The ''Phoenix'' class was a two-ship

class Class or The Class may refer to: Common uses not otherwise categorized * Class (biology), a taxonomic rank * Class (knowledge representation), a collection of individuals or objects * Class (philosophy), an analytical concept used differentl ...

of 6-gun screw steel

sloop A sloop is a sailboat with a single mast typically having only one headsail in front of the mast and one mainsail aft of (behind) the mast. Such an arrangement is called a fore-and-aft rig, and can be rigged as a Bermuda rig with triangular sa ...

s built 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 F ...

in 1895. Both ships participated in the suppression of the Boxer Rebellion, but ''Phoenix'' was destroyed in a typhoon while alongside in Hong Kong in 1906. ''Algerine'' became a depot ship at Esquimalt, was sold in 1919, and was finally wrecked in 1923.

Design

''Phoenix'' and ''Algerine'' were constructed of steel and powered by both

barquentine A barquentine or schooner barque (alternatively "barkentine" or "schooner bark") is a sailing vessel with three or more masts; with a square rigged foremast and fore-and-aft rigged main, mizzen and any other masts. Modern barquentine sailing r ...

-rigged sails and a twin-screw steam engine developing 1,400

horsepower Horsepower (hp) is a unit of measurement of power, or the rate at which work is done, usually in reference to the output of engines or motors. There are many different standards and types of horsepower. Two common definitions used today are the ...

. They were essentially a twin-screw version of the ''Alert''-class sloop.

Operational lives

Screw sloops like ''Phoenix'' had been obsolete for many years, but they remained ideal for patrolling Britain's far flung maritime empire, and both ''Phoenix'' and ''Algerine'' were deployed to the

China Station The Commander-in-Chief, China was the admiral in command of what was usually known as the China Station, at once both a British Royal Navy naval formation and its admiral in command. It was created in 1865 and deactivated in 1941. From 1831 to 18 ...

. Both ships recommissioned at

Hong Kong 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 Delt ...

and served in Chinese waters during the

Boxer Rebellion The Boxer Rebellion, also known as the Boxer Uprising, the Boxer Insurrection, or the Yihetuan Movement, was an anti-foreign, anti-colonial, and anti-Christian uprising in China between 1899 and 1901, towards the end of the Qing dynasty, by ...

. In June 1900 ''Algerine'' was involved in an attack on the

Taku Forts The Taku Forts or Dagu Forts, also called the Peiho Forts are forts located by the Hai River (Peiho River) estuary in the Binhai New Area, Tianjin, in northeastern China. They are located southeast of the Tianjin urban center. History The f ...

, including contributing to a multi-national landing party, and had 6 men wounded. She also landed a 4-inch gun, and this was used in the capture of

Tientsin Tianjin (; ; Mandarin: ), alternately romanized as Tientsin (), is a municipality and a coastal metropolis in Northern China on the shore of the Bohai Sea. It is one of the nine national central cities in Mainland China, with a total popul ...

. ''Phoenix'' had the misfortune to be alongside a coaling pier in

on 18 September 1906 when a

typhoon A typhoon is a mature tropical cyclone that develops between 180° and 100°E in the Northern Hemisphere. This region is referred to as the Northwestern Pacific Basin, and is the most active tropical cyclone basin on Earth, accounting for a ...

struck the colony. She foundered and became a total loss. ''Algerine'' continued to serve, including time at

Esquimalt The Township of Esquimalt is a municipality at the southern tip of Vancouver Island, in British Columbia, Canada. It is bordered to the east by the provincial capital, Victoria, British Columbia, Victoria, to the south by the Strait of Juan de ...

and the

West Coast of the United States The West Coast of the United States, also known as the Pacific Coast, Pacific states, and the western seaboard, is the coastline along which the Western United States meets the North Pacific Ocean. The term typically refers to the contiguous U.S ...

. In 1914 her crew was sent to man , and in 1917 she was lent to the Royal Canadian Navy to serve as a depot ship at Esquimalt. She was sold in 1919 and converted to a salvage vessel. In her new guise she was wrecked on 13 October 1923 in the

Principe Channel Principe Channel is a strait on the North Coast of British Columbia, Canada, located between Banks Island (W) and Pitt Island (E). "Principe" means "prince" in Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a na ...

British Columbia British Columbia (commonly abbreviated as BC) is the westernmost province of Canada, situated between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains. It has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that include rocky coastlines, sandy beaches, ...

Design

Operational lives

Ships

Citations

References

External links