HMS ''Imogene'' was a

sixth rate In the rating system of the Royal Navy used to categorise sailing warships, a sixth-rate was the designation for small warships mounting between 20 and 28 carriage-mounted guns on a single deck, sometimes with smaller guns on the upper works a ...

of 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 ...

, built by

Pembroke Dockyard Pembroke Dockyard, originally called Pater Yard, is a former Royal Navy Dockyard in Pembroke Dock, Pembrokeshire, Wales. History It was founded in 1814, although not formally authorized until the Prince Regent signed the necessary Order in C ...

and launched on 24 June 1831. She served in the East Indies, China and South America, but was accidentally burnt while out of commission on 27 September 1840.

Design and construction

s, which placed them in a category of ships with more than 24 but less than 36 guns, and commanded by an officer of the rank of

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...

. These ships were constructed of wood in traditional shipbuilding fashion, although iron braces and trussed were used for increased longitudinal strength. They were armed with a traditional arrangement of broadside, smoothbore muzzle-loading guns, and in common with contemporary Royal Navy practice for small ships, these guns were

carronade A carronade is a short, smoothbore, cast-iron cannon which was used by the Royal Navy. It was first produced by the Carron Company, an ironworks in Falkirk, Scotland, and was used from the mid-18th century to the mid-19th century. Its main fu ...

s (with the exception of a pair of small long guns on the focsle as chasers). Twenty 32-pounder carronades were mounted on the upper deck and a further six 18-pounder carronades were placed on the quarterdeck. The sail plan was an entirely conventional

ship rig A full-rigged ship or fully rigged ship is a sailing vessel's sail plan with three or more masts, all of them square-rigged. A full-rigged ship is said to have a ship rig or be ship-rigged. Such vessels also have each mast stepped in three se ...

, and they were complemented with 175 men and boys.

Operational service

After commissioning on 1 October 1831 for the East Indies, she sailed via the Cape of Good Hope for Calcutta. In October 1832 she sailed from Madras for a cruise to New South Wales, visiting the Swan River, Hobart and Sydney. In May 1833 she delivered

James Busby James Busby (7 February 1802 – 15 July 1871) was the British Resident in New Zealand from 1833 to 1840. He was involved in drafting the 1835 Declaration of the Independence of New Zealand and the 1840 Treaty of Waitangi. As British Resident, ...

, the

British Resident A resident minister, or resident for short, is a government official required to take up permanent residence in another country. A representative of his government, he officially has diplomatic functions which are often seen as a form of ind ...

to the

Bay of Islands The Bay of Islands is an area on the east coast of the Far North District of the North Island of New Zealand. It is one of the most popular fishing, sailing and tourist destinations in the country, and has been renowned internationally for it ...

, New Zealand, and arriving back in India on 11 October 1833. Between November 1833 and August 1834 she visited Ceylon, Mauritius, Malacca and Singapore before being sent to China. Under the command of Captain Price Blackwood she was in action against the Bogue forts at the mouth of the

Pearl River The Pearl River, also known by its Chinese name Zhujiang or Zhu Jiang in Mandarin pinyin or Chu Kiang and formerly often known as the , is an extensive river system in southern China. The name "Pearl River" is also often used as a catch-all ...

on 7 September 1834 in company with ''Andromache'' and ''Louisa''. Although five ports, including Canton, had been opened to foreigners earlier the same year, local Chinese forces tried to prevent the passage of the Royal Navy ships. After a couple of days of intermittent action the Chinese forts were silenced at the cost of 2 killed and 7 wounded, and after local officials had disavowed the military action, the ships proceeded to Whampoa.Clowes pp. 273–274 Returning to England via Manilla and the Cape of Good Hope in 1834 and 1835, she was recommissioned at Portsmouth on 11 June 1836. From June 1836 until December 1839 she served on the south-east coast of America under the command of Captain (later Admiral) Henry William Bruce. She was out of commission at Plymouth from January 1840.

Fate

Dockyard Fire, 1840, by Thomas Lyde Hornbrook LLR NELMS A 141-001

''Imogene'' was accidentally burnt at Plymouth on 27 September 1840 while

in ordinary ''In ordinary'' is an English phrase with multiple meanings. In relation to the Royal Household, it indicates that a position is a permanent one. In naval matters, vessels "in ordinary" (from the 17th century) are those out of service for repair ...

. Devonport dockyard was the scene of large scale fire which started in the North Dock. and ''Imogene'' were completely gutted, the fire spread to whose fire was successfully put out, and to nearby buildings and equipment. Estimates for the damage were put at £150,000 in then money, and would have totalled £500,000 had the fire not been contained.

Citations

References

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External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Imogene (1831) 1831 ships Ships built in Pembroke Dock Victorian-era corvettes of the United Kingdom Corvettes of the Royal Navy Maritime incidents in September 1840