HMS ''Investigator'' was a wooden paddle survey vessel of the

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the naval warfare force of the United Kingdom. It is a component of His Majesty's Naval Service, and its officers hold their commissions from the King of the United Kingdom, King. Although warships were used by Kingdom ...

, built to carry out an expedition on the Gabon River in Africa. ''Investigator'' was laid down on 15 June 1861 at

Deptford Deptford is an area on the south bank of the River Thames in southeast London, in the Royal Borough of Greenwich and London Borough of Lewisham. It is named after a Ford (crossing), ford of the River Ravensbourne. From the mid 16th century ...

and was launched on 16 November 1861. She was initially commanded by Lieutenant Benjamin Langlois Lefroy off the west coast of Africa. On 1 September 1863, Lieutenant Commander William Digby Dolben of ''Investigator'' drowned while crossing the bar of Lagos when the gig, a four-oar

whaler A whaler or whaling ship is a specialized vessel, designed or adapted for whaling: the catching or processing of whales. Terminology The term ''whaler'' is mostly historic. A handful of nations continue with industrial whaling, and one, Jap ...

, was swamped.''Anglo-African'' 3 September 1863
/ref> He was succeeded by Lt Charles Knowles, later Vice Admiral Sir Charles Knowles, 4th baronet whose expedition August–October 1864 up the Niger was published in the Royal Geographical Society Journal in January 1865. He was succeeded by George Truman Morrell in 1865, under whose command she sailed up the

River Niger The Niger River ( ; ) is the main river of West Africa, extending about . Its drainage basin is in area. Its source is in the Guinea Highlands in south-eastern Guinea near the Sierra Leone border. It runs in a crescent shape through Mali, Nige ...

, making contact with local tribes. In 1867, she ran aground in the

and came under attack from hostile inhabitants, who were armed with cannon. Two of her crew were killed. She was refloated after 11 days and taken in to Lagos in a severely damaged condition. ''Investigator'' was sold to the local authorities at Lagos in 1869.

References

* *Lyon, David and Winfield, Rif, The Sail and Steam Navy List, All the Ships of the Royal Navy 1815–1889, pub Chatham, 2004, Survey vessels of the Royal Navy 1861 ships Maritime incidents in 1867 {{UK-mil-ship-stub