View source for Camelion-class sloop

{{Use dmy dates|date=March 2017}}
{{Use British English|date=March 2017}}
{{one source|date=February 2013}}
{|{{Infobox ship begin}}
{{Infobox ship image
|Ship image=HMS Rinaldo (1860).JPG
|Ship caption=HMS ''Rinaldo''
}}
{{Infobox ship class overview
|Name=''Camelion'' class
|Builders=
|Operators=*{{navy|United Kingdom}}
*{{navy|Portugal|1868}}
|Class before=
|Class after=
|Subclasses=
|Cost=
|Built range=1860–1866 
|In service range=
|In commission range=
|Total ships building=
|Total ships planned=16
|Total ships completed=8
|Total ships cancelled=8
|Total ships active=
|Total ships laid up=
|Total ships lost=
|Total ships retired=
|Total ships preserved=
}}
{{Infobox ship characteristics
|Hide header=
|Header caption=
|Ship displacement=1,365 tons
|Ship length={{convert|185|ft|m|abbr=on}} 
|Ship beam={{convert|33|ft|m|abbr=on}} 
|Ship draught={{convert|14|ft|8|in|m|abbr=on}} 
|Ship power={{convert|200|hp|abbr=on}}
|Ship propulsion=*2-cylinder horizontal single-expansion steam engine<ref group=Note>Except ''Perseus'' & ''Reindeer'' which had single trunk steam engines.</ref>
*Single screw
|Ship sail plan=[[Barque]]-rigged
|Ship speed= {{convert|9|kn|lk=in}} 
|Ship range=
|Ship endurance=
|Ship boats=
|Ship capacity=
|Ship complement=180
|Ship armament=*5 × [[RBL 40 pounder Armstrong gun|40-pounder breech-loading guns]]
*12 × 32-pounder muzzle-loading guns<ref group=Note>''Reindeer'' was completed with one 110-pounder and five 64-pounders.</ref>
|Ship armour=
|Ship aircraft=
|Ship notes=
}}
|}
The '''''Camelion'' class''' was a class of screw-driven [[Sloop-of-war|sloops]] of wood construction, designed by Isaac Watts and operated by the [[Royal Navy]]. Eight ships of the class were built from 1858 to 1866 with another eight cancelled. They were initially rated as second-class sloops, but were later reclassified as [[corvette]]s.

==Design==
The class was designed by Issac Watts as second-class [[Sloop-of-war|sloops]] of 17 guns, and were a lengthened version of the {{sclass|Cruizer|sloop|4}}.<ref name=RW/>

===Construction===
Built of a traditional wood structure, they were {{convert|185|ft|m}} long at the gundeck, {{convert|33|ft|m}} in [[Beam (nautical)|beam]] and [[Displacement (ship)|displaced]] 1,365 tons. A [[barque]] rig was fitted to allow easy sail handling with a relatively small crew of 180.<ref name=RW/>

===Propulsion===
They were fitted with a two-cylinder horizontal single-expansion steam engine (although ''Perseus'' and ''Reindeer'' received single trunk steam engines) driving a single screw. These engines generated 200 [[Horsepower#Nominal horsepower|nominal horsepower]], giving a speed of approximately {{convert|9|kn|lk=in}}.<ref name=RW/>

===Armament===
They were armed with five 40-pounder breech-loading guns and twelve 32-pounder muzzle-loading smoothbore guns, although ''Reindeer'' was completed with a single 110-pounder and five 64-pounder guns.<ref name=RW>Winfield p.216</ref>

== Ships ==
The first two vessels were ordered on 3 April 1854, although neither was laid down for several years. Another three were ordered on 1 April 1857 and a further three on 27 March 1858.  The final eight ships were ordered in two batches on 5 March 1860 and 25 March 1861, but were either cancelled, or in the case of ''Circassian'' and ''Trent'', completed as ironclad sloops under new names.

