HMS Champion (1878)
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HMS ''Champion'' was one of nine s of 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 ...
, built in the late 1870s and early 1880s to a design by
Nathaniel Barnaby Sir Nathaniel Barnaby, (25 February 1829 – 16 June 1915) was Chief Constructor of the Royal Navy from 1872 to 1885. Biography Born on 25 February 1829 in Chatham, Barnaby began his career as a naval apprentice at Sheerness in 1843. He won a ...
. ''Champion'' was one of three in the class built by J. Elder & Co.,
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 ...
,
Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the ...
and was launched on 1 July 1878.Bastock, p.107. She was the third vessel under this name in the Royal Navy.


Design and construction

''Champion'' was a single-screw corvette (later classified as a third-class
cruiser A cruiser is a type of warship. Modern cruisers are generally the largest ships in a fleet after aircraft carriers and amphibious assault ships, and can usually perform several roles. The term "cruiser", which has been in use for several hu ...
) designed for distant cruising service for the British Empire. The intention of the Royal Navy was to use the class as scout vessel for the fleet, but due to their slow speed, the class was mainly used for protection across the globe. Built with iron frames and steel plating, ''Champion'' was sheathed with two layers of
teak Teak (''Tectona grandis'') is a tropical hardwood tree species in the family Lamiaceae. It is a large, deciduous tree that occurs in mixed hardwood forests. ''Tectona grandis'' has small, fragrant white flowers arranged in dense clusters (panicl ...
wood and sheathed with copper. The hull was unprotected except for a 1.5 in (38 mm) of armour over the machinery spaces. with some additional protection offered by the coal bunkers flanking the engine spaces and magazines. They marked a dramatic step forward in basic habitability, with improved below-decks ventilation, a
sick bay A sick bay is a compartment in a ship, or a section of another organisation, such as a school or college, used for medical purposes. The sick bay contains the ship's medicine chest, which may be divided into separate cabinets, such as a refrigerat ...
, bathroom for ratings and even a ship’s library.Chesneau, '' Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships 1860–1905'', p. 52-53. ''Champion'' had a
ship rig A full-rigged ship or fully rigged ship is a sailing vessel's sail plan with three or more masts, all of them square-rigged. A full-rigged ship is said to have a ship rig or be ship-rigged. Such vessels also have each mast stepped in three seg ...
, with sqaresails on all three masts. She and her class were among the last of the sailing corvettes.Archibald, p. 43 The vessel was also equipped with a steam engine driving a single screw with 2,590
indicated horsepower Horsepower (hp) is a unit of measurement of Power (physics), power, or the rate at which Work (physics), work is done, usually in reference to the output of engines or motors. There are many different standards and types of horsepower. Two commo ...
;Archibald, p. 49 to reduce resistance, this propeller could be hoisted into a slot cut in the keel when the vessel was under sail. ''Champion'' initially carried two 7-inch muzzle-loading rifles, four breechloading 6-inch 80-pounder guns and eight 64-pdr muzzle-loading rifles, but the breech loaders proved unsatisfactory and were replaced in 1885 with four 6 inch BL MK III, eight 5 inch BL MK III, four
QF 3 pounder Hotchkiss The QF 3-pounder Hotchkiss or in French use Canon Hotchkiss à tir rapide de 47 mm were a family of long-lived light naval guns introduced in 1886 to defend against new, small and fast vessels such as torpedo boats and later submarines. T ...
and two light guns, six machine guns and two torpedo carriages. Laid down on 17 August 1876 as yard number 207, ''Champion'' was launched on 1 July 1878 and commissioned on 7 December 1880.


