HMS ''Simoom'' was an iron frigate converted to an iron screw

troopship A troopship (also troop ship or troop transport or trooper) is a ship used to carry soldiers, either in peacetime or wartime. Troopships were often drafted from commercial shipping fleets, and were unable land troops directly on shore, typicall ...

. She was

laid down Laying the keel or laying down is the formal recognition of the start of a ship's construction. It is often marked with a ceremony attended by dignitaries from the shipbuilding company and the ultimate owners of the ship. Keel laying is one o ...

in October 1845; however, on 23 April 1847 her frigate design was abandoned as this type of iron warship was considered to be unsuitable against cannon fire and she was ordered to be completed as a troopship. She was launched by

Robert Napier and Sons Messrs Robert Napier and Sons was a famous firm of River Clyde, Clyde shipbuilders and marine engineers at Govan, City of Glasgow, Glasgow founded by Robert Napier (engineer), Robert Napier in 1826. It was moved to Govan for more space in 1841. Hi ...

Govan Govan ( ; Cumbric?: ''Gwovan'?''; Scots: ''Gouan''; Scottish Gaelic: ''Baile a' Ghobhainn'') is a district, parish, and former burgh now part of south-west City of Glasgow, Scotland. It is situated west of Glasgow city centre, on the south ba ...

, Yard No 17, on 24 May 1849, then sold to Collings, Dartmouth in June 1887.Clyde Maritime

Design and description

''Simoom'' was designed to serve as an iron frigate; however, testing under heavy gunfire, carried out on the

paddle steamer A paddle steamer is a steamship or steamboat powered by a steam engine that drives paddle wheels to propel the craft through the water. In antiquity, paddle wheelers followed the development of poles, oars and sails, where the first uses we ...

''Ruby'',Naval Database "demonstrated unmistakably that the splintering characteristics of the iron then used in shipbuilding rendered unprotected ships built of this material totally unsuitable as warships".Mariner's Mirror Consequently, ''Simoom'' and were reduced to serve as transport ships. The Royal Navy used

troopships A troopship (also troop ship or troop transport or trooper) is a ship used to carry soldiers, either in peacetime or wartime. Troopships were often drafted from commercial shipping fleets, and were unable land troops directly on shore, typicall ...

to carry soldiers and supplies to conflicts in British overseas interests. Other contemporary examples included the s, that were designed to support operations in India and

Crimea Crimea, crh, Къырым, Qırım, grc, Κιμμερία / Ταυρική, translit=Kimmería / Taurikḗ ( ) is a peninsula in Ukraine, on the northern coast of the Black Sea, that has been occupied by Russia since 2014. It has a pop ...

. ''Simoom'' was armed with eight guns and powered by Boulton & Watt, Birmingham steam engines, driving one

propeller shaft A drive shaft, driveshaft, driving shaft, tailshaft (Australian English), propeller shaft (prop shaft), or Cardan shaft (after Girolamo Cardano) is a component for transmitting mechanical power and torque and rotation, usually used to connect ...

Construction and career

HMS ''Simoom'' (1849) was designed as an iron frigate but launched as an iron

. The following notes for ''Simoom''s career below are compiled from the RootsWeb Naval Database. 2 Apr 1851 At her trial along the measured mile on Friday, attained to a mean speed of 8½ nautical miles per hour, the engines making an average of forty-seven revolutions per minute. She was very low down in the water during the trial, particularly by the steam, having ballast on board equal in weight to what her stores, &c., would be. A doubt existed previous to the trial as to whether her engines would work up to their full speed, but the above result has removed that doubt. The Simoom will now be fitted with a topgallant forecastle and a poop, and otherwise adapted for a troop ship, for the duties of which her great size and tonnage strongly recommend her. 1852 Troopship 8 May 1852 It is reported in Sydney that the Simoom has been fitted with a ship's cooking galley, which can cook food for a 1,000 men and distill 90 gallons of fresh water from salt water per hour. 1854-55

1855 Refitted and re-engined at

Portsmouth Portsmouth ( ) is a port and city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. The city of Portsmouth has been a unitary authority since 1 April 1997 and is administered by Portsmouth City Council. Portsmouth is the most dens ...

Dockyard with a 2-cyl, 1,699ihp engine giving 11.589kts. Her original Napier engine was fitted to the first rate, screw ship of the line,

Duke of Wellington Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington, (1 May 1769 – 14 September 1852) was an Anglo-Irish people, Anglo-Irish soldier and Tories (British political party), Tory statesman who was one of the leading military and political figures of Uni ...

