The Calypso class comprised two steam corvette

Corvette

A corvette is a small, maneuverable, lightly armed warship, originally smaller than a frigate and larger than a coastal patrol craft or fast attack craft , although many recent designs resemble frigates in size and role...

s (later classified as third-class cruiser

Cruiser

A cruiser is a type of warship. The term has been in use for several hundreds of years, and has had different meanings throughout this period...

s) of the Royal Navy

Royal Navy

The Royal Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Founded in the 16th century, it is the oldest service branch and is known as the Senior Service...

. Built for distant cruising in the heyday of the British Empire, they served with the fleet until the early twentieth century, when they became training ships. Remnants of both survive, after a fashion; HMS Calliope

HMS Calliope (1884)

HMS Calliope was a Calypso-class corvette of the Royal Navy which served from 1887 until 1951. Like all the remaining frigates and corvette extent in 1887, she was re-classified as a third-class cruiser in the year she was completed, and exemplified the transitional nature of the late Victorian navy...

 in the name of the Naval Reserve unit she once served, and HMS Calypso

HMS Calypso (1883)

HMS Calypso was a corvette of the Royal Navy and the name ship of her class. Built for distant cruising in the heyday of the British Empire, she served as a warship and training vessel until 1922, when she was sold.As originally classified as a screw corvette, Calypso was one of the Royal Navy’s...

 both in the name of a civilian charity and the more corporeal form of her hull, now awash in a cove off Newfoundland.

The class exemplifes the transitional nature of the late Victorian

Victorian era

The Victorian era of British history was the period of Queen Victoria's reign from 20 June 1837 until her death on 22 January 1901. It was a long period of peace, prosperity, refined sensibilities and national self-confidence...

 navy. In design, materials, armament, and propulsion the Calypso show evidence of their wooden sailing antecedents, blended with characteristics of the all-metal mastless steam warships which followed. Their appearance and layout was similar to "pure" sailing corvettes, with boiler rooms, machinery spaces, ventilators, and a flue added. Of iron and steel construction, they had coppering

Copper sheathing

Copper sheathing was the practice of protecting the under-water hull of a ship or boat through the use of copper plates affixed to the outside of the hull. It was pioneered and developed by the Royal Navy during the 18th century.-Development:...

 over timber below the waterline, as did older wooden vessels. Their armament was not in turrets or barbettes, but arranged in a central broadside battery, with the four largest guns on sponson

Sponson

Sponsons are projections from the sides of a watercraft, for protection, stability, or the mounting of equipment such as armaments or lifeboats, etc...

s to give larger arcs of fire. And they had both powerful steam engines and an extensive rig of sail — very nearly the last of the sailing cruisers.

Design

Calypso and Calliope made up the Calypso class, a successor to the successful Comus class, all designed by Nathaniel Barnaby

Nathaniel Barnaby

Sir Nathaniel Barnaby, KCB was Chief Constructor of the Royal Navy from 1872 to 1885....

. The vessels were screw corvettes or small cruisers, and were among the Royal Navy’s last sailing corvettes. They supplemented an extensive sail rig with powerful engines.

In profile they resembled older wooden sailing frigates, from bowsprit

Bowsprit

The bowsprit of a sailing vessel is a pole extending forward from the vessel's prow. It provides an anchor point for the forestay, allowing the fore-mast to be stepped farther forward on the hull.-Origin:...

 to stern gallery. The ports

Porthole

A porthole is a generally circular, window used on the hull of ships to admit light and air. Porthole is actually an abbreviated term for "port hole window"...

 in the gallery were false, and there were no quarter galleries

Quarter gallery

A quarter gallery is an architectural feature of the stern of a sailing ship from around the 16th to the 19th century. Quarter galleries are a kind of balconies, typically placed on the sides of the sterncastle, the high, tower-like structure at the back of a ship that housed the officer's quarters...

