HMS Forward (1855)

For other ships of the same name, see HMS Forward.

A sister ship of the Albacore class, HMS Raven

HMS Forward was an Albacore class wooden screw gunboat launched in 1855 and sold in 1869. It was then captured by Mexican pirates and destroyed by USS Mohican in the Battle of Boca Teacapan.

The ship was built by W & H Pitcher at Northfleet and launched on 8 December 1855. It was fitted for service in British Columbia in 1859 and then sold off to Hill & Ready in Esquimault. As a commercial vessel, it went south to Mexico for oysters and was then seized near Mazatlan by a descendant of Columbus, Plácido Vega y Daza. Crewed by Mexicans, it preyed on shipping and coastal settlements in the Gulf of California. It was considered a pirate by the US Navy which pursued it with USS Mohican and destroyed it in the Battle of Boca Teacapan in 1870.

References

Sources

• Colledge, J. J.; Warlow, Ben (2006) [1969]. Ships of the Royal Navy: The Complete Record of all Fighting Ships of the Royal Navy (Rev. ed.). London: Chatham Publishing. ISBN 978-1-86176-281-8. OCLC 67375475. 
• Winfield, Rif; Lyon, David (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. OCLC 52620555.