HMS ''Salamander'' was one of the initial steam powered vessels built for the Royal Navy. On 10 January 1831 the First Sea Lord gave orders that four paddle vessels be built to competitive designs. The vessels were to be powered by Maudslay, Son & Field steam engines, carry a schooner rig and mount one or two 10-inch shell guns.Winfield Initially classed simply as a steam vessel (SV), she was re-classed as a second-class steam sloop when that categorization was introduced on 31 May 1844. Designed by Joseph Seaton, the Master Shipwright of Sheerness, she was initially slated to be built in Portsmouth, and was changed to

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 R ...

. She was launched and completed in 1832, took part in the

Second Anglo-Burmese War The Second Anglo-Burmese War or the Second Burma War ( my, ဒုတိယ အင်္ဂလိပ် မြန်မာ စစ် ; 5 April 185220 January 1853) was the second of the Anglo-Burmese Wars, three wars fought between the Konbaung dy ...

and was broken up in 1883. Salamander was the eighth named ship since it was introduced for a Scottish ship captured in 1544 and listed until 1559.

Design and specifications

Her keel was laid in April 1831 at Sheerness Dockyard and launched on 14 May 1832. Her gundeck was with her keel length reported for tonnage calculation was . Her maximum breadth was with being reported for tonnage. Her depth of hold was . Her light draught was forward and aft. Her builder's measure tonnage was 818 tons though her displacement was 1,014 tons.Lyon Winfield, page 155 Her machinery was supplied by Maudslay, Son & Field of Lambeth. She was fitted with two fire-tube rectangular boilers. Her steam engine was a two-cylinder vertical single expansion (VSE) engine rated at 220 nominal horsepower (NHP). During her steam trials the engine generated for a speed of . She originally was to have a schooner sail plan; however, this was changed to a barque or barquentine sail rig. Her armament initially consisted of two Miller's Original 10-inch 84 hundredweight (cwt)"cwt", or "

hundredweight The hundredweight (abbreviation: cwt), formerly also known as the centum weight or quintal, is a British imperial and US customary unit of weight or mass. Its value differs between the US and British imperial systems. The two values are distingu ...

" refers to the weight of the gun itself. muzzle-loading smooth bore (MLSB) shell guns on pivot mounts and two Bloomfield's 32-pounder"32-pounder" refers to the weight of the shot fired. 25 cwt MLSB guns on broadside trucks. The 32-pounders increased to four guns. In 1862 one of the 10-inch guns was replaced by an Armstrong 7-inch rifled breach-loading (RBL) gun on a pivot mount. This Armstrong gun was more commonly known as the 100/110 pounder depending on the weight of shell carried. This gun was probably withdrawn in the late 1860s due to a weakness in the breach mechanism. She was completed on 12 February 1833 with an initial cost of £34,224 (builder – £20,429, machinery – £11,201 and fitting – £2,704).A total cost accounting for inflation of approximately £ in today's money.

Commissioned service

First commission

She was commissioned on 27 November 1832 at

Woolwich Dockyard Woolwich Dockyard (formally H.M. Dockyard, Woolwich, also known as The King's Yard, Woolwich) was an English Royal Navy Dockyard, naval dockyard along the river Thames at Woolwich in north-west Kent, where many ships were built from the early 1 ...

under Commander

Horatio Thomas Austin Sir Horatio Thomas Austin (10 March 1800 – 16 November 1865) was a British Royal Navy officer and explorer. Biography Austin was born in England on 18 March 1800, the son of an official in the Chatham Dockyard. In 1828, was dispatche ...

, RN. From 15 February 1834 she was under Commander William Langford Castle, for service in the Channel; on 15 April 1836 she was under Commander John Duffill, and then on 16 August 1836 to 1840 she was under Commander

Sydney Dacres Admiral Sir Sydney Colpoys Dacres (9 January 1804 – 8 March 1884) was an officer of the Royal Navy who saw service during the Greek War of Independence, when he was involved in an attack on the Turkish forces at Morea, and later during the ...

, notably off the north coast of Spain during the first of the

Carlist Wars The Carlist Wars () were a series of civil wars that took place in Spain during the 19th century. The contenders fought over claims to the throne, although some political differences also existed. Several times during the period from 1833 to 187 ...

. On 16 September she was under Commander Hastings Henry, but

paid off Ship commissioning is the act or ceremony of placing a ship in active service and may be regarded as a particular application of the general concepts and practices of project commissioning. The term is most commonly applied to placing a warship in ...

from this commission on 11 August 1841.

Second commission

On 25 June 1842 she was recommissioned under Commander Andrew Snape Hamond (1811-1874), and joined the

South America Station The South America Station was a formation of the Royal Navy which existed from 1808 to 1838 when it was split into the Pacific Station and the South East Coast of America Station. Following the invasion of Portugal by Napoleon, the Portuguese cou ...

, before proceeding to the Pacific. She was stationed in Papeeti, Tahiti as an observer during the

Franco-Tahitian War The Franco-Tahitian War (french: Guerre franco-tahitienne) or French–Tahitian War (1844–1847) was a conflict between the Kingdom of the French and the Kingdom of Tahiti and its allies in the South Pacific archipelago of the Society Islands ...

from the summer of 1844 to the Autumn of 1846. On her way home in 1847, she was repaired with a new mainmast and bowsprit at Jamaica in February 1847, and then arrived home to pay off in November 1847 at

. After a refit at Sheerness she returned to Woolwich, and in January 1849 she moved to Plymouth where she joined the Steam Reserve.