. Other differences included a nearly straight stem

Stem (ship)

The stem is the very most forward part of a boat or ship's bow and is an extension of the keel itself and curves up to the wale of the boat. The stem is more often found on wooden boats or ships, but not exclusively...

 angling forward to an underwater ram bow

Naval ram

A naval ram was a weapon carried by varied types of ships, dating back to antiquity. The weapon consisted of an underwater prolongation of the bow of the ship to form an armoured beak, usually between six and twelve feet in length...

, a shorter battery, and sponson

Sponson

Sponsons are projections from the sides of a watercraft, for protection, stability, or the mounting of equipment such as armaments or lifeboats, etc...

ed guns on the corners of the battery. Above the decks they had a full suite of masts and spars, standing

Standing rigging

On a sailing boat, standing rigging generally refers to lines, wires, or rods which are more or less fixed in position while the boat is under sail. This term is used in contrast to running rigging, which represents elements of rigging which move and change fairly often while under sail...

 and running rigging

Running rigging

Running rigging is the term for the rigging of a sailing vessel that is used for raising, lowering and controlling the sails - as opposed to the standing rigging, which supports the mast and other spars....

, and square and fore-and-aft sails. The shrouds

Shroud (sailing)

On a sailboat, the shrouds are pieces of standing rigging which hold the mast up from side to side. There is frequently more than one shroud on each side of the boat....

 were not attached to chainplate

Chainplate

A chainplate is a metal plate used to fasten a shroud or stay to the hull of a sailboat. One end of the chainplate is normally fastened to a turnbuckle which is connected to the shroud or stay, whereas the remainder of the chainplate normally has multiple holes that are bolted to the hull...

s on the outside of the hull, as in older vessels, but to the inside of the bulwarks. Interposed between the masts and rigging were the ventilators and stack of the steam plant. In plan the ships shows decks common to older sailing cruising vessels, including a poop deck

Poop deck

In naval architecture, a poop deck is a deck that forms the roof of a cabin built in the rear, or "aft", part of the superstructure of a ship.The name originates from the French word for stern, la poupe, from Latin puppis...

 at the rear, the overhang of which sheltered a wheel on the quarterdeck

Quarterdeck

The quarterdeck is that part of a warship designated by the commanding officer for official and ceremonial functions. In port, the quarterdeck is the most important place on the ship, and is the central control point for all its major activities. Underway, its importance diminishes as control of...

 below. The guns were all on the highest continuous deck; the battery was shorter than on wooden vessels with full-length gun decks, as the class carried fewer (although more powerful) guns than corvettes and frigates in the classic age of sail; all guns were carried in the waist of the ship, between the poop and forecastle.

The armament of the class consisted of naval rifles-- breechloaders with rifling

Rifling

Rifling is the process of making helical grooves in the barrel of a gun or firearm, which imparts a spin to a projectile around its long axis...

 in their bores to impart a spin and therefore stability to projectiles in flight. The Calypsos differed however from the previous Comus class, as they had new 6" rifles in place of the 7" muzzleloaders and 64-pounders that originally armed the predecessor class, and 5" guns in a battery between the 6" guns. There were four 6 inches (152.4 mm) breechloaders in sponson

Sponson

Sponsons are projections from the sides of a watercraft, for protection, stability, or the mounting of equipment such as armaments or lifeboats, etc...

s fore and aft on each side, twelve 5 inches (127 mm) breechloaders

BL 5 inch gun Mk I - V

The BL 5 inch guns Mk I - Mk V were early British 5-inch breechloading naval guns after it switched from muzzle-loaders in the late 1870s. They were originally designed to use the old gunpowder propellants...

 in broadside

Broadside

A broadside is the side of a ship; the battery of cannon on one side of a warship; or their simultaneous fire in naval warfare.-Age of Sail:...

 between the 6" guns, and six quck-firing Nordenfelts

Nordenfelt gun

The Nordenfelt Gun was a multiple barrel machine gun that had a row of up to twelve barrels. It was fired by pulling a lever back and forth. It was produced in a number of different calibres from rifle up to 25 mm...

.

