HMS Virago was a 1669 ton, 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...

 6 gun 1st class paddle 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...

 launched on 25 July 1842 from 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...

.

She was sent to the Mediterranean Station arriving in November 1843 serving until 1847. Upon returning to England

England

England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...

, she was placed into reserve. In 1851 she was sent to the Pacific Station

Pacific 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...

. Under the command of Commander Willam Stewart

William Houston Stewart

Admiral Sir William Houston Stewart GCB was a British naval officer who was Controller of the Royal Navy from 1872 to 1881.-Personal life:...

, she participated with the assistance of two Chile

Chile

Chile ,officially the Republic of Chile , is a country in South America occupying a long, narrow coastal strip between the Andes mountains to the east and the Pacific Ocean to the west. It borders Peru to the north, Bolivia to the northeast, Argentina to the east, and the Drake Passage in the far...

an ships: Indefatigable and Meteoro in the recapture of Punta Arenas in the Strait of Magellan

Strait of Magellan

The Strait of Magellan comprises a navigable sea route immediately south of mainland South America and north of Tierra del Fuego...

, which had been subject to a mutiny.

She took part in the siege of Petropavlovsk

Siege of Petropavlovsk

The Siege of Petropavlovsk was the main operation on the Pacific Theatre of the Crimean War. The Russian casualties are estimated at 100 soldiers; the Allies lost five times as many....

 during the Crimean War

Crimean War

The Crimean War was a conflict fought between the Russian Empire and an alliance of the French Empire, the British Empire, the Ottoman Empire, and the Kingdom of Sardinia. The war was part of a long-running contest between the major European powers for influence over territories of the declining...

 in August–September 1854. She also undertook survey work along the Canadian Pacific coast. She returned to England in 1855 and was part of the Channel Squadron and then West Indies Station. She was then sent to the Australia Station

Australia Station

The Australia Station was the British—and later Australian—naval command responsible for the waters around the Australian continent.-History:In the early years following the establishment of the colony of New South Wales, ships based in Australian waters came under the control of the East Indies...

 arriving in May 1867. She undertook survey work of the Great Barrier Reef

Great Barrier Reef

The Great Barrier Reef is the world'slargest reef system composed of over 2,900 individual reefs and 900 islands stretching for over 2,600 kilometres over an area of approximately...

, the Queensland

Queensland

Queensland is a state of Australia, occupying the north-eastern section of the mainland continent. It is bordered by the Northern Territory, South Australia and New South Wales to the west, south-west and south respectively. To the east, Queensland is bordered by the Coral Sea and Pacific Ocean...

 coast, Norfolk Island

Norfolk Island

Norfolk Island is a small island in the Pacific Ocean located between Australia, New Zealand and New Caledonia. The island is part of the Commonwealth of Australia, but it enjoys a large degree of self-governance...

 and the coast of New Zealand

New Zealand

New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...

. While in New Zealand she helped repair HMS Clio

HMS Clio (1858)

HMS Clio was a wooden 22-gun , built at Sheerness Dockyard and launched on 28 August 1858. She was the flagship of the Australia Station between 3 September 1870 until 16 October 1873 and from 1876 was used as a school ship....

, which had run aground in the Bligh Sound

Bligh Sound

Bligh Sound is a sound of the South Island of New Zealand, named in 1809 by John Grono, after the ship Governor Bligh in honour of the Governor of New South Wales, William Bligh. It is located in Fiordland, 30 kilometres southwest of Milford Sound, and is 15 kilometres in length. The sound forms a...

.

Returning to England on 28 June 1871 and upon arrival was laid up at Sheerness. She was scrapped at Chatham Dockyard.