Third commission

The ''Salamander'' was recommissioned on 17 July 1850 under Commander John Ellman, RN, and proceeded to the East Indies, where she participated in the

. She returned home in August 1854, and on 18 August command was taken over by Commander Benjamin Portland Priest, RN for a brief period of service in the Mediterranean before she arrived home again at Portsmouth, to pay off on 23 November 1854 into the Steam Reserve.

Fourth commission

She recommissioned again on 6 November 1855 under Commander

George Mecham George Frederick Mecham (14 November 1827 – 17 February 1858) was an Irish naval officer and explorer who participated in the search for Franklin's lost expedition. Life George Frederick Mecham was born in 1827 at Cove of Cork, Ireland ...

, RN, for service off the west coast of Africa. Arriving home in June 1856, she was used as a transport, but in late 1856 she proceeded northwards to search for missing British merchantmen overdue on their voyage from Archangel. She returned to Sheerness in February 1857 to repair damage caused by ice, and was paid off on 4 February. Over the next year, she underwent a major refit at

Chatham Dockyard Chatham Dockyard was a Royal Navy Dockyard located on the River Medway in Kent. Established in Chatham in the mid-16th century, the dockyard subsequently expanded into neighbouring Gillingham (at its most extensive, in the early 20th century, ...

, including the replacement of her boilers. More extensive repairs took place over the next few years, culminating in 1863 in the rebuilding of her poop and masts, and the overhaul of all her machinery.

Fifth commission

She was recommissioned on 8 December 1863 under Commander John Carnegie, RN, and was assigned to the

Australia Station The Australia Station was the British, and later Australian, naval command responsible for the waters around the Australian continent.Dennis et al. 2008, p.53. Australia Station was under the command of the Commander-in-Chief, Australia Station, ...

, where she transported the party to set up the coaling station at

Albany passage Albany Island or Pabaju is an island off the north-eastern coast of Cape York Peninsula in the Adolphus Channel and part of the Manar Group of islands of Queensland, Australia. It is within the Suburbs and localities (Australia), locality of So ...

. She undertook survey work along the

Great Barrier Reef The Great Barrier Reef is the world's largest coral reef system composed of over 2,900 individual reefs and 900 islands stretching for over over an area of approximately . The reef is located in the Coral Sea, off the coast of Queensland, ...

, running aground on a reef, which was named in her honour, before being refloated. She then undertook survey duties of

Wilsons Promontory Wilsons Promontory, is a peninsula that forms the southernmost part of the Australian mainland, located in the state of Victoria. South Point at is the southernmost tip of Wilsons Promontory and hence of mainland Australia. Located at nearb ...

and

Port Phillip Bay Port Phillip (Kulin: ''Narm-Narm'') or Port Phillip Bay is a horsehead-shaped enclosed bay on the central coast of southern Victoria, Australia. The bay opens into the Bass Strait via a short, narrow channel known as The Rip, and is completel ...

under the command of Commander

George Nares Vice-Admiral Sir George Strong Nares (24 April 1831 – 15 January 1915) was a Royal Navy officer and Arctic explorer. He commanded the ''Challenger'' Expedition, and the British Arctic Expedition. He was highly thought of as a leader an ...

from 11 July 1865. During this voyage, she ran aground on a reef, damaging her engines and hull. She was refloated and taken in to

Brisbane Brisbane ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the states and territories of Australia, Australian state of Queensland, and the list of cities in Australia by population, third-most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a populati ...

Queensland ) , nickname = Sunshine State , image_map = Queensland in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Queensland in Australia , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , established_ ...

, where she was repaired. ''Salamander'' left the Australia Station on 4 July 1867. She was paid off in December 1867 into the Steam Reserve.

Ancillary service

Over the next decade, the ''Salamander'' served in a number of ancillary tasks, mainly as a tug or a transport, under a variety of commanding officers. During 1870 she under command of Commander George F.B. Swain, RN and in 1872 she was under the command of Commander John C. Solfleet, RN. During this time she was used intermittently used as a transport. She was commissioned on 9 April 1872 as a transport under Commander Edward Youel, RN then on 23 December 1872 under Commander James Kiddle, RN. She towed to

Dundee Dundee (; sco, Dundee; gd, Dùn Dè or ) is Scotland's fourth-largest city and the 51st-most-populous built-up area in the United Kingdom. The mid-year population estimate for 2016 was , giving Dundee a population density of 2,478/km2 or ...

in 1873, but afterwards was paid off into reserve again on 20 July 1875 at Portsmouth.

Fate

She was sold to Henry Castle & Sons for breaking in October 1883. She was towed to Charlton on 19 December 1883.

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, , Part I, Chapter 3, Paddle Steamers (Wooden), Paddle Sloops * 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 from November 1830, Salamander * 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), Section S (Salamander) *Bastock, John (1988), ''Ships on the Australia Station'', Child & Associates Publishing Pty Ltd; Frenchs Forest, Australia.

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Salamander (1832) 1832 ships Ships built in Sheerness Paddle sloops of the Royal Navy Victorian-era sloops of the United Kingdom