The Calypsos were slightly longer than their predecessors, and displaced 390 tons more. Their engines were of 4,023 i.h.p., over 50% more powerful than those of their nine predecessors, which gave them one more knot of speed. These compound engines could drive the ships at 13¾ knots, or 14¾ knots with forced draught. The hulls of these vessels were of course adapted for the screw driven by their reciprocating steam engines. In common with older vessels, they were coppered to reduce fouling

Fouling

Fouling refers to the accumulation of unwanted material on solid surfaces, most often in an aquatic environment. The fouling material can consist of either living organisms or a non-living substance...

 from marine growth, and the copper sheathing was affixed to timber as in wooden ships, but that timber was not structural, but simply encased the metal hull beneath. The vessels were among the first of the smaller cruisers to be given metal hulls.

They carried a barque rig of sail on three masts, including a full set of studding sail

Studding sail

A studding sail or studsail is a sail used to increase the sail area of a square rigged vessel in light winds. Traditionally pronounced stuns'l.It is an extra sail hoisted alongside a square-rigged sail on an extension of its yardarm...

s on fore and mainmasts. This rig enabled them to serve in areas where coaling stations were rare, and to rely on their sails for propulsion. That flexibility made them was well-suited to distant cruising service and trade protection for the British Empire

British Empire

The British Empire comprised the dominions, colonies, protectorates, mandates and other territories ruled or administered by the United Kingdom. It originated with the overseas colonies and trading posts established by England in the late 16th and early 17th centuries. At its height, it was the...

.

The vessels had two complete decks, upper and lower, with poop and forecastle decks. The poop deck contained cabins for the Captain, First Lieutenant, and Navigating Officer, with the double wheel sheltered under its forward end. The forecastle was used for the heads

Head (watercraft)

The head is a ship's toilet. The name derives from sailing ships in which the toilet area for the regular sailors was placed at the head or bow of the ship.-Design:In sailing ships the toilet was placed in the bow for two reasons...

 and working space for the cables. Between these was the open quarterdeck in the waist of the ship, on which the battery was located. Under the lower deck were spaces for water, provisions, coal, and magazines for shell and powder. Amidships were the engine and boiler rooms. These were covered by an armoured deck, 1.5 inches (38 mm) thick and approximately 103 ft (31 m) long. This armour was about 3 ft (120 cm) underneath the lower deck, and the space between could be used for additional coal bunkerage. The machinery spaces were flanked by coal bunkers, affording the machinery and magazines some protection from the sides. The lower deck, above the machinery spaces, was used for berthing of the ship's company; officers aft, warrant and petty officers forward, and ratings amidships, as was traditional. The tops of the coal bunkers, which projected above deck level, could be used for seating on one side of the mess tables, which were arranged fore-and-aft. The living spaces were well-ventilated and an improvement over prior vessels.

Service

Both vessels had relatively short careers with the fleet. In the 1890s they were relegated to training and subsidiary duties. Both were present at the 1897 Review of the Fleet, held to celebrate the Diamond Jubilee

Diamond Jubilee

A Diamond Jubilee is a celebration held to mark a 60th anniversary in the case of a person or a 75th anniversary in the case of an event.- Thailand :...

 of Queen Victoria's

Victoria of the United Kingdom

Victoria was the monarch of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 20 June 1837 until her death. From 1 May 1876, she used the additional title of Empress of India....

 accession to the throne.

Calliope

Calliope had achieved fame as the only ship to escape from the 1889 Apia cyclone

1889 Apia cyclone

The 1889 Apia cyclone was a Pacific tropical cyclone, which swept across Apia, Samoa on March 15, 1889 during the Samoan crisis. The effect on shipping in the harbour was devastating, largely because of what has been described as 'an error of judgement that will forever remain a paradox in human...

