The ''Clown''-class gunboat was a class of twelve

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 ordered by 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 ...

in January 1856 for use in the

Crimean War The Crimean War, , was fought from October 1853 to February 1856 between Russia and an ultimately victorious alliance of the Ottoman Empire, France, the United Kingdom and Piedmont-Sardinia. Geopolitical causes of the war included the ...

, although by the time they were completed, later that year, the Crimean War was over and some of these gunboats were sent to the

Far East The ''Far East'' was a European term to refer to the geographical regions that includes East and Southeast Asia as well as the Russian Far East to a lesser extent. South Asia is sometimes also included for economic and cultural reasons. The ter ...

and took part in the Second Opium War.

Design

The ''Clown'' class was an improved version of the preceding designed by W.H. Walker. The ships were wooden-hulled, with steam power as well as sails, and of particularly shallow draught (design draught ) for coastal bombardment in shallow waters.

Sail plan

Ships of the class were provided with a typical "gunboat rig" of three

gaff rig Gaff rig is a sailing rig (configuration of sails, mast and stays) in which the sail is four-cornered, fore-and-aft rigged, controlled at its peak and, usually, its entire head by a spar (pole) called the ''gaff''. Because of the size and shap ...

ged masts with a total sail area of .

Propulsion

One-cylinder horizontal direct-acting single-expansion steam engine built by

John Penn and Sons John Penn and Sons was an English engineering company based in London, and mainly known for its marine steam engines. History Establishment In 1799, engineer and millwright John Penn (born in Taunton, Somerset, 1770; died 6 June 1843) started ...

, with two boilers, provided 40

nominal 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 ...

through a single screw, sufficient for .

Armament

Ships of the class were armed with one 68-pounder and one 32-pounder smooth bore muzzle loading cannons.

Ships

References

* * {{Clown-class gunboat Gunboat classes Clown Gunboats of the Royal Navy