. 25 May 1855 Kertch and Yenikale (

) were captured, along with thousands of tons and coal and provisions, along with factories etc., by some 60 French and British vessels, and allied troops, for which no prize money appeared to be payable, contrary to the Queen's instructions. See Hansard for more details, and approval for a Parliamentary Grant in lieu. 1959-61 Trooping to the Far East. 24 Mar 1860 Arrived

Hongkong Hong Kong ( (US) or (UK); , ), officially the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China (abbr. Hong Kong SAR or HKSAR), is a city and special administrative region of China on the eastern Pearl River Delta i ...

from

. 23 May 1860

. 23 Jun 1860 At the North. 26 Jul 1860 Gulf of Pecheli. 16 Nov 1860 At the North. 31 Dec 1860

. 15 Feb 1861

Canton River The Pearl River, also known by its Chinese name Zhujiang or Zhu Jiang in Mandarin pinyin or Chu Kiang and formerly often known as the , is an extensive river system in southern China. The name "Pearl River" is also often used as a catch-al ...

. 1 May 1861

. 28 Jul 1861 At the North. 12 Aug 1861

Shanghai Shanghai (; , , Standard Mandarin pronunciation: ) is one of the four direct-administered municipalities of the People's Republic of China (PRC). The city is located on the southern estuary of the Yangtze River, with the Huangpu River flowin ...

. 28 Aug 1861 At the North. 1 Nov 1861

. 4 Nov 1861 Departed

for

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

. 1 Jan 1870 Salvage services rendered to the General de Stuers, which subsequently qualified for the payment of salvage monies. 24 Dec 1873 Departed Ascension for the

Cape Coast Castle Cape Coast Castle ( sv, Carolusborg) is one of about forty "slave castles", or large commercial forts, built on the Gold Coast of West Africa (now Ghana) by European traders. It was originally a Portuguese "feitoria" or trading post, establish ...

. 1873-74 Ashantee. 9 Jan 1874 Departed

. Is reported to have been to

Cape Palmas Cape Palmas is a headland on the extreme southeast end of the coast of Liberia, Africa, at the extreme southwest corner of the northern half of the continent. The Cape itself consists of a small, rocky peninsula connected to the mainland by a s ...

to recruit Kroomen, but they are reported to be reluctant to serve on RN vessels during the current

Ashanti War The Anglo-Ashanti wars were a series of five conflicts that took place between 1824 and 1900 between the Ashanti Empire—in the Akan interior of the Gold Coast—and the British Empire and its African allies. Though the Ashanti emerged victori ...

. 18 Jan 1874 Arrived

Freetown Freetown is the capital and largest city of Sierra Leone. It is a major port city on the Atlantic Ocean and is located in the Western Area of the country. Freetown is Sierra Leone's major urban, economic, financial, cultural, educational and po ...

Sierra Leone Sierra Leone,)]. officially the Republic of Sierra Leone, is a country on the southwest coast of West Africa. It is bordered by Liberia to the southeast and Guinea surrounds the northern half of the nation. Covering a total area of , Sierr ...

, from the Cape Coast. 29 Jan 1874 In quarantine at St. Vincent. 1879 Devonport. Officers borne in Indus. 1887 Paid Off (Scrapped).

Legacy

Simoom Sound, a former steamer landing (now post office) in the

Broughton Archipelago Broughton Archipelago is a group of islands located at the eastern end of Queen Charlotte Strait in Mount Waddington Regional District, British Columbia. The archipelago is the traditional territory of the Musgamagw Dzawada'enuxw, Namgis, Ma'am ...

on the

Central Coast of British Columbia , settlement_type = Region of British Columbia , image_skyline = , nickname = "The Coast" , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Canada , subdivision_type1 = Province , subdivision_name1 = British ...

, Canada was named 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 ...

HMS ''Simoom'', under the command of Captain

John Kingcome Admiral Sir John Kingcome, KCB (14 February 1793 – 7 August 1871) was a Royal Navy officer who went on to be Commander-in-Chief, Pacific Station. Naval career Kingcome joined the Royal Navy in 1808 and was present at the destruction of the F ...

, namesake of the nearby fjord

Kingcome Inlet Kingcome Inlet is one of the lesser principal fjords of the British Columbia Coast, north and east of Broughton Island. It is sixth in sequence of the major saltwater fjords north from the 49th parallel near Vancouver and similar in width, on av ...

, Rear Admiral of the

Pacific Station The Pacific Station was created in 1837 as one of the geographical military formations into which the Royal Navy divided its worldwide responsibilities. The South America Station was split into the Pacific Station and the South East Coast of ...

1863-1864.

Citations

References

Woody (July 24, 2010). "Simoom 1849 HMS - Troopship". Clyde Maritime. Retrieved May 7, 2019. Naval Database. "Simoom, 1849". RootsWeb. Retrieved May 7, 2019. Naval Database. "Ruby, 1842". RootsWeb. Retrieved May 7, 2019. Naval Database. "William Loney RN - Victorian naval surgeon". pdavis.nl. Retrieved May 7, 2019. {{DEFAULTSORT:Simoom (1849) Troop ships of the United Kingdom Auxiliary ships of the Royal Navy Troop ships of the Royal Navy Auxiliary transport ship classes Steam frigates of the Royal Navy 1849 ships