View source for Hydra-class sloop

{{Use dmy dates|date=June 2017}}
{{Use British English|date=June 2017}}
{|{{Infobox ship begin
}}
{{Infobox ship image
| Ship image = Engelska Krono Augfartyet Hecla efter affaren wid Ekenas d.27 May 1854 RMG PY0896.jpg
| Ship caption = ''Hecla'' in 1854
}}
{{Infobox ship class overview
| Name = ''Hydra''-class steam sloop
| Builders = [[Chatham Dockyard]]
| Operators = {{Navy|United Kingdom}}
| Class before = {{HMS|Gorgon|1837|6}}
| Class after = [[Merlin-class sloop (1838)|''Merlin''-class sloop]]
| Subclasses = 
| Cost = £37,239<ref group=Note>A total cost accounting for inflation of approximately £{{formatnum:{{Inflation|UK|37239|1838|r=-2}}}} in today's money.</ref>
| Built range = 1837–1839
| In service range = 
| In commission range = 1838–1870
| Total ships completed = 3
| Total ships retired = 3
}}
{{Infobox ship characteristics
| Hide header = 
| Header caption = <ref name=RW>Winfield (2004), p.159.</ref>
| Ship class = 
| Ship type = *Second-class steam vessel
*(later second class sloop)
| Ship displacement = {{Convert|1096|LT|t|0|lk=on}}
| Ship tons burthen = 814 <small>91/94</small> tons [[Builder's Old Measurement|bm]]
| Ship length = *{{Convert|165|ft|0|in|m|abbr=on|1}} (gundeck)
*{{Convert|143|ft|7+1/4|in|m|abbr=on|1}} (keel)
| Ship beam = {{Convert|32|ft|10|in|m|abbr=on|1}}
| Ship height = 
| Ship draught = *{{Convert|12|ft|1|in|m|abbr=on|1}} (forward)
*{{Convert|13|ft|0|in|m|abbr=on|1}} (aft)
| Ship hold depth = {{Convert|20|ft|4|in|m|abbr=on|1}}
| Ship power = *''Hydra'': 220 [[nominal horsepower|nhp]]
*''Hecla'' & ''Hecate'': 240 nhp
| Ship propulsion = *''Hydra'':
*[[Boulton and Watt]] [[Marine steam engine#Side-lever|side-lever steam engine]]
*[[Fire-tube boiler|Iron tubular boilers]]
*Side paddles
*''Hecla'' & ''Hecate'':
*Sinclair & Scott side-lever steam engine
*Iron tubular boilers
*Side paddles
| Ship sail plan = [[Brig]] rig
| Ship speed = {{Convert|9|kn|km/h}} (under steam)
| Ship range = 
| Ship endurance = 
| Ship complement = 135
| Ship armament = *2 × 32-pounder (50 cwt) guns
*2 × [[ML 8 inch shell gun|8-inch (204 mm) 65 cwt pivot guns]]
| Ship armour = 
| Ship notes = 
}}
|}
The '''''Hydra'' class''' were a [[Ship class|class]] of three [[Paddle steamer|paddlewheel]] [[steam sloop]]s of the British [[Royal Navy]]. They saw active service variously in the Baltic during the [[Crimean War]], against Ottoman forces in Syria and against slavers in West Africa.  Latterly, ''Hydra'' and ''Hecate'' were used for surveys in the Mediterranean, the Pacific, Australia and the Atlantic, and thus their names were re-used for the {{sclass|Hecla|survey vessel}}s in the late 20th century. Two of the classes were broken up after more than twenty-five years of service, and ''Hecla'' was sold for commercial use in 1863.

==Design==
The ships were designed by [[Sir William Symonds]] and were approved on 3 November 1837. They were built of wood, displaced 1,096 tons and had a length on the gundeck of {{convert|165|ft|m|1}}.<ref name=RW/>

===Propulsion===
Power was provided by a two-cylinder [[Marine steam engine#Side-lever|side-lever steam engine]] driving paddle wheels. In ''Hecla'' and ''Hecate'' this engine was provided by Scott & Sinclair, and was rated at 240 [[nominal horsepower]]; in ''Hydra,'' the steam engine was provided by [[Boulton and Watt]] and rated at 220 nominal horsepower. All the ships were capable of about {{convert|9|kn|km/h}} under steam.<ref name=RW/> Paddle sloops of the period were usually built with a [[schooner]] rig, but later pictures show ''Hecate'' with a brig rig.<ref>[http://www.kenscott.com/wilscott33/hecate.gif Image of ''Hecate'' in a gale]</ref>

