Condor class sloop
Encyclopedia
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Ship class
A ship class is a group of ships of a similar design. This is distinct from a ship-type, which might reflect a similarity of tonnage or intended use. For example, the is a nuclear aircraft carrier of the Nimitz class....
of 10-gun screw steel sloop
Sloop-of-war
In the 18th and most of the 19th centuries, a sloop-of-war was a warship with a single gun deck that carried up to eighteen guns. As the rating system covered all vessels with 20 guns and above, this meant that the term sloop-of-war actually encompassed all the unrated combat vessels including the...
s built for 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...
between 1898 and 1900. Condor foundered in a gale, prompting the Royal Navy to abandon sailing rigs for its ships. 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 WhiteWilliam Henry White
Sir William Henry White was a prolific British warship designer and Chief Constructor at the Admiralty....
, the Royal Navy Director of Naval Construction
Director of Naval Construction
The Director of Naval Construction was a senior British civil servant post in the Admiralty, that part of the British Civil Service that oversaw the Royal Navy. The post existed from 1860 to 1966....
. They were powered by a three-cylinder vertical triple expansion steam engine developing 1400 hp and driving twin screws.
Sail plan
The class was originally designed and built with barqueBarque
A barque, barc, or bark is a type of sailing vessel with three or more masts.- History of the term :The word barque appears to have come from the Greek word baris, a term for an Egyptian boat. This entered Latin as barca, which gave rise to the Italian barca, Spanish barco, and the French barge and...
-rigged sails, although some pictures show ships of the class with a barquentine
Barquentine
A barquentine 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:...
rig. Condor was lost in a gale during her first commission, and the contemporary gunnery pioneer Admiral Percy Scott
Percy Scott
Admiral Sir Percy Moreton Scott, 1st Baronet GCB KCVO was a British Royal Navy officer and a pioneer in modern naval gunnery.-Early years:...
ascribes her sinking to the encumbrance of sails, and furthermore believed that her loss finally convinced that Admiralty
Admiralty
The Admiralty was formerly the authority in the Kingdom of England, and later in the United Kingdom, responsible for the command of the Royal Navy...
to abandon sails entirely. 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 loadersQF 3 pounder Hotchkiss
The QF 3 pounder Hotchkiss was a light 47-mm naval gun introduced in 1886 to defend against new small fast vessels such as torpedo boats, and later submarines...
.
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 EmpireBritish 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...
, 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 about the almost identical Cadmus class
Cadmus class sloop
The Cadmus class was a six-ship class of 10-gun screw steel sloops built for the Royal Navy between 1900 and 1903. Most of the class survived until the 1920s, remaining on colonial stations during World War I.-Design:...
in Parliament on 6 March 1905 that
HMS Condor
During her short career, Condor served on the Pacific StationPacific Station
The Pacific Station, often referred to as the Pacific Squadron, was one of the geographical divisions into which the Royal Navy divided its worldwide responsibilities...
. On 3 December 1901 while on passage from Esquimalt to Hawaii
Hawaii
Hawaii is the newest of the 50 U.S. states , and is the only U.S. state made up entirely of islands. It is the northernmost island group in Polynesia, occupying most of an archipelago in the central Pacific Ocean, southwest of the continental United States, southeast of Japan, and northeast of...
she foundered in a gale off Vancouver Island
Vancouver Island
Vancouver Island is a large island in British Columbia, Canada. It is one of several North American locations named after George Vancouver, the British Royal Navy officer who explored the Pacific Northwest coast of North America between 1791 and 1794...
(position approximately 48°15′N 125°40′W). Her last contact was with the light station on Cape Flattery
Cape Flattery
Cape Flattery may refer to:* Cape Flattery * Cape Flattery , between North Direction Island, South Direction Island and Three Islands...
. 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 250 ft (76.2 m) The wreckage included a ship's binnacle
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 purpose was to hold the ship's magnetic compass,...
matching that supplied to Condor.
HMS Rosario
Rosario relieved HMS Rattler on the China StationChina Station
The China Station was a historical formation of the British Royal Navy. It was formally the units and establishments responsible to the Commander-in-Chief, China....
in June 1900, and re-commissioned at Hong Kong
Hong Kong
Hong Kong is one of two Special Administrative Regions of the People's Republic of China , the other being Macau. A city-state situated on China's south coast and enclosed by the Pearl River Delta and South China Sea, it is renowned for its expansive skyline and deep natural harbour...
on 5 November 1913, becoming a depot ship for submarines. She was sold at Hong Kong in December 1921.
