Condor-class sloop
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The ''Condor'' class was a six-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 10-gun screw steel sloops 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 ...
between 1898 and 1900. ''Condor'' foundered in a gale, prompting the Royal Navy to abandon sailing rigs for its ships; all the others in the class survived into the 1920s. The last of the class, ''Mutine'', survived until 1932 as a Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve drill ship.


Design

The ''Condor'' class was constructed of steel to a design by William White, the Royal Navy
Director of Naval Construction The Director of Naval Construction (DNC) also known as the Department of the Director of Naval Construction and Directorate of Naval Construction and originally known as the Chief Constructor of the Navy was a senior principal civil officer resp ...
. They were powered by a three-cylinder vertical triple expansion steam engine developing and driving twin screws.Winfield (2004), pp.278-279.


Sail plan

The class was originally designed and built with
barque A barque, barc, or bark is a type of sailing vessel with three or more masts having the fore- and mainmasts rigged square and only the mizzen (the aftmost mast) rigged fore and aft. Sometimes, the mizzen is only partly fore-and-aft rigged, b ...
-rigged sails, although some pictures show ships of the class with a
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 ...
rig. ''Condor'' was lost in a gale during her first commission, and the contemporary gunnery pioneer Admiral Percy Scott ascribes her sinking to the encumbrance of sails, and furthermore believed that her loss finally convinced the
Admiralty Admiralty most often refers to: *Admiralty, Hong Kong *Admiralty (United Kingdom), military department in command of the Royal Navy from 1707 to 1964 *The rank of admiral *Admiralty law Admiralty can also refer to: Buildings * Admiralty, Traf ...
to abandon sails entirely.
Fifty Years in the Royal Navy
'', Admiral Sir Percy Scott, Bt., John Murray, London, 1919, p.37
All other ships of the class had their sails removed during the first few years of the twentieth century.


Armament

The class was armed with six 4-inch/25-pounder (1 ton) quick-firing breech loaders and four 3-pounder quick-firing breech loaders.


Operational lives

The design of the ''Condor'' class differed from the screw sloops of the 1860s only in an evolutionary sense (although constructed of steel and armed with quick-loading guns, they retained the sails and layout of the earlier vessels); by the turn of the twentieth-century, they were thoroughly obsolete. The overseas stations of the Royal Navy were responsible for patrolling the maritime
British Empire The British Empire was composed of the dominions, colonies, protectorates, mandates, and other territories ruled or administered by the United Kingdom and its predecessor states. It began with the overseas possessions and trading posts e ...
, and these ships were intended for that role. The rapidity with which they were converted to depot ships, training ships or survey ships gives testament to their outmoded design. According to ''Hansard'', it was stated by the
Secretary to the Admiralty S, or s, is the nineteenth letter in the Latin alphabet, used in the modern English alphabet, the alphabets of other western European languages and others worldwide. Its name in English is ''ess'' (pronounced ), plural ''esses''. Histor ...
about the almost identical in Parliament on 6 March 1905 that


HMS ''Condor''

During her short career, ''Condor'' served on 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 ...
. On 3 December 1901 while on passage from
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, to the south by the Strait of Juan de Fuca, to the west by Esquim ...
to
Hawaii Hawaii ( ; haw, Hawaii or ) is a state in the Western United States, located in the Pacific Ocean about from the U.S. mainland. It is the only U.S. state outside North America, the only state that is an archipelago, and the only state ...
she foundered in a gale off
Vancouver Island Vancouver Island is an island in the northeastern Pacific Ocean and part of the Canadian province of British Columbia. The island is in length, in width at its widest point, and in total area, while are of land. The island is the largest by ...
(position approximately ). Her last contact was with the light station on
Cape Flattery Cape Flattery () is the northwesternmost point of the contiguous United States. It is in Clallam County, Washington on the Olympic Peninsula, where the Strait of Juan de Fuca joins the Pacific Ocean. It is also part of the Makah Reservation, and ...
. All hands (130 ship's company and 10 supernumeries) were lost. The tragedy occurred during her first commission and less than three years after her launch. In May 1949 the trawler ''Blanco'' hauled up wreckage from a depth of The wreckage included a ship's
binnacle A binnacle is a waist-high case or stand on the deck of a ship, generally mounted in front of the helmsman, in which navigational instruments are placed for easy and quick reference as well as to protect the delicate instruments. Its traditional ...
matching that supplied to ''Condor''.


HMS ''Rosario''

''Rosario'' relieved on 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 ...
in June 1900, and re-commissioned 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 Delta i ...
on 5 November 1913, becoming a depot ship for submarines. In her role as a submarine depot ship she supported a flotilla of three C-class submarines, , and . These three submarines were built by Vickers, Barrow, commissioned on 1 February 1910 and sailed with HMS ''Rosario'' to Hong Kong in February 1911. They were all sold in Hong Kong on 25 June 1919. HMS ''Rosario'' was sold for scrap in Hong Kong on 11 December 1921. and manned 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 ...
from 1920 on.


HMS ''Mutine''

While being delivered from
Birkenhead Birkenhead (; cy, Penbedw) is a town in the Metropolitan Borough of Wirral, Merseyside, England; historically, it was part of Cheshire until 1974. The town is on the Wirral Peninsula, along the south bank of the River Mersey, opposite Liver ...
to
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 ...
an incident in ''Mutine''s boiler rooms caused some loss of life and gave her a name as an unlucky ship before her career even began. She served on 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 ...
and became a survey ship, surviving until 1932 as a Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve drill ship, the last of her class to be sold.


HMS ''Rinaldo''

''Rinaldo'' served in Southeast Asia, including taking medical assistance to Brunei in August 1904 during an outbreak of smallpox.''Colonial Office Correspondence Relating To Brunei 'Destroyed Under Statute' 1906–1934'', by A V M Horton, IJAPS Vol. 1 2005
/ref> By 1914 she was tender and training ship to , Devonport
Royal Naval Reserve The Royal Naval Reserve (RNR) is one of the two volunteer reserve forces of the Royal Navy in the United Kingdom. Together with the Royal Marines Reserve, they form the Maritime Reserve. The present RNR was formed by merging the original Ro ...
. She then saw service in West, South and East Africa until the end of WW1. She was sold for breaking in October 1921.


HMS ''Shearwater''

''Shearwater'' served on 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 ...
. She recommissioned on 27 November 1912 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, to the south by the Strait of Juan de Fuca, to the west by Esquim ...
. She was transferred to the
Royal Canadian Navy The Royal Canadian Navy (RCN; french: Marine royale canadienne, ''MRC'') is the naval force of Canada. The RCN is one of three environmental commands within the Canadian Armed Forces. As of 2021, the RCN operates 12 frigates, four attack submar ...
as a submarine depot ship in 1915, sold to Western Shipping Co, Canada in May 1922 and renamed ''Vedas''.


HMS ''Vestal''

''Vestal'' served on 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 ...
, later becoming training ship and tender to , Portsmouth. She was sold for breaking on the same day as ''Rinaldo''.


Ships


Notes


Citations


References

*


External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Condor class Sloop classes Condor