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Condor-class sloop

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HMS Shearwater under sail HMS Rinaldo c. 1908 with sailing rig removed
HMS Shearwater under sail (top)
HMS Rinaldo c. 1908 with sailing rig removed (bottom)
Class overview
NameCondor class sloops
Builderslist error: <br /> list (help)
Sheerness Royal Dockyard (4)
William Laird & Son, Birkenhead
Operators Royal Navy
Built1898-1900
In commission1898–1932
Completed6
Lost1
General characteristics
TypeScrew Steel Sloop
Displacement980 tons[1]
Length204 ft (62 m)
Beam33 ft (10 m)
Draught11.5 ft (3.5 m)
Installed power1,400 horsepower (1,044 kW)[2]
Propulsionlist error: <br /> list (help)
Four Belleville boilers
Three-cylinder vertical triple expansion steam engine;
Twin screws[3]
Sail planBarque-rigged, changed to Barquentine-rigged, later removed
Endurance3,000 nmi (5,600 km) at 10 kn (19 km/h)[3]
Complement130[1]
Armamentlist error: mixed text and list (help)
  • Six 4in/25pdr (1ton) Quick Firing Breech loaders
  • Four 3-pounder Quick Firing Breach Loaders[3]
ArmourProtective deck of 1 in (2.5 cm) to 1.5 in (3.8 cm) steel over machinery and boilers.[3]
HMS Mutine as built with barque-rig

The Condor class was a six-ship class of 10-gun[3] screw steel sloops [1] built for the Royal Navy between 1898 and 1900.

Design

The Condor class was constructed of steel to a design by William White, the Royal Navy Director of Naval Construction.[3] They were powered by a three-cylinder vertical triple expansion steam engine developing 1,400 horsepower and driving twin screws.[3]

Sail Plan

The class was originally designed and built with barque-rigged sails, although some pictures show ships of the class with the main yards removed, making them barquentine-rigged. Condor was lost in a gale during her first commission, and the contemporary gunnery pioneer Admiral Percy Scott ascribes her sinking to the encumbrance of sails, and furthermore believed that her loss finally convinced that Admiralty to abandon sails entirely.[4] All other ships of the class had their sails removed during the first few years of the twentieth century.

Armament

The class was armed with six 4in/25pdr (1ton) Quick Firing Breech loaders and four 3-pounder Quick Firing Breach Loaders

Ships

Name Ship Builder Launched Fate
HMS Condor Sheerness Royal Dockyard 17 December 1898 Foundered in a gale off Cape Flattery on 3 December 1901[2]
HMS Rosario Sheerness Royal Dockyard 17 December 1898 Depot ship for submarines at Hong Kong in 1910. Sold there on 11 December 1921 [3]
HMS Mutine William Laird & Son, Birkenhead 1 March 1900 Survey ship 1907, RNVR drill ship 1925, sold to Ward, Briton Ferry on 16 August 1932[3]
HMS Rinaldo William Laird & Son, Birkenhead 25 May 1900 Sold to W Thomas, Anglesey on 21 October 1921[3]
HMS Shearwater Sheerness Royal Dockyard 10 February 1900 Transferred to Royal Canadian Navy as submarine depot ship in 1915, sold to Western Shipping Co, Canada in May 1922 and renamed Vedas[3]
HMS Vestal Sheerness Royal Dockyard 10 February 1900 Sold to W Thomas, Anglesey on 21 October 1921[3]

Operational Lives

The design of the Condor class differed from the screw sloops of the 1860s only in an evolutionary sense (although constructed of steel and armed with quick-loading guns, they retained the sails and layout of the earlier vessels); by the turn of the twentieth century they were thoroughly obsolete. The overseas Stations of the Royal navy were responsible for patrolling the maritime British Empire, and these ships were intended for that role. The rapidity with which they were converted to depot ships, training ships or survey ships gives testament to their out-moded design.

Condor

During her sort career, Condor served on the Pacific Station. On 3 December 1901 while on passage from Esquimalt to Hawaii she foundered in a gale off Cape Flattery, Vancouver Island (position approximately 48°15′N 125°40′W / 48.250°N 125.667°W / 48.250; -125.667). The tragedy occurred during her first commission and less than three years after her launch.[2] In May 1949 the trawler Blanco hauled up wreckage from a depth of 250 ft (76 m) The wreckage included a ship's binnacle matching that supplied to Condor.[5]

Rosario

Rosario relieved HMS Rattler on the China Station in June 1900, and re-commmissioned at Hong Kong on 5 November 1913, becoming a depot ship for submarines.[6] She was sold at Hong Kong in December 1921.

Mutine

While being delivered from Birkenhead to Portsmouth an accident in Mutine's boiler rooms caused some loss of life and gave her a name as an unlucky ship before her career even began.[7] She served on the China Station and became a survey ship, surviving until 1932 as an Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve drill ship, the last of her class to be disposed of.

Rinaldo

Rinaldo served in South-East Asia, including taking medical assistance to Brunei in August 1904 during an outbreak of smallpox.[8] By 1914 she was tender and training ship to HMS Vivid, Devonport RNR.[9] She was sold for breaking in October 1921.

Shearwater

Shearwater served on the Pacific Station. She recommissioned on 27 November 1912 at Esquimalt.[10] She was transferred to Royal Canadian Navy as a submarine depot ship in 1915, sold to Western Shipping Co, Canada in May 1922 and renamed Vedas[3]

Vestal

Vestal served on the China Station, later becoming training ship and tender to HMS Excellent, Portsmouth.[11] She was sold for breaking on the same day as Rinaldo.

References

  1. ^ a b c "Condor class at battleships-cruisers.co.uk". Retrieved 2008-08-30.
  2. ^ a b c "HMS Condor at Naval Database website". Retrieved 2008-09-06.
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m Winfield, Rif (2003). The Sail and Steam Navy List, 1815-1889. Chatham Publishing. ISBN 978-1861760326. {{cite book}}: Unknown parameter |coauthors= ignored (|author= suggested) (help)
  4. ^ Fifty Years in the Royal Navy, Admiral Sir Percy Scott, Bt., John Murray, London, 1919, p.37
  5. ^ "NOAA Olympic Coast National Marine Sanctuary website". Retrieved 2008-09-06.
  6. ^ "HMS Rosario at Naval Database website". Retrieved 2008-09-06.
  7. ^ "Condor class (additional page) at battleships-cruisers.co.uk". Retrieved 2008-09-06.
  8. ^ Colonial Office Correspondence Relating To Brunei 'Destroyed Under Statute' 1906–1934, by A V M Horton, IJAPS Vol. 1 2005
  9. ^ "HMS Rinaldo at Naval Database website". Retrieved 2008-09-06.
  10. ^ "HMS Shearwater at Naval Database website". Retrieved 2008-09-06.
  11. ^ "HMS Vestal at Naval Database website". Retrieved 2008-09-06.
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