HMS Amphion was a 36-gun wooden hulled screw frigate

Frigate

A frigate is any of several types of warship, the term having been used for ships of various sizes and roles over the last few centuries.In the 17th century, the term was used for any warship built for speed and maneuverability, the description often used being "frigate-built"...

 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...

. She was initially ordered as a sail powered ship, but later reordered as a prototype screw frigate

Screw frigate

Steam frigates and the smaller steam corvettes were steam-powered warships.The first vessel that can be considered a steam frigate was the Demologos which was launched in 1815 for the United States Navy....

 conversion.

Design and construction

Amphion was initially planned and ordered from Woolwich Dockyard

Woolwich Dockyard

Woolwich Dockyard was an English naval dockyard founded by King Henry VIII in 1512 to build his flagship Henri Grâce à Dieu , the largest ship of its day....

 as HMS Ambuscade on 13 May 1828, but was renamed on 31 March 1831. She was laid down on 15 April 1840, but on 18 June 1844 she was reordered as a screw propelled frigate, to a design by White. She was duly launched on 14 January 1846, and commissioned on 13 May 1847. Her engines and machinery were provided by Miller, Ravenhill & Co, to a design by John Ericsson

John Ericsson

John Ericsson was a Swedish-American inventor and mechanical engineer, as was his brother Nils Ericson. He was born at Långbanshyttan in Värmland, Sweden, but primarily came to be active in England and the United States...

. Amphion had cost £36,115 for her hull, with a further £16,673 spent on buying and fitting the machinery, which was installed at the East India Docks

East India Docks

The East India Docks was a group of docks in Blackwall, east London, north-east of the Isle of Dogs. Today only the entrance basin remains.-History:...

. A further £22,794 was spent on fitting her for sea, which was carried out at Sheerness

Sheerness

Sheerness is a town located beside the mouth of the River Medway on the northwest corner of the Isle of Sheppey in north Kent, England. With a population of 12,000 it is the largest town on the island....

. She was reduced to 30 guns in 1848, but had been restored to 36 guns in 1856. The space taken up by the machinery was found to considerably restrict the amount available to store provisions and munitions.

She was sold to Williams on 12 October 1863 to be broken up.