, for which she thereafter was known as the "Hurricane Jumper". After her fleet service, she became a drill ship on the Tyne

River Tyne

The River Tyne is a river in North East England in Great Britain. It is formed by the confluence of two rivers: the North Tyne and the South Tyne. These two rivers converge at Warden Rock near Hexham in Northumberland at a place dubbed 'The Meeting of the Waters'.The North Tyne rises on the...

 in 1907. She gave her name to the "stone frigate

Stone frigate

Stone frigate is a nickname for a naval establishment on land. The term has its origin in Britain's Royal Navy after its use of Diamond Rock, off Martinique, as a 'sloop of war' to harass the French...

" (shore establishment) now operating there under the name of HMS Calliope

HMS Calliope (shore establishment)

HMS Calliope is a training centre and 'stone frigate' of the Royal Naval Reserve, located in Gateshead, Tyne and Wear.-History:A Tyne-based division of the Royal Naval Reserve was established in 1905, and used the old Calypso class third class cruiser HMS Calliope as its drill ship...

. The vessel itself was discarded in 1951.

Calypso

Calypso had a less eventful and shorter career overall, although she spent more time at sea than her sister. As part of the sail training squadron, Calypso cruised in home waters, the North Sea, and the Arctic and Atlantic oceans. In 1902, after that service ended, she was sent to the colony of Newfoundland

History of Newfoundland and Labrador

The History of Newfoundland and Labrador is the story of the peoples who have lived in what is now the Canadian province of Newfoundland and Labrador....

, where she served as a stationary training vessel for the Newfoundland Royal Naval Reserve

Newfoundland Royal Naval Reserve

The Newfoundland Royal Naval Reserve was a military reserve force founded in 1900 in what was then the Colony of Newfoundland, a part of the British Empire...

 before and during World War I

World War I

World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...

. In 1922 she was declared surplus and sold out of the service, and thereafter used as a storage hulk in Lewisporte

Lewisporte

Lewisporte is a town in central Newfoundland Island, Canada, with a population of 3,312. It is situated in a bay close to the mouth of the Exploits River. Lewisporte has an excellent port and related facilities that serve the many communities along Notre Dame Bay. Gander and its international...

. Her name was taken by the Calypso Foundation, a local charity engaged in training the developmentally disabled. The ship's hull was towed away to a coastal bay and burned out. It is still there, awash in the waters of the Atlantic Ocean.

Table of vessels

Ship	Laid down	Builder	Engine-builder	Launched	Completed	Disposition	Fate
HMS Calypso HMS Calypso (1883) HMS Calypso was a corvette of the Royal Navy and the name ship of her class. Built for distant cruising in the heyday of the British Empire, she served as a warship and training vessel until 1922, when she was sold.As originally classified as a screw corvette, Calypso was one of the Royal Navy’s...	1 September 1881	Chatham Dockyard Chatham Dockyard Chatham Dockyard, located on the River Medway and of which two-thirds is in Gillingham and one third in Chatham, Kent, England, came into existence at the time when, following the Reformation, relations with the Catholic countries of Europe had worsened, leading to a requirement for additional...	J. & G. Rennie	7 June 1883	October 1885	RNR training ship 1902	Sold 1922, hull still extant
HMS Calliope HMS Calliope (1884) HMS Calliope was a Calypso-class corvette of the Royal Navy which served from 1887 until 1951. Like all the remaining frigates and corvette extent in 1887, she was re-classified as a third-class cruiser in the year she was completed, and exemplified the transitional nature of the late Victorian navy...	1 October 1881	Portsmouth Dockyard HMNB Portsmouth Her Majesty's Naval Base Portsmouth is one of three operating bases in the United Kingdom for the British Royal Navy...	J. & G. Rennie	24 July 1884	25 January 1887	RNR training ship 1907	Sold for breaking 1951

Photographs

• Black and white drawing, port bow 1/4 view, under full sail including stunsails, appears to show ship rig.
• Photograph c. 1910 (sic: vessel is shown in condition prior to 1902 modifications), starboard broadside view, sails set on fore and main, yards on mizzen, jibs set.
• Photograph, port broadside view, no sails set, yards on mizzen.
• Photographs showing Calypso/Briton while in Newfoundland, including personnel and erection on deck.