''Hecla'' had her engines replaced in her 1848–1849 refit.<ref name=RW/>

===Armament===
All three ships were armed with two 32-pounder (50 cwt) smoothbore muzzle-loading guns on truck mounts and two {{Convert|8|in|mm|abbr=on}} (65 cwt) smoothbore muzzle-loading shell guns on pivoting mounts.<ref group=Note>"cwt", or "[[hundredweight]]" refers to the weight of the gun itself. "32-pounder" refers to the weight of the ball fired.</ref><ref name=RW/>

===Crew===
They had a complement of approximately 135 men.<ref name=RW/>

==Service==

===''Hecate''===
{{main|HMS Hecate (1839)}}
[[File:HMS Hecate (1839) aground in 1861.jpg|thumb|''Hecate'' run aground at [[Neah Bay, Washington|Neah Bay]] east of Cape Flattery in 1861]]
''Hecate'' served in the Mediterranean from 1840 to 1843, including operations against the Ottomans in Syria in 1840.  From 1845 to 1857 she served off the west coast of Africa, including anti-slavery operations.  In 1860 she became a survey vessel, and under [[George Henry Richards]] she made a survey of [[Vancouver Island]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.pdavis.nl/ShowShip.php?id=1553|title=HMS ''Hecate''|publisher=William Loney website|accessdate=2012-01-21}}</ref>

===''Hydra''===
{{main|HMS Hydra (1838)}}
With ''Hecate'', ''Hydra'' served in the Mediterranean, including the 1840 Syria operations.  She served from 1840 to 1862 on both seaboards of the North and South Atlantic, including the period 1858 to 1862, when she was commanded by [[Richard Vesey Hamilton]], later to become First Naval Lord. In 1863 she conducted survey work in the Mediterranean.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.pdavis.nl/ShowShip.php?id=1591|title=HMS ''Hydra''|publisher=William Loney website|accessdate=2012-01-21}}</ref>

===''Hecla''===
[[File:HMS Hecla (1839) sinking off Gibraltar.jpg|thumb|''Hecla'' run aground off Gibraltar in 1855]]
From her commissioning in 1839 to 1854 ''Hecla'' served in the West Indies, in the Mediterranean and on the west coast of Africa.  In February 1854 she reconnoitred the Baltic for British operations there during the Crimean War, and from March to November 1854, under the command of Captain [[William Hutcheon Hall]], who had taken command of the small vessel because a warship of the size appropriate to his seniority was not available.<ref name=Hecla/> She ran aground off Gibraltar on 23 January 1855, for which her commanding officer, Henry Samuel Hawker was severely reprimanded by a court martial.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.pdavis.nl/ShowBiog.php?id=894|title=Henry Samuel Hawker|publisher=William Loney website|accessdate=2012-01-21}}</ref> She served off the west coast of Africa until 1859,<ref name=Hecla>{{cite web|url=http://www.pdavis.nl/ShowShip.php?id=1555|title=HMS ''Hecla''|publisher=William Loney website|accessdate=2012-01-21}}</ref> and was sold to Williams & Co. for £2,550 for commercial use on 15 June 1863 and renamed ''Typhoon''.<ref name=RW/>

==Ships==
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:left"
!Name||Ship builder||Laid down||Launched||Commissioned||Fate
|-
|{{HMS|Hydra|1838|2}}||Chatham Dockyard||January 1838||13 June 1838<ref group=Note>Winfield has "July 1838"</ref>||11 July 1838||Sold for [[ship breaking|breaking]] 13 May 1870
|-
|{{HMS|Hecla|1839|2}}||Chatham Dockyard||June 1838||14 January 1839||28 August 1839||Sold to Williams & Co. for commercial use on 15 June 1863 and renamed ''Typhoon''
|-
|{{HMS|Hecate|1839|2}}||Chatham Dockyard||June 1838||30 March 1839||7 December 1839||Sold for breaking in 1865
|}

==See also==
{{Commons category|Hydra class sloop}}

* {{sclass|Hydra|ironclad}}
* {{sclass|Hydra|minelayer}}
* {{sclass|Hydra|frigate}}

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

==Citations==
{{Reflist}}

==References==
*{{winfield}}
*{{cite web |url= http://threedecks.org/index.php?display_type=show_class&id=251 |title=British ''Hydra'' class |first=Simon |last=Harrison |work=threedecks.org |year=2012 |accessdate=13 January 2012}}

{{Royal Navy paddle sloops}}

[[Category:Paddle sloops of the Royal Navy]]
[[Category:Sloop classes]]