{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:left"
!Name||Ship Builder||Laid down||Launched||Completed||Fate
|-
|{{HMS|Camelion|1860|2}}||[[Deptford Dockyard]]||8 November 1858||23 February 1860||30 July 1861||Sold for breaking up 1883
|-
|{{HMS|Pelican|1860|2}}||[[Pembroke Dockyard]]||16 June 1859||19 July 1860||25 September 1861||Sold in February 1867 as mercantile ''Hawk'', then resold to the [[Portuguese Navy]] and renamed ''Infanta Dom Henrique''
|-
|{{HMS|Rinaldo|1860|2}}||[[Portsmouth Dockyard]]||1 March 1858||26 March 1860||8 June 1861||Sold for breaking up April 1884
|-
|{{HMS|Zebra|1860|2}}||Deptford Dockyard||4 July 1859||13 November 1860||23 May 1861||Sold in the Far East for breaking up  20 August 1873
|-
|{{HMS|Perseus|1861|2}}||Pembroke Dockyard||20 July 1860||21 August 1861||September 1862||Became training ship in 1886, renamed ''Defiance II'' in March 1904, sold for breaking up 26 June 1931
|-
|{{HMS|Chanticleer|1861|2}}||Portsmouth Dockyard||2 February 1860||9 February 1861||December 1861||02.10.1862 paddle ship Iona of David Hutcheson & Co wrecked off Gourock following a collision with the newly launched Chanticleer.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.acumfaegovan.com/shipbuilding/ships/thomsonships.php|title=J & G Thomson Ships|work=acumfaegovan.com|access-date=25 October 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141023010131/http://www.acumfaegovan.com/shipbuilding/ships/thomsonships.php|archive-date=23 October 2014|url-status=dead}}</ref><br>
April 1866, accompanied [[Lord John Hervey]] and [[Henry Strutt, 2nd Baron Belper]] on a trip to [[Astakos]] to pay ransom for their captured friend Mr Coore<ref name="Hervey kidnap">{{cite news |title=Lord John Hervey Amongst the Philistines |url=https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/8838564 |issue=4 April 1866 |publisher=The Mercury, Hobart |date=1866}}</ref><br>  23 January 1875: Sold for breaking up.
|-
|{{HMS|Reindeer|1866|2}}||[[Chatham Dockyard]]||1 May 1860<ref group=Note>Work was suspended in 1862 but subsequently restarted in May 1863</ref>||29 March 1866||October 1866||Sold for breaking up 28 August 1873
|-
|{{HMS|Rattler|1862|2}}||Deptford Dockyard||28 August 1860||18 March 1862||July 1862||Wrecked off Japan 24 September 1868
|-
|''Harlequin''||Portsmouth Dockyard||13 February 1861|| || ||Cancelled 16 December 1864
|-
|''Tees''||Chatham Dockyard||February 1861|| || ||Cancelled on 12 December 1863
|-
|''Sappho''||Deptford Dockyard||1 May 1861|| || ||Cancelled on 12 December 1863
|-
|''Trent''||Pembroke Dockyard||3 September 1861|| || ||Completed as the ironclad sloop {{HMS|Research|1863|6}}
|-
|''Circassian''||Deptford Dockyard||5 May 1862|| || ||Completed as the ironclad sloop {{HMS|Enterprise|1864|6}}
|-
|''Diligence''||Chatham Dockyard||1862|| || ||Cancelled on 12 December 1863
|-
|''Imogene''||Portsmouth Dockyard|| || || ||Cancelled on 12 December 1863
|-
|''Success''||Pembroke Dockyard|| || || ||Cancelled on 12 December 1863
|}

==Notes==
{{Reflist|group=Note}}

== References ==
===Citations===
{{reflist}}
===Bibliography===
*{{Cite Colledge2006}}
*{{winfield}}

==External links==
{{Commonscat|Camelion class sloop}}
*[http://www.battleships-cruisers.co.uk/cruisers.htm Royal Navy cruisers at www.battleships-cruisers.co.uk]

{{Camelion class sloop}}

[[Category:Camelion-class sloops| ]]
[[Category:Ship classes of the Royal Navy]]
[[Category:Sloop classes]]
[[Category:Victorian-era sloops of the United Kingdom| Camelion]]