HMS Nymphe (1866)

HMS Nymphe was an Amazon-class sloop, of the Royal Navy, built at the Deptford Dockyard and launched on 24 November 1866.[3] She served in the East Indies and Australia, and was sold in 1884.

For other ships with the same name, see HMS Nymphe.

HMS Nymphe's sister-ship, HMS Dryad
History
Name:	HMS Nymphe
Builder:	Deptford Dockyard
Laid down:	1865[1]
Launched:	24 November 1866
Commissioned:	1867
Fate:	Sold in December 1884.
General characteristics
Type:	Screw Sloop
Displacement:	1,574 tons
Length:	187 ft (57 m)
Beam:	36 ft (11 m)
Draught:	17 ft (5.2 m)[2]
Installed power:	300 nhp[2] 1,464 ihp (1,092 kW)[1]
Propulsion:	Three-cylinder horizontal single-expansion steam engine Single screw
Sail plan:	Barque-rigged
Speed:	13 knots (24 km/h)
Complement:	150 (170 after armament converted)
Armament:	As built: 2 × 7-inch (6½-ton) muzzle-loading rifled guns 2 × 64-pounder muzzle-loading rifled guns After conversion: 9 × 64-pounder muzzle-loading rifled guns[1]

Design

Designed by Edward Reed,[1] the Royal Navy Director of Naval Construction, the hull was built of oak, with teak planking and fir decks, and she was equipped with a ram bow.[1]

Propulsion

Propulsion was provided by a three-cylinder horizontal single-expansion steam engine by Maudslay, Sons & Field driving a single 15 ft (4.6 m) screw.[1]

Sail Plan

All the ships of the class were built with a barque rig.[1]

Armament

The class was designed with two 7-inch (180 mm), 6½-ton muzzle-loading rifled guns mounted on slides on centre-line pivots, and two 64-pounder muzzle-loading rifled guns on broadside trucks. Dryad, Nymphe and Vestal were rearmed in the early 1870s with an armament of nine 64-pounder muzzle-loading rifled guns, four each side and a centre-line pivot mount at the bow.[1]

History

She initially commenced service on the East Indies Station in 1867, before returning to England in 1871 for paying off. Nymphe was refitted, re-armed and placed in reserve. She started service on the Australia Station in March 1875.[3] She left the Australia Station in August 1878, returned to England and was paid off in 1879.

Fate

She was sold in December 1884 for £3745.[3]

Citations

1. Winfield (2004) p. 290
2. "Cruisers at Battleships-Cruisers website". Retrieved 17 September 2008.
3. Bastock, p. 64.

References

• Bastock, John (1988), Ships on the Australia Station, Child & Associates Publishing Pty Ltd; Frenchs Forest, Australia. ISBN 0-86777-348-0
• Winfield, R.; Lyon, D. (2004). The Sail and Steam Navy List: All the Ships of the Royal Navy 1815–1889. London: Chatham Publishing. ISBN 978-1-86176-032-6.