HMS ''Rattler'' was a 9-gun steam screw sloop 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 ...

, and one of the first British warships to be completed with screw propulsion. She was originally ordered as a paddle wheel 4-gun steam vessel (Steam Vessel Second Class – SV2) from Sheerness Dockyard on 12 March 1841. She was reordered on 24 February 1842 as a propeller type 9-gun (867-ton BM type) sloop from HM Royal Dockyard, Sheerness, as a new vessel.

William Symonds Sir William Symonds CB FRS (24 September 1782 – 30 March 1856, aboard the French steamship ''Nil'', Strait of Bonifacio, Sardinia)bm) and she displaced 1,112 tons. After launching, she was towed to East India Dock at Maudslay's yard to have her machinery installed. She was equipped with two fire tube rectangular boilers. Her engine was a Maudslay, Son & Field four-cylinder vertical single-expansion steam engine with double cylinders of with a working stroke of , rated at 200 nhp. Once her machinery was installed she was moved to Woolwich Dockyard where she was coppered. Her armament consisted of either a single 8-inch (60 cwt) muzzle loading smooth bore (MLSB) 8-foot 10-inch shell gun or a single 68-pounder (65 cwt) MLSB 10-foot solid shot gun on a pivot mount and eight Blomefeld 32-pounder (25cwt) MLSB solid shot guns (bored out 18-pounders) on broadside trucks.

Trials

Her propeller trials commenced on 30 October 1843. During her full power steam trials her engine generated for a speed of . ''Rattler'' was completed for sea on 30 January 1845 at a first cost of machinery - £9,400 and fitting of £17,413.

Service history

Her first commission was on 12 December 1844 at Woolwich under Commander Henry Smith, RN (promoted to Captain on 27 June 1846). She was assigned to Portsmouth. On 3 April 1845 the Admiralty held a demonstration on the power of the screw propeller over the paddle wheel. ''Rattler'' was pitted against her near sister . Both vessels had the same basic hull form, though ''Rattler'' was just over 12 feet longer. Both had 200 NHP engines installed. The sea was perfectly calm. ''Rattler'' had a three mast rig whereas ''Alecto'' only had two masts. With the engines of both vessels working ''Rattler'' developed whereas ''Alecto'' only reached . The result had ''Rattler'' towing ''Alecto'' astern at . The results were only to demonstrate to skeptics the soundness of the Admiralty's decision to use the propeller over the paddle wheel. This demonstration would be repeated two more times by 1849. It is this which is commemorated to this day in

Portsmouth Historic Dockyard Portsmouth Historic Dockyard is an area of HM Naval Base Portsmouth which is open to the public; it contains several historic buildings and ships. It is managed by the National Museum of the Royal Navy as an umbrella organization representing ...

. A large number of propellers were also tested on ''Rattler'' during this period to find the most effective screw design. On 17 May 1845 ''Rattler'' and steamers HMS ''Monkey'' and HMS ''Blazer'' towed and toward

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but abandoned the tow north-west of Stromness. ''Rattler'' returned to Woolwich on 10 June. In June 1845 ''Rattler'' served with the 1845 Experimental Squadron. On 29 August 1846, while serving with the

Squadron of Evolution The Squadron of Evolution—sometimes referred to as the "White Squadron" or the "ABCD ships" after the first four— was a transitional unit in the United States Navy during the late 19th century. It was probably inspired by the French "Escadre ...

, she ran aground at

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; she was refloated. She departed the Squadron in November 1846 for

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, from which she towed . On 17 November 1846 her new commander was Commander Richard Moorman, RN and transferred to the South American Station. On 13 September 1847 she was paid off at Woolwich.

West Coast of Africa

Commander Arthur Cumming commanded ''Rattler'' from 12 February 1849 to 15 April 1851. During this time she was stationed off the west coast of Africa. On 30 October 1849 she captured the Brazilian

slave Slavery is the ownership of a person as property, especially in regards to their labour. Slavery typically involves compulsory work, with the slave's location of work and residence dictated by the party that holds them in bondage. Enslavemen ...

brigantine A brigantine is a two-masted sailing vessel with a fully square-rigged foremast and at least two sails on the main mast: a square topsail and a gaff sail mainsail (behind the mast). The main mast is the second and taller of the two masts. Ol ...

''Alepide''. She paid off at Woolwich on 15 April 1851.

East Indies Station

Storming of Rangoon - ILN 1852-0626-0008

On 28 August 1851 she was commissioned for service on the East Indies Station under Commander Arthur Mellersh, RN at Woolwich. While on station the Second Burmese war (10 January 1852 to 30 June 1853) erupted. She became the Flagship of Rear-Admiral Charles John Austen, RN. In March 1853, ''Rattler'' struck a sunken rock at

Amoy Xiamen,), also known as Amoy ( ; from the Zhangzhou Hokkien pronunciation, zh, c=, s=, t=, p=, poj=Ē͘-mûi, historically romanized as Amoy, is a sub-provincial city in southeastern Fujian, People's Republic of China, beside the Taiwan Stra ...

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...

and was severely damaged. She was beached at Tae-tan (today's Dadan Island, Lieyu Township, Kinmen County, Fujian, Republic of China (Taiwan)) for repairs. She was in action against junks near Namguan on 11 May 1853. On 5 April 1855 she was under Commander William Abdy Gellows, RN for service in China and the East Indies. On 4 August 1855, ''Rattler'', , and the fought a naval battle near Tai O village,

Lantau Lantau Island (also Lantao Island, Lan Tao or Lan Tau) is the largest island in Hong Kong, located west of Hong Kong Island and the Kowloon Peninsula, and is part of the New Territories. Administratively, most of Lantau Island is part of the ...

, with Chinese pirates. She was ordered to return to Home Waters in early 1856.

Fate

''Rattler'' returned to Home Waters, paying off at Woolwich on 17 May 1856. She was broken at Woolwich under contract with Mr Fulcher from 22 July to 26 November 1856.

Notes

References

External links

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Detailed career including ''Times'' excerpts

{{DEFAULTSORT:Rattler (1843) Sloops of the Royal Navy Steamships of the United Kingdom Experimental ships Victorian-era sloops of the United Kingdom Ships built in Sheerness 1843 ships Maritime incidents in August 1846 Maritime incidents in March 1853 Franklin's lost expedition