HMS ''Encounter'' was ordered as a First-Class Sloop with screw propulsion on 5 February 1845 to be built at Pembroke, in accordance with the design developed by John Fincham, Master Shipwright at Portsmouth. Her armament was to consist of 8 guns (2 x 85 cwt, 4 x 65 cwt and 2 x 25 cwt). She was to have a more powerful steam engine rated at 360 nominal horsepower. In 1848 she would be altered abaft and lengthened at Deptford prior to completion. A second vessel (''Harrier'') was ordered on 26 March 1846 but after her keel was laid at Pembroke Dockyard, her construction was suspended on 9 September 1846 then cancelled five years later, on 4 April 1851. ''Encounter'' had her armament radically altered in 1850 and she was broken up at Devonport in 1866. ''Encounter'' was the third named vessel since its introduction for a discovery vessel in service in 1616.Colledge ''Harrier'' was the fourth named ship since the name was introduced for a ‘Cruizer’ class fir built 18-gun brig sloop, launched by Barnard of Deptford on 22 April 1804 and foundered in the Indian Ocean in March 1809.

Design and specifications

''Encounter''’s keel was laid in June 1845 at Pembroke Dockyard and launched on 5 September 1846. Her gundeck was with her keel length reported for tonnage calculation of . Her maximum breadth was though reported for tonnage. She had a depth of hold of . Her builder’s measure tonnage was 894 tons. In 1848 her gundeck was lengthen at Deptford Dockyard to with her keel length reported for tonnage calculation of . Her builder’s measured tonnage increased to 935 tons with a displacement of 1,194 tons. Her machinery was supplied by John Penn & Company of Greenwich. She shipped two rectangular fire tube boilers. Her engine was a 2-cylinder horizontal single expansion trunk (HSET) steam engine with cylinders of in diameter with a stroke, rated at 360 nominal horsepower (NHP). She had a single screw propeller of in diameter. Her armament at commissioning in 1849 consisted of a single Dundas 1853 68-pounder muzzle loading smooth bore (MLSB) of 95 hundredweight (cwt) 10-foot naval gun on a pivot mount, one 10-inch MLSB of 86 cwt shell 9-foot 4-inch shell gun on a pivot mount and four 8-inch 65 cwt MLSB 9-foot shell guns on broadside trucks. In 1850, the initial six guns were changed to two 8-inch 65 cwt MSLB 9-foot shell guns on pivot mounts, four Dundas 1853 68-pounder 85 cwt 10-foot MLSB solid shot guns plus two 32 pounder 25 cwt 6-foot MLSB solid shot guns on broadside trucks. Later in 1850 six more 32-pounder guns were added. In 1856 another two 32-pounders were added.

Trials

During her full power steam trials her engine developed 673 indicated horsepower (IHP) for a speed of 10.254 knots. She was completed for sea on 12 October 1849 at a first cost of - Hull 19,734 and machinery 20,192.

Commissioned service

First commission

She was commissioned at Portsmouth on the 7th of September 1849 under Captain George T. Gordon, RN for Particular Service. The Royal Navy ran a series of "Experimental Squadrons" during the 1830, and 1840s, with Encounter taking part in the 1851 event. The intention was to trial different types of vessels in a variety of sea and wind conditions, with the aim of building experience of the comparative characteristics of new ships. She paid off at Portsmouth on 15 September 1852.Rif Winfield, Chapter 12, Encounter

Second commission

She was commissioned the next day, on 16 September 1852, under Captain George W.D. O’Callaghan for service at Portsmouth. For the Naval Review on the 10th of August 1853, she was in the port column, led by the new 91-gun, second rate, ''HMS Agamemnon'' (flying the flag of Rear Admiral Armar Lowry-Corry). ''HMS Encounter'' was the seventh ship in line as HRH Queen Victoria, on board the Royal Yacht ''Fairy'', reviewed the ships prior to her departure for Osbourne House on the Isle of Wight. She was assigned to the East Indies and China Station towards the end of 1853. Encounter took part in April 1854 in joint British-American operations against Chinese imperial troops in Shanghai with and . Imperial Chinese troops had begun assaulting foreigners, sacking warehouses, and exacting tolls on boats sailing up and down the Huangpu River. On 3 April two British citizens were accosted by sword-wielding soldiers, and the British and US ships resolved to drive off the Chinese troops. Sixty US sailors and marines and 30 sailors from American merchant ships moved against the left flank of the Chinese entrenchments, while a force of 150 British sailors and marines, and additional "Shanghai volunteers," attacked on the right. Supported by gunfire from two privately owned field pieces and a howitzer, the Allied force routed the Chinese defenders, who "fled in great disorder, leaving behind them a number of wounded and dead." With the outbreak of the Russian War, she was assigned to a squadron of four ships under the command of Vice-Admiral Sir James Stirling. Admiral Stirling, wishing to prevent Russian ships from sheltering in Japanese ports to interdict British merchant vessels, concluded the

