HMS ''Investigator'' was a wooden paddle survey 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 ...

, built to carry out an expedition on the

Gabon River Gabon (; ; snq, Ngabu), officially the Gabonese Republic (french: République gabonaise), is a country on the west coast of Central Africa. Located on the equator, it is bordered by Equatorial Guinea to the northwest, Cameroon to the north, ...

Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent, after Asia in both cases. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of Earth's total surface area ...

. ''Investigator'' was laid down on 15 June 1861 at

Deptford Deptford is an area on the south bank of the River Thames in southeast London, within the London Borough of Lewisham. It is named after a Ford (crossing), ford of the River Ravensbourne. From the mid 16th century to the late 19th it was home ...

and was launched on 16 November 1861. She was initially commanded by Lieutenant Benjamin Langlois Lefroy off the west coast of Africa. On 1 September 1863,

Lieutenant Commander Lieutenant commander (also hyphenated lieutenant-commander and abbreviated Lt Cdr, LtCdr. or LCDR) is a commissioned officer rank in many navies. The rank is superior to a lieutenant and subordinate to a commander. The corresponding ran ...

William Digby Dolben of ''Investigator'' drowned while crossing the

bar Bar or BAR may refer to: Food and drink * Bar (establishment), selling alcoholic beverages * Candy bar * Chocolate bar Science and technology * Bar (river morphology), a deposit of sediment * Bar (tropical cyclone), a layer of cloud * Bar (u ...

Lagos Lagos (Nigerian English: ; ) is the largest city in Nigeria and the second most populous city in Africa, with a population of 15.4 million as of 2015 within the city proper. Lagos was the national capital of Nigeria until December 1991 fo ...

when the

gig Gig or GIG may refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''Gig'' (Circle Jerks album) (1992) * ''Gig'' (Northern Pikes album) (1993) * ''The Gig'', a 1985 film written and directed by Frank D. Gilroy * GIG, a character in ''Hot Wheels AcceleRacers'' ...

, a four-oar

whaler A whaler or whaling ship is a specialized vessel, designed or adapted for whaling: the catching or processing of whales. Terminology The term ''whaler'' is mostly historic. A handful of nations continue with industrial whaling, and one, Japa ...

, was swamped.''Anglo-African'' 3 September 1863
/ref> He was succeeded by Lt Charles Knowles, later Vice Admiral

Sir Charles Knowles, 4th baronet Vice-Admiral Sir Charles George Frederick Knowles, 4th Baronet (14 March 1832 – 3 March 1917) was an officer of the Royal Navy, who saw service during the Second Burmese War and in command on the Niger expedition and quelling uprising at Sa ...

whose expedition August-October 1864 up the Niger was published in the Royal Geographical Society Journal in January 1865. He was succeeded by

George Truman Morrell Commander George Truman Morrell RN (29 January 1830 – 7 May 1912) was a British naval, officer and explorer active during the Victorian era. Early years George Truman Morrell was born 29 January 1830 in Dinan, Brittany, France, a British ...

in 1865, under whose command she sailed up the

River Niger The Niger River ( ; ) is the main river of West Africa, extending about . Its drainage basin is in area. Its source is in the Guinea Highlands in south-eastern Guinea near the Sierra Leone border. It runs in a crescent shape through Mali, ...

, making contact with local tribes. In 1867, she ran aground in the

and came under attack from hostile inhabitants, who were armed with cannon. Two of her crew were killed. She was refloated after 11 days and taken in to

in a severely damaged condition. ''Investigator'' was sold to the local authorities at Lagos in 1869.

References

* *Lyon, David and Winfield, Rif, The Sail and Steam Navy List, All the Ships of the Royal Navy 1815–1889, pub Chatham, 2004, Survey vessels of the Royal Navy 1861 ships Maritime incidents in 1867 {{UK-mil-ship-stub