HMS ''Crocodile'' was a ''Euphrates''-class troopship launched into the

Thames The River Thames ( ), known alternatively in parts as the River Isis, is a river that flows through southern England including London. At , it is the longest river entirely in England and the second-longest in the United Kingdom, after the R ...

from the

Blackwall Yard Blackwall Yard is a small body of water that used to be a shipyard on the River Thames in Blackwall, engaged in ship building and later ship repairs for over 350 years. The yard closed in 1987. History East India Company Blackwall was a sh ...

Money Wigram and Sons Money Wigram (14 March 1790 – March 1873) was an English shipbuilder and ship owner, and a director of the Bank of England. Life Wigram was born in Walthamstow in 1790, a son of Sir Robert Wigram, 1st Baronet and his wife Eleanor. From 1806 he w ...

on 7 January 1867. She was the fourth and last vessel 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 F ...

to carry the name.

Design

''Crocodile'' was one of five iron-hulled vessels of the ''Euphrates'' class. All five were built to a design of 360 ft overall length by about 49 ft breadth, although ''Malabar'' was very slightly smaller than the rest of the class. They had a single screw, a speed of 14 knots, one funnel, a barque-rig sail plan, three 4-pounder guns, and a white painted hull. Her bow was a "ram bow" which projected forward below the waterline.

Identification

The "Euphrates" Class troopships could each be identified by a different coloured hull band. The Crocodile's hull band was yellow. The blue hull band of her sister Euphrates became the standard for all HM Troopships.

Career

''Crocodile'' was built for the transport of troops between the United Kingdom and the Indian sub-continent, and was operated by the

. She carried up to 1,200 troops and family on a passage of approximately 70 days. Between November 1866 and April 1870 she was commanded by Captain George Willes Watson. On 27 November 1867, she collided with the Canadian merchant ship ''John Dwyer'' in the

English Channel The English Channel, "The Sleeve"; nrf, la Maunche, "The Sleeve" (Cotentinais) or ( Jèrriais), (Guernésiais), "The Channel"; br, Mor Breizh, "Sea of Brittany"; cy, Môr Udd, "Lord's Sea"; kw, Mor Bretannek, "British Sea"; nl, Het Kana ...

off

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. ''John Dwyer'' sank with the loss of four of her crew. ''Crocodile'' rescued the survivors. ''Crocodile'' was re-engined rather later in life than her sisters, with her single-expansion steam engine replaced with a more efficient compound-expansion type.Winfield does not show a re-engining of ''Crocodile''. This is a misprint and the ''Errata'' should be consulted. In December 1888, ''Crocodile'' towed the Dutch steamship ''Sourabaja'' in to Malta, the steamship having suffered an engine failure off

Cape Trafalgar Cape Trafalgar (; es, Cabo Trafalgar ) is a headland in the Province of Cádiz in the southwest of Spain. The 1805 naval Battle of Trafalgar, in which the Royal Navy commanded by Admiral Horatio Nelson decisively defeated Napoleon's combined Spa ...

, Spain. ''Crocodile''s last voyage began at Bombay in October 1893. On 3 November, as she was approaching Aden, the high-pressure steam cylinder exploded and the ship came to a halt. The next day she was towed to an anchorage near Aden. Most of the soldiers and their families were brought home on other ships. ''Crocodile'' eventually arrived back at Portsmouth on 30 December 1893, having travelled using only the low-pressure steam cylinder, and was not further employed for trooping.''The Times'', London, 1 January 1894

Fate

''Crocodile'' was sold for breaking on 11 May 1894.

Notes

References

External links

Emigration of Dockyard Workmen on the Crocodile, 1870 (image)

{{DEFAULTSORT:Crocodile Euphrates-class troopships Troop ships of the Royal Navy Ships built by the Blackwall Yard Victorian-era naval ships of the United Kingdom 1867 ships