HMS ''Jackal'' (alternatively spelled ''Jackall'') was a ''Jackal''-class second-class iron paddle gunvessel 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 ...

Design

Orders for ''Jackal'' and her sister were placed on 16 January 1844. They were designed by the builder, Robert Napier and Sons and approved on 17 April 1844 by the

Surveyor of the Navy The Surveyor of the Navy, originally known as Surveyor and Rigger of the Navy, held overall responsibility for the design of British warships from 1745. He was a principal commissioner and member of the Navy Board from the inauguration of tha ...

, Sir William Symonds. ''Jackal'' was fitted with a Napier two-cylinder side-lever steam engine driving side paddles. The engine was rated at 150

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 ...

and on trials developed . She was provided with two

gaff-rig Gaff rig is a sailing rig (configuration of sails, mast and stays) in which the sail is four-cornered, fore-and-aft rigged, controlled at its peak and, usually, its entire head by a spar (pole) called the ''gaff''. Because of the size and sh ...

ged masts, making her a

schooner A schooner ( ) is a type of sailing ship, sailing vessel defined by its Rig (sailing), rig: fore-and-aft rigged on all of two or more Mast (sailing), masts and, in the case of a two-masted schooner, the foremast generally being shorter than t ...

. Her armament consisted of a single 18-pounder (22 cwt) carronade on a pivot mounting and two 24-pounder (13cwt) carronades.

Construction

Both ships were built at Napier's

Govan Govan ( ; Cumbric: ''Gwovan''; Scots language, Scots: ''Gouan''; Scottish Gaelic: ''Baile a' Ghobhainn'') is a district, parish, and former burgh now part of southwest Glasgow, Scotland. It is situated west of Glasgow city centre, on the sout ...

yard. ''Jackall'' was built as yard number 8, and ''Lizard'' as number 9. ''Jackall'' was launched on 28 November 1844, and ''Lizard'' followed exactly a month later. After fitting out, ''Jackall''s first commissioning took place on 22 September 1845.

Service

After commissioning at Plymouth in 1846, ''Jackall'' served in the Mediterranean. In February 1847, she ran aground and was damaged at

Lisbon Lisbon ( ; ) is the capital and largest city of Portugal, with an estimated population of 567,131, as of 2023, within its administrative limits and 3,028,000 within the Lisbon Metropolitan Area, metropolis, as of 2025. Lisbon is mainlan ...

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. By 1851 she was a store ship at

Ascension Island Ascension Island is an isolated volcanic island, 7°56′ south of the Equator in the Atlantic Ocean, South Atlantic Ocean. It is about from the coast of Africa and from the coast of South America. It is governed as part of the British Overs ...

. She paid off at Sheerness in May 1859 and was recommissioned in December of the same year. She was again paid off at Keyham, Devon on 8 February 1864, recommissioned the next day. By 1864 she was employed on fishery protection duties off the west coast of Scotland. On 11 April 1872, she ran aground at the mouth of the

River Aray This list of rivers in Scotland is organised geographically, taken anti-clockwise, from Berwick-upon-Tweed. Tributaries are listed down the page in an upstream direction. (L) indicates a left-bank tributary and (R) indicates a right-bank tribu ...

. She was refloated and anchored in Inveraray Bay. In early 1883 ''Jackal'' landed a detachment of Royal Marines at Meanish Pier in Glendale, Skye to assist police in arresting participants in the Crofters' War, a dispute between landowners and tenants over increases to rents and evictions implemented to clear land for large-scale farming operations.

Fate

''Jackal'' was sold for breaking up in November 1887.

Notes

References

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Jackal (1844), HMS Ships built on the River Clyde 1844 ships Victorian-era gunboats of the United Kingdom Gunvessels of the Royal Navy Maritime incidents in February 1847 Maritime incidents in April 1872