HMS ''Phoenix'' was a 6-gun steam paddle 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 in a dry dock at Chatham in 1832. She was reclassified as a second-class paddle sloop before being rebuilt as a 10-gun screw sloop in 1844–45. She was fitted as an Arctic storeship in 1851 and sold for breaking in 1864.

Design

The vessel was designed by

Robert Seppings Sir Robert Seppings, FRS (11 December 176725 April 1840) was an English naval architect. His experiments with diagonal trusses in the construction of ships led to his appointment as Surveyor of the Navy in 1813, a position he held until 1835. ...

, and built in a drydock at

Chatham Dockyard Chatham Dockyard was a Royal Navy Dockyard located on the River Medway in Kent. Established in Chatham, Kent, Chatham in the mid-16th century, the dockyard subsequently expanded into neighbouring Gillingham, Kent, Gillingham; at its most extens ...

. She was engined by

Maudslay, Sons and Field Maudslay, Sons and Field was an engineering company based in Lambeth Lambeth () is a district in South London, England, which today also gives its name to the (much larger) London Borough of Lambeth. Lambeth itself was an ancient parish in ...

with a two-cylinder side lever

steam engine A steam engine is a heat engine that performs Work (physics), mechanical work using steam as its working fluid. The steam engine uses the force produced by steam pressure to push a piston back and forth inside a Cylinder (locomotive), cyl ...

developing 220

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 ...

. She was armed with a single 10-inch (84cwt) pivot-mounted gun, an 8-inch (52cwt) pivot-mounted gun and four 32-pounder (17cwt)

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 last quarter of the 18th century to the mid-19th cen ...

s. On 22 March 1831, before the keel was laid down, the ship was renamed ''Charon'', but the name ''Phoenix'' was restored less than a fortnight later.Winfield (2004) p.155-156

Service as a paddle sloop

The ''Phoenix'' was commissioned on 6 November 1833 under Commander Robert Oliver, for the Channel Fleet. From 9 September 1835 to June 1838 she was commanded by Commander William Honyman Henderson, including service off coast of Spain during the

First Carlist War The First Carlist War was a civil war in Spain from 1833 to 1840, the first of three Carlist Wars. It was fought between two factions over the succession to the throne and the nature of the Monarchy of Spain, Spanish monarchy: the conservative a ...

. Captain Lord John Hay commanded her on the same duty from 19 November 1836 to 1838. From July 1838 she was under Commander Anthony W. Milward and from 1839 she spent her life in the Mediterranean, first under Commander

Robert Spencer Robinson Admiral Sir Robert Spencer Robinson, (6 January 1809 – 27 July 1889) was a British naval officer, who served as two five-year terms as Controller of the Navy from February 1861 to February 1871, and was therefore responsible for the procureme ...

from 20 July 1839, and then, from 1 March 1840, under Commander

Robert Fanshawe Stopford Admiral Robert Fanshawe Stopford (19 December 1811 – 4 January 1891) was a Royal Navy officer who went on to be Commander-in-Chief, Channel Squadron. Naval career Born the son of Admiral Sir Robert Stopford, Stopford was appointed a Lieutena ...

. Stopford was in command when she took part in the Bombardment of Acre on 3 November 1840. Subsequently, she was commanded from 26 December 1840 by Commander John Richardson until she paid off on 1 January 1842.

Conversion to screw sloop

In April 1844 ''Phoenix'' was converted to a screw sloop by Curling & Young's at

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 ...

to a design by Oliver Lang. She received a John Penn & Son 260-

two-cylinder vertical single-expansion steam engine driving a screw propeller. The conversion was finished by February 1845, and the developed by her new engine, combined with the more efficient screw propulsion, gave her a speed under steam of about . A further benefit of screw propulsion was the loss of the large paddle boxes, which allowed more of her deck to be used for guns; a further four carronades were fitted, making her a 10-gun ship. She was re-docked at Deptford on 1 April 1844 to be fitted with "Mr Steinman's patent submarine propeller". The conversion from paddle propulsion to screw propulsion in 1843 cost £18,663. The redundant paddle engine from ''Phoenix'' was re-used in 1844 in HMS ''Firefly''.Winfield (2004) p.163

Service as a screw sloop

Between 1845 and 1847 she served on the Home Station and then the Mediterranean Station under the command of Commander James Dennis. On 6 February 1846 she was docked at Woolwich to have a false keel fitted to reduce her excessive rolling motion. From 1849 Commander George WodehouseFor more on George Wodehouse see: took her to the West coast of Africa, and she served there under Commander Thomas Lysaght from 1850 until she paid off on 15 August 1851. Fitted for Arctic service, she commissioned at Deptford under Captain Edward Inglefield in February 1853 with experienced Arctic captain

Donald Manson Donald Manson (c. 1792–1880) was an ice master and whaling captain in the northern reaches of the Arctic Ocean in the 19th century. He served on 42 whaling voyages as of 1854, and was first mate of the ''Sophia'' during the First Grinnell Expe ...

as ice-master, and was used to supply Sir

Edward Belcher Sir Edward Belcher (27 February 1799 – 18 March 1877) was a British naval officer, hydrographer, and explorer. Born in Nova Scotia, he was the great-grandson of Jonathan Belcher, who served as a colonial governor of Massachusetts, New ...

's expedition at

Beechey Island Beechey Island () is an island located in the Arctic Archipelago of Nunavut, Canada, in Wellington Channel. It is separated from the southwest corner of Devon Island by Barrow Strait. Other features include Wellington Channel, Erebus Harbour, ...

. Inglefield carried the news of the discovery of the

Northwest Passage The Northwest Passage (NWP) is the sea lane between the Atlantic and Pacific oceans through the Arctic Ocean, near the northern coast of North America via waterways through the Arctic Archipelago of Canada. The eastern route along the Arctic ...

Robert McClure Vice-Admiral Sir Robert John Le Mesurier McClure (28 January 1807 – 17 October 1873) was an Irish explorer who explored the Arctic. In 1854 he traversed the Northwest Passage by boat and sledge, and was the first to circumnavigate the ...

back to England in October 1853. Inglefield remained in command when she recommissioned at Woolwich on 21 February 1854, and she returned to Beechey Island to re-supply Belcher. Inglefield brought home the ship's company of HMS ''Investigator'', which had become trapped in the ice. As an Arctic storeship, she was ideal for employment in the Russian Arctic during the Russian War of 1853–1856. She was commanded by Captain John Hayes, including service in the

White Sea The White Sea (; Karelian language, Karelian and ; ) is a southern inlet of the Barents Sea located on the northwest coast of Russia. It is surrounded by Karelia to the west, the Kola Peninsula to the north, and the Kanin Peninsula to the nort ...

, from 10 February 1855 until she paid off 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 ...

Fate

On 26 January 1864 ''Phoenix'' was sold to Castle for breaking up at Charlton.

Notes

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Phoenix (1832) 1832 ships Ships built in Chatham Sloops of the Royal Navy Victorian-era sloops of the United Kingdom Paddle sloops of the Royal Navy