrial area; a role that was mainta ...

in south-east London and was part of the Royal Squadron alongside the

royal yacht A royal yacht is a ship used by a monarch or a royal family. If the monarch is an emperor the proper term is imperial yacht. Most of them are financed by the government of the country of which the monarch is head. The royal yacht is most often c ...

. The ''Black Eagle'' was eventually

broken up Ship breaking (also known as ship recycling, ship demolition, ship scrapping, ship dismantling, or ship cracking) is a type of ship disposal involving the breaking up of ships either as a source of Interchangeable parts, parts, which can be sol ...

Portsmouth Portsmouth ( ) is a port city status in the United Kingdom, city and unitary authority in Hampshire, England. Most of Portsmouth is located on Portsea Island, off the south coast of England in the Solent, making Portsmouth the only city in En ...

in March 1876. A model of the vessel is in the collection of the

National Maritime Museum The National Maritime Museum (NMM) is a maritime museum in Greenwich, London. It is part of Royal Museums Greenwich, a network of museums in the Maritime Greenwich World Heritage Site. Like other publicly funded national museums in the Unit ...

Figurehead

The

figurehead In politics, a figurehead is a practice of who ''de jure'' (in name or by law) appears to hold an important and often supremely powerful title or office, yet '' de facto'' (in reality) exercises little to no actual power. This usually means that ...

of ''Black Eagle'' depicts a black eagle with gold beak, talons and wing trimmings. It is also decorated with a red and gold crown on the breast. Evidence suggests that the original figurehead, carved to suit its former name of ''Firebrand'', was carved by George Faldo of

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

, with an estimated cost of £24 12s 8d (approximately £2,091 today). In an exchange of letters in 1846, the

admiral-superintendent The admiral-superintendent was the Royal Navy officer in command of a larger Naval Dockyard. Portsmouth, Devonport and Chatham all had admiral-superintendents, as did some other dockyards in the United Kingdom and abroad at certain times. The a ...

invited James Hellyer of Hellyer & Sons to propose a new figurehead for ''Black Eagle'' following her rebuild. Engines of the Black Eagle

The new ship honoured the Prussian royal family who frequently cruised in her; King

Frederick I of Prussia Frederick I (; 11 July 1657 – 25 February 1713), of the Hohenzollern dynasty, was (as Frederick III) List of margraves and electors of Brandenburg, Elector of Brandenburg (1688–1713) and Duke of Prussia in personal union (Brandenburg–Pr ...

was the maternal cousin of King William III and supplier of troops to support the British effort during the

War of the Spanish Succession The War of the Spanish Succession was a European great power conflict fought between 1701 and 1714. The immediate cause was the death of the childless Charles II of Spain in November 1700, which led to a struggle for control of the Spanish E ...

. The black eagle became the symbol of a united Germany and featured on the

Order of the Black Eagle The Order of the Black Eagle () was the highest order of chivalry in the Kingdom of Prussia. The order was founded on 17 January 1701 by Elector Friedrich III of Brandenburg (who became Friedrich I of Prussia, Friedrich I, King in Prussia, the ...

military medal; the highest Prussian Order of chivalry. The eagle that sits centrally within the medal's design is similar in appearance to Hellyer's figurehead carving. Upon the ship's breaking up, the figurehead stood for some time in the garden of Admiralty House in Portsmouth. It can be seen as part of the collection at the

National Museum of the Royal Navy, Portsmouth The National Museum of the Royal Navy, Portsmouth, formerly known as the Royal Naval Museum, is a museum of the history of the Royal Navy, history of the Royal Navy located in the Portsmouth Historic Dockyard section of HMNB Portsmouth, Portsmo ...

References

Bibliography

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Black Eagle, Hms Ships of the Royal Navy 1831 ships Paddle steamers of the United Kingdom