Military Wiki
Redbreast-class gunboat
HMS Sparrow (1889)
HMS Sparrow
Class overview
Name: Redbreast-class gunboats
Builders: Pembroke Dockyard
Sheerness Dockyard
Devonport Dockyard
Scotts of Greenock
Operators: Naval Ensign of the United Kingdom Royal Navy
Government Ensign of the United Kingdom New Zealand Government
Merchant navy Ensign of the UK British Merchant Navy
Cost: Between £38,000 (Widgeon)
and £39,300 (Ringdove)[1]
Built: 1889
In commission: 1889–1921
Completed: 9
Lost: 1
General characteristics
Class & type: Redbreast-class first-class gunvessel
Displacement: 805 tons
Length: 165 ft (50 m)
Beam: 31 ft (9.4 m)
Draught: 11.6 ft (3.5 m) min, 13.9 ft (4.2 m) max
Installed power: 1,200 indicated horsepower
Propulsion: Triple expansion steam engine
Two boilers
Single screw
Sail plan: Barquentine-rigged
Speed: 13 kn (24 km/h)
Range: 2,500 nmi (4,600 km) at 10 kn (19 km/h)[1]
Complement: 76
Armament:

Magpie, Redbreast, Redpole & Ringdove:

Lapwing, Goldfinch, Thrush, Widgeon & Sparrow:

  • Six 4-inch/25-pounder QF guns
  • Two 3-pounder QF guns
  • Two machine guns[1]

The Redbreast class comprised nine first-class screw-driven composite gunboats built for the Royal Navy in 1889, mounting 6 guns.

Construction[]

Design[]

The Redbreast class were designed by Sir William Henry White, the Royal Navy Director of Naval Construction in 1888.[1] The hull was of composite construction, that is, iron keel, frames, stem and stern posts with wooden planking. These were the last class of composite-hulled gunboats built for the Royal Navy - the next class of gunboat, the Bramble-class gunboat of 1898, was of steel construction.

Propulsion[]

The class was fitted with a triple-expansion reciprocating steam engine developing 1,200 indicated horsepower, sufficient to propel them at 13 kn (24 km/h) through a single screw.

Sail Plan[]

The class was given a barquentine rig.

Armament[]

The first four ships were armed with six 4-inch/25-pounder (25cwt) quickfiring guns and four machine guns. The last five had an additional pair of 3-pounder quickfiring guns in place of two of the machine guns.[1]

Ships[]

Name Ship Builder Launched Fate
HMS Magpie Pembroke Dockyard 15 March 1889 Boom defence vessel in 1902. Gunboat in 1915, depot ship in October 1915. Sold to Duguid & Stewart on 29 December 1921[1]
HMS Redbreast Pembroke Dockyard 25 April 1889 Sold in 1910[1]
HMS Redpole Pembroke Dockyard 13 June 1889 Sold to Cox for breaking at Falmouth on 15 May 1906[1]
HMS Ringdove Devonport Dockyard 30 April 1889 Became a salvage vessel on 7 December 1915, renamed Melita. Sold to Ship Salvage Corporation on 22 January 1920,[1] and renamed Telima, she was broken up in the second quarter of 1926.[2]
HMS Lapwing Devonport Dockyard 12 April 1889 Sold at Bombay on 10 November 1910[1]
HMS Goldfinch Sheerness Dockyard 18 May 1889 Survey vessel in February 1902. Sold for breaking on 14 May 1907[1]
HMS Thrush Scott’s, Greenock 22 June 1889 Coastguard in 1906, cable ship in 1915, salvage vessel in 1916. Wrecked off Glenarm, Northern Ireland on 11 April 1917[1]
HMS Widgeon Pembroke Dockyard 9 August 1889 Sold to Castle for breaking at Charlton on 15 May 1906[1]
HMS Sparrow Scott’s, Greenock 26 September 1889 Transferred to New Zealand as a training ship on 10 July 1906, renamed Amokura. Sold as a coal hulk in February 1922. Broken up in 1955[1]
HMS Ringdove (1889) AWM 302255 clipped

HMS Ringdove dressed overall at Melbourne in 1896

References[]

  1. 1.00 1.01 1.02 1.03 1.04 1.05 1.06 1.07 1.08 1.09 1.10 1.11 1.12 1.13 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. 
  2. "1132764". Miramar Ship Index. http://www.miramarshipindex.org.nz. Retrieved 8 July 2009.  (subscription required)

External links[]


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