Career

''Champion'' was fitted for sea at
Sheerness Sheerness () is a town and civil parish beside the mouth of the River Medway on the north-west corner of the Isle of Sheppey in north Kent, England. With a population of 11,938, it is the second largest town on the island after the nearby town ...
. She visited
Amoy Xiamen ( , ; ), also known as Amoy (, from Hokkien pronunciation ), is a sub-provincial city in southeastern Fujian, People's Republic of China, beside the Taiwan Strait. It is divided into six districts: Huli, Siming, Jimei, Tong'an, ...
, China in April 1886 and was based in the Pacific from 1890 with 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 August 1891 under command of Captain Frederick St Clair, ''Champion'' cooperated in a joint landing by French, American and German warships at Valparaiso,
Chile Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in the western part of South America. It is the southernmost country in the world, and the closest to Antarctica, occupying a long and narrow strip of land between the Andes to the east a ...
, to protect civilians and their respective consulates during the
1891 Chilean Civil War The Chilean Civil War of 1891 (also known as Revolution of 1891) was a civil war in Chile fought between forces supporting Congress and forces supporting the President, José Manuel Balmaceda from 16 January 1891 to 18 September 1891. The war ...
. The officers of the international parties placed themselves in front of the muzzles of some
machine gun A machine gun is a fully automatic, rifled autoloading firearm designed for sustained direct fire with rifle cartridges. Other automatic firearms such as automatic shotguns and automatic rifles (including assault rifles and battle rifles) a ...
s with which the president-elect had threatened the civilian populace.Lecky 1913, p. 43 During 1892, ''Champion'' made a survey and map to
Johnston Atoll Johnston Atoll is an Unincorporated territories of the United States, unincorporated territory of the United States, currently administered by the United States Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS). Johnston Atoll is a National Wildlife Refuge and ...
, hoping that it might be suitable as a cable station. On 16 January 1893, the Hawaiian Legation at London reported a diplomatic conference over this temporary occupation of the island. In 1893, under command of Captain Rookes, ''Champion'' visited
Pitcairn Island Pitcairn Island is the only inhabited island of the Pitcairn Islands, of which many inhabitants are descendants of mutineers of HMS ''Bounty''. Geography The island is of volcanic origin, with a rugged cliff coastline. Unlike many other ...
, during which time Captain Rookes prepared a
criminal code A criminal code (or penal code) is a document that compiles all, or a significant amount of a particular jurisdiction's criminal law. Typically a criminal code will contain offences that are recognised in the jurisdiction, penalties that migh ...
and reorganized the government of the colony. ''Champion'' was present at the
Naval Review A fleet review or naval review is an event where a gathering of ships from a particular navy is paraded and reviewed by an incumbent head of state and/or other official civilian and military dignitaries. A number of national navies continue to ...
at
Spithead Spithead is an area of the Solent and a roadstead off Gilkicker Point in Hampshire, England. It is protected from all winds except those from the southeast. It receives its name from the Spit, a sandbank stretching south from the Hampshire ...
in celebration of the
Diamond Jubilee A diamond jubilee celebrates the 60th anniversary of a significant event related to a person (e.g. accession to the throne or wedding, among others) or the 60th anniversary of an institution's founding. The term is also used for 75th annivers ...
on 26 June 1897. From 1904, she was placed in harbour duty as a training vessel, and became a stokers training ship in
Chatham Chatham may refer to: Places and jurisdictions Canada * Chatham Islands (British Columbia) * Chatham Sound, British Columbia * Chatham, New Brunswick, a former town, now a neighbourhood of Miramichi * Chatham (electoral district), New Brunswic ...
. She was renamed ''Champion (old)'' when the new was built in 1915. During the
First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
she was moored in the middle of the Thames between
Cliffe Fort Cliffe Fort is a disused artillery fort built in the 1860s to guard the entrance to the Thames from seaborne attack. Constructed during a period of tension with France, it stands on the south bank of the river at the entrance to Cliffe Creek in ...
and
Coalhouse Fort Coalhouse Fort is an artillery fort in the eastern English county of Essex. It was built in the 1860s to guard the lower Thames from seaborne attack. It stands at Coalhouse Point on the north bank of the river, at a location near East Tilbury ...
, where she was used by the River Examination Service to control river traffic. On 23 June 1919, her hulk was sold to
Hughes Bolckow Hughes Bolckow formerly ''Messrs, Hughes, Bolckow, and Co., Limited'' was a well-known shipbreaking company based in Blyth, Northumberland. Background Intending to create an industrial park for dismantling obsolete warships in 1911, the compa ...
, Blyth for scrapping.


Citations


References

*Bastock, John (1988), ''Ships on the Australia Station'', Child & Associates Publishing Pty Ltd; Frenchs Forest, Australia. * * * * *


External links


HMS Champion on stamps of the Pitcairn Islands
{{DEFAULTSORT:Champion (1878) 1878 ships Ships built on the River Clyde Victorian-era corvettes of the United Kingdom Victorian-era cruisers of the United Kingdom Comus-class corvettes