HMS ''Buzzard'' was a ''Nymphe''-class composite

screw A screw and a bolt (see '' Differentiation between bolt and screw'' below) are similar types of fastener typically made of metal and characterized by a helical ridge, called a ''male thread'' (external thread). Screws and bolts are used to f ...

sloop and the fourth ship of 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 ...

to bear the name.

Design

Developed and constructed for the

on a design by

William Henry White Sir William Henry White, (2 February 1845 – 27 February 1913) was a prolific British warship designer and Chief Constructor at the Admiralty. Biography White was born in Devonport, the son of Robert White, a currier, and his wife, Jane ...

Director of Naval Construction The Director of Naval Construction (DNC) also known as the Department of the Director of Naval Construction and Directorate of Naval Construction and originally known as the Chief Constructor of the Navy was a senior principal civil officer resp ...

, she was launched at

Sheerness Dockyard Sheerness Dockyard also known as the Sheerness Station was a Royal Navy Dockyard located on the Sheerness peninsula, at the mouth of the River Medway in Kent. It was opened in the 1660s and closed in 1960. Location In the Age of Sail, the Roy ...

on 10 May 1887.

Foreign service

The ''Nymphe''-class

sloops 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 ...

were ideal for service in the far distant outposts of the

British Empire The British Empire was composed of the dominions, colonies, protectorates, mandates, and other territories ruled or administered by the United Kingdom and its predecessor states. It began with the overseas possessions and trading posts e ...

, and ''Buzzard'' was employed on the

North America and West Indies Station The North America and West Indies Station was a formation or command of the United Kingdom's Royal Navy stationed in North American waters from 1745 to 1956. The North American Station was separate from the Jamaica Station until 1830 when the ...

. In early April 1902, under the command of Commander Leicester Francis Gartside Tippinge (1855–1938), she left

Bermuda ) , anthem = "God Save the King" , song_type = National song , song = "Hail to Bermuda" , image_map = , map_caption = , image_map2 = , mapsize2 = , map_caption2 = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = , es ...

for home waters, calling at

Faial Island Faial Island (), also known in English as Fayal, is a Portuguese island of the Central Group (Portuguese: ''Grupo Central'') of the Azores. The Capelinhos Volcano, the westernmost point of the island, may be considered the westernmost point of ...

, before she arrived at Devonport on 20 April. She was paid off at Chatham on 13 May 1902.

Harbour training ship

In 1904 she was converted to a drill ship for the Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve at

Blackfriars, London Blackfriars is in central London, specifically the south-west corner of the City of London. Blackfriars Priory The name is first visible today in records of 1317 in many orthographies. Friar evolved from la, frater as french: frère has, mea ...

, and in 1911 ''Buzzard'' relieved HMS ''President'' (formerly of 1878) as headquarters ship, being renamed HMS ''President'' on 1 April 1911.

Disposal

As ''President'' she served until 23 January 1918, when she was lent to the

Marine Society The Marine Society is a British charity, the world's first established for seafarers. In 1756, at the beginning of the Seven Years' War against France, Austria, and Saxony (and subsequently the Mughal Empire, Spain, Russia and Sweden) Britain ur ...

. She was sold to C A Beard for breaking on 6 September 1921, and was later re-sold to Dutch ship breakers.

References

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Battleships-cruisers.co.uk: Royal Navy Sloops
{{DEFAULTSORT:Buzzard Nymphe-class sloops Ships built in Sheerness 1887 ships Victorian-era sloops of the United Kingdom Royal Navy shore establishments