HMS Mutine
While being delivered from BirkenheadBirkenhead
Birkenhead is a town within the Metropolitan Borough of Wirral in Merseyside, England. It is on the Wirral Peninsula, along the west bank of the River Mersey, opposite the city of Liverpool...
to Portsmouth
HMNB Portsmouth
Her Majesty's Naval Base Portsmouth is one of three operating bases in the United Kingdom for the British Royal Navy...
an accident 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
China Station
The China Station was a historical formation of the British Royal Navy. It was formally the units and establishments responsible to the Commander-in-Chief, China....
and became a survey ship, surviving until 1932 as an Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve drill ship, the last of her class to be sold.
HMS Rinaldo
Rinaldo served in South-East Asia, including taking medical assistance to Brunei in August 1904 during an outbreak of smallpox. By 1914 she was tender and training ship to HMS Vivid, DevonportHMNB Devonport
Her Majesty's Naval Base Devonport , is one of three operating bases in the United Kingdom for the Royal Navy . HMNB Devonport is located in Devonport, in the west of the city of Plymouth in Devon, England...
Royal Naval Reserve
Royal Naval Reserve
The Royal Naval Reserve is the volunteer reserve force of the Royal Navy in the United Kingdom. The present Royal Naval Reserve was formed in 1958 by merging the original Royal Naval Reserve and the Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve , a reserve of civilian volunteers founded in 1903...
. She was sold for breaking in October 1921.
HMS Shearwater
Shearwater served on the Pacific StationPacific Station
The Pacific Station, often referred to as the Pacific Squadron, was one of the geographical divisions into which the Royal Navy divided its worldwide responsibilities...
. She recommissioned on 27 November 1912 at Esquimalt. She was transferred to the Royal Canadian Navy
Royal Canadian Navy
The history of the Royal Canadian Navy goes back to 1910, when the naval force was created as the Naval Service of Canada and renamed a year later by King George V. The Royal Canadian Navy is one of the three environmental commands of the Canadian Forces...
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 StationChina Station
The China Station was a historical formation of the British Royal Navy. It was formally the units and establishments responsible to the Commander-in-Chief, China....
, later becoming training ship and tender to HMS Excellent, Portsmouth. She was sold for breaking on the same day as Rinaldo.
Ships
| Name | Ship Builder | |Launched | |Fate |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sheerness Dockyard | 17 December 1898 | Foundered in a gale off Cape Flattery Cape Flattery Cape Flattery may refer to:* Cape Flattery * Cape Flattery , between North Direction Island, South Direction Island and Three Islands... on 3 December 1901 |
|
| Sheerness Dockyard | 17 December 1898 | Depot ship for submarines at Hong Kong Hong Kong Hong Kong is one of two Special Administrative Regions of the People's Republic of China , the other being Macau. A city-state situated on China's south coast and enclosed by the Pearl River Delta and South China Sea, it is renowned for its expansive skyline and deep natural harbour... in 1910. Sold there on 11 December 1921 |
|
| William Laird & Son William Laird (shipbuilder) William Laird was a Scottish shipbuilder and developer who was responsible for what later became the Cammell Laird shipyard, and for starting the substantial development of its adjoining town, Birkenhead, on the Wirral in England.... , Birkenhead Birkenhead Birkenhead is a town within the Metropolitan Borough of Wirral in Merseyside, England. It is on the Wirral Peninsula, along the west bank of the River Mersey, opposite the city of Liverpool... |
1 March 1900 | | Survey ship 1907, RNVR drill ship 1925, sold to Ward, Briton Ferry Briton Ferry Briton Ferry is a town and community in the county borough of Neath Port Talbot, Wales. The town encompasses the electoral wards of Briton Ferry East and Briton Ferry West.... on 16 August 1932 |
|
| William Laird & Son, Birkenhead | |25 May 1900 | Sold to W Thomas, Anglesey Anglesey Anglesey , also known by its Welsh name Ynys Môn , is an island and, as Isle of Anglesey, a county off the north west coast of Wales... on 21 October 1921 |
|
| Sheerness Dockyard | |10 February 1900 | Transferred to Royal Canadian Navy Royal Canadian Navy The history of the Royal Canadian Navy goes back to 1910, when the naval force was created as the Naval Service of Canada and renamed a year later by King George V. The Royal Canadian Navy is one of the three environmental commands of the Canadian Forces... as submarine depot ship in 1915, sold to Western Shipping Co, Canada in May 1922 and renamed Vedas |
|
| Sheerness Dockyard | 10 February 1900 | Sold to W Thomas, Anglesey on 21 October 1921 |