Anglo-Japanese Friendship Treaty The was the first treaty between Great Britain and the Empire of Japan, then under the administration of the Tokugawa shogunate. Signed on October 14, 1854, it paralleled the Convention of Kanagawa, a similar agreement between Japan and the United ...

with representatives of the Tokugawa Shoganate at

Nagasaki is the capital and the largest Cities of Japan, city of Nagasaki Prefecture on the island of Kyushu in Japan. It became the sole Nanban trade, port used for trade with the Portuguese and Dutch during the 16th through 19th centuries. The Hi ...

in October 1854. On 3 November 1854 Encounter's boats took part in attacks on pirates in the Macao River. Ten days later her boats attacked and captured a shore battery and destroyed junks in Coulan Bay. On 1 June 1855 a squadron consisting of ''Encounter'', , , , and the French frigate ''Alceste'' entered the harbour of Petropavlovsk. They discovered that the Russian ships had sailed for the

River Amur The Amur (russian: река́ Аму́р, ), or Heilong Jiang (, "Black Dragon River", ), is the world's List of longest rivers, tenth longest river, forming the border between the Russian Far East and Northeast China, Northeastern China (Inne ...

. On 3 June, ''Encounter'', ''Barracouta'' and ''Pique'' sent armed boats to Rakouina Harbour to capture the Russian whaler ''Aian''. On 7–8 June, the same three ships destroyed the batteries and magazines at Petropavlovsk. On 7 October 1856, ''Encounter'' assisted in the refloating of the British merchant ship ''Inchinnan'', which had been driven ashore at

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 ...

on 4 September. The Second Opium War broke out on 8 October. ''Encounter'' was sent from Hong Kong up the

Pearl 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-a ...

to Canton and on 27 October opened fire on selected targets in the city. On 12–13 November she took part in the bombardment and capture of the Bogue forts. On 4 December she took part in the capture of the French

folly fort A folly fort or just folly is a specific type of fort built in shallow water, near the shore, in the second half of the 19th century. The main characteristic of a folly fort was that it was built on the water, very close to the edge, very small, ...

. British forces withdrew from Canton on 8 January 1857. A Parliamentary grant of £33,000 was given to be shared between 56 ships for services on the China Station between 1856 and 1858, in which the ship's company of ''Encounter'' shared. She returned to Home Waters, paying off at Plymouth on 19 February 1858.

Third commission

Between February 1858 and September 1859 she refitted in Devonport. She commissioned on 11 September 1859 under the command of Captain Robert Dew, RN for service in the East Indies and China. During her voyage she escorted the

gunboat A gunboat is a naval watercraft designed for the express purpose of carrying one or more guns to bombard coastal targets, as opposed to those military craft designed for naval warfare, or for ferrying troops or supplies. History Pre-ste ...

s and to China via Madeira, Rio de Janeiro and Singapore. Between 11 May and 15 December 1862 ''Encounter''s commanding officer, Captain Roderick Dew, in charge of a squadron of French and English gunboats supported Chinese troops in action against rebel and pirate forces attacking the

treaty ports Treaty ports (; ja, 条約港) were the port cities in China and Japan that were opened to foreign trade mainly by the unequal treaties forced upon them by Western powers, as well as cities in Korea opened up similarly by the Japanese Empire. ...

. At the beginning of 1864 she was ordered to reyurn to Home Waters.

Fate

She arrived on 21 July 1864 at Plymouth Sound, ''Encounter'' was paid off at Devonport on 3 August 1864. She was broken at Devonport in May 1866.

Citations

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Encounter (1846) Sloops of the Royal Navy Victorian-era sloops of the United Kingdom Ships built in Pembroke Dock 1846 ships