HMS Avenger was a wooden paddle wheel

Paddle wheel

A paddle wheel is a waterwheel in which a number of scoops are set around the periphery of the wheel. It has several usages.* Very low lift water pumping, such as flooding paddy fields at no more than about height above the water source....

 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...

 launched in 1845 and wrecked with heavy loss of life in 1847.

Construction and commissioning

Avenger was built to a design by Sir William Symonds, approved on 25 March 1844. She was initially ordered from Deptford Dockyard on 19 February 1844 but the order was transferred to Devonport Dockyard

HMNB 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...

 on 22 June 1844. She was laid down there on 27 August that year and launched on 5 August 1845. She sailed under a jury rig to Deptford where her machinery was fitted and completed. She was then commissioned on 21 June 1846. She had cost £44,777 for her hull, £32,740 for the machinery and the fittings had cost another £11,630. She was armed with 10 guns and was initially rated as a first-class frigate, though this was later reduced on 31 July 1846 to a second class.

Service

Avenger served with the Channel Fleet

Channel Fleet

The Channel Fleet was the Royal Navy formation of warships that defended the waters of the English Channel from 1690 to 1909.-History:The Channel Fleet dates back at least to 1690 when its role was to defend England against the French threat under the leadership of Edward Russell, 1st Earl of...

 from 28 April 1846-November 1847, when she was transferred to the Mediterranean

Mediterranean Sea

The Mediterranean Sea is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean surrounded by the Mediterranean region and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Anatolia and Europe, on the south by North Africa, and on the east by the Levant...

.

Loss

Avenger sailed from Gibraltar on 17 December 1847 bound for Malta

Malta

Malta , officially known as the Republic of Malta , is a Southern European country consisting of an archipelago situated in the centre of the Mediterranean, south of Sicily, east of Tunisia and north of Libya, with Gibraltar to the west and Alexandria to the east.Malta covers just over in...

 and commanded by Captain Charles Elers Napier

Charles Elers Napier

Charles George Elers Napier, born 22 May 1812, drowned 20 December 1847, was a British naval officer who packed much action into a short career.-Career:...

, stepson of Rear Admiral Sir Charles Napier who was then commanding the Channel Fleet. On 20 December she ran on to the Sorelle Rocks

Sorelle Rocks

The Sorelle Rocks are two submerged rocks approximately west of Galita Island near Malta, at approximately ....

, near Malta. Captain Napier was drowned, and only eight crew members survived.