HMS ''Acheron'' was the last wooden paddle

sloop A sloop is a sailboat with a single mast typically having only one headsail in front of the mast and one mainsail aft of (behind) the mast. Such an arrangement is called a fore-and-aft rig, and can be rigged as a Bermuda rig with triangular sa ...

ordered for the

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against F ...

. She was launched at Sheerness in 1838. She spent two commissions in the Mediterranean before being reclassed as a survey ship in 1847.Lyon Winfield, page 158 Between 1848 and 1851 she made a coastal survey of New Zealand, the first such survey since

Captain Cook James Cook (7 November 1728 Old Style date: 27 October – 14 February 1779) was a British explorer, navigator, cartographer, and captain in the British Royal Navy, famous for his three voyages between 1768 and 1779 in the Pacific Ocean an ...

. She was paid off at Sydney and was tender to ''HMS Calliope''.Winfield She was sold at Sydney in 1855. ''Acheron'' was the second named vessel since it was used for an 8-gun Bomb, purchased in October 1803 then captured by the French in the Mediterranean and burnt on 3 February 1805.

Construction

She was initially ordered from Chatham Dockyard on 15 September 1837, but three days later this was changed to Sheerness Dockyard because the relevant tooling was already present there. The Vessel was named on 27 September and laid down in October. She was launched on 23 August 1838. She was completed for sea at Sheerness om 8 January 1839 at a first cost of 25,509 (including 16,819 for and rigging and 8,690 for machinery).A total cost accounting for inflation of approximately £ in 2010.

Commissioned service

First commission

She was commissioned on 27 November 1838 under the command of Lieutenant Andrew Kennedy, RN for the Mediterranean. She returned to Home Waters, paying off in December 1841.

Second commission

Her second commission commenced on 3 December 1842 under the command of Lieutenant Benjamin Alpin, RN for the Mediterranean. On 10 September 1846 Lieutenant Andrew Robert Dunlap took command. She returned to Home Waters and paid off at Woolwich on 13 October 1847.

Commissioned as survey ship

''Acheron'' was commissioned the next day on 14 October 1847, under the command of Captain

John Lort Stokes Admiral John Lort Stokes, RN (1 August 1811 – 11 June 1885)Although 1812 is frequently given as Stokes's year of birth, it has been argued by author Marsden Hordern that Stokes was born in 1811, citing a letter by fellow naval officer Crawford ...

, RN, for service on the East Indies Station as a survey ship. She was dispatched to New Zealand in January 1849, arriving in November the same year. In March 1851, due to a budget cut to the Hydrographer of the Navy, ''Acheron'' was ordered to be laid up in

Sydney Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mountain ...

New South Wales ) , nickname = , image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , es ...

and her crew returned to England. However, in November 1851, she was sent to rescue the passengers and crew of the British merchant ship ''Syrian'', which had run aground on the Elizabeth Reef whilst on a voyage from

Wellington Wellington ( mi, Te Whanganui-a-Tara or ) is the capital city of New Zealand. It is located at the south-western tip of the North Island, between Cook Strait and the Remutaka Range. Wellington is the second-largest city in New Zealand by me ...

, New Zealand to Sydney. In July 1853, she rescued the passengers and crew of the British

barque A barque, barc, or bark is a type of sailing ship, sailing vessel with three or more mast (sailing), masts having the fore- and mainmasts Square rig, rigged square and only the mizzen (the aftmost mast) Fore-and-aft rig, rigged fore and aft. Som ...

''Tory'', which had been wrecked north of Port Stephens, New South Wales.

Disposition

''Acheron'' was sold at

on 23 April 1855 for £2,067 16 s.

Notes

Citations

References

* Lyon Winfield, The Sail & Steam Navy List, All the Ships of the Royal Navy 1815 to 1889, by David Lyon & Rif Winfield, published by Chatham Publishing, London © 2004, * Winfield, British Warships in the Age of Sail (1817 – 1863), by Rif Winfield, published by Seaforth Publishing, England © 2014, e, Chapter 11 Steam Paddle Vessels, Vessels acquired since November 1830, Hermes Class * Colledge, Ships of the Royal Navy, by J.J. Colledge, revised and updated by Lt Cdr Ben Warlow and Steve Bush, published by Seaforth Publishing, Barnsley, Great Britain, © 2020, e (EPUB) * The Navy List, published by His Majesty's Stationery Office, London {{DEFAULTSORT:Acheron (1838) Paddle sloops of the Royal Navy 1838 ships Maritime history of New Zealand