HMS Serapis (1866)

HMS Serapis was a Euphrates-class troopship commissioned for the transport of troops to and from India. She was launched in the Thames on 26 September 1866 from the Thames Ironworks and Shipbuilding Company at Leamouth, London and was the third Royal Navy ship to bear the name. She was sold in 1894.

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

History
United Kingdom
Name: HMS Serapis
Ordered: 1865
Builder: Thames Shipbuilding Co., Leamouth, London[1]
Yard number: 12F
Launched: 26 September 1866
Commissioned: 2 October 1876 at Portsmouth
Fate: Sold 23 November 1894
General characteristics
Class and type: Euphrates-class troopship
Type: Troopship
Displacement: 6,211 tons, 4,206 tons BM[1]
Length: 360 ft (109.7 m) (overall)
Beam: 49 ft 1.5 in (15.0 m)
Depth of hold: 22 ft 4 in (6.81 m)
Installed power:
  • As built: 3,945 ihp (2,942 kW)
  • From 1869: 4,028 ihp (3,004 kW)[1]
Propulsion:
  • As built:
  • 4-cylinder horizontal compound-expansion steam engine
  • Single screw
  • From 1869:
  • 2-cylinder single-expansion steam engine
  • Single screw
Sail plan: Barque
Speed: 14 kn (26 km/h)
Armament: Three 4-pounder guns

Design

Serapis was one of five iron-hulled vessels of the Euphrates class. All five were built to a design of 360 ft overall length by about 49 ft breadth, although Malabar was very slightly smaller than the rest of the class. They had a single screw, a speed of 14 knots, one funnel, a barque-rig sail plan, three 4-pounder guns and a white-painted hull. Her bow was a "ram bow" which projected forward below the waterline.

Career

She spent all of her career on the United Kingdom to India route carrying troops, a trip that averaged 70 days. She was the only one of her class to have been completed with a compound-expansion steam engine at build, and was the first of her class to be re-engined. While her sisters replaced their single-expansion engines with compound-expansion engines, she had the opposite adaption; her 4-cylinder horizontal compound-expansion steam engine was replaced in 1869 with a 2-cylinder single-expansion steam engine.[1] The indicated power remained almost the same, and her top speed was largely unaffected, remaining at about 14 knots (26 km/h).[1]

In September 1875 she transported the Prince of Wales to India to celebrate Queen Victoria's appointment as Empress of India. In 1884 the commanding officer, Captain Arthur Dupuis, was suspended after the ship grounded off Portland.[2] In April 1886 she became part of the Indian training squadron.

Fate

She was sold to I Cohen on 23 November 1894 along with her sister ship Euphrates.[1]

Identification

All 5 "Euphrates" Class Troopships could be identified by a different coloured hull band. The Serapis had a Green hull band. [3]

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References
  1. 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.
  2. "HMS Serapis at William Loney RN website". Retrieved 23 June 2009.
  3. The Royal Navy at Malta, Volume One: The Victorian Era - 1865-1906, page 51. (ISBN 0907771432), By: Richard Ellis & Lt. Cdr. Ben Warlaw
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