Merlin-class packet boat

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Class overview
NameMerlin
BuildersPembroke Dockyard
Operators Royal Navy
In service1839–72
Completed3
Scrapped3
General characteristics (as built)
TypePacket boat
Tons burthen889+14⁄94 bm
Length
  • 175 ft (53.3 m) (Gun deck)
  • 153 ft 6 in (46.8 m) (Keel)
Beam33 ft 2 in (10.1 m)
Depth16 ft 5 in (5.0 m)
Installed power312 nhp
Propulsion2 × Steam engines
Armament2 × 6 pdr carronades

The Merlin-class packet boat was a trio of 2-gun paddle packet boats built for the Royal Navy during the 1830s. Two of the three ships were immediately commissioned for packet service at Liverpool and the third was not commissioned until 1848 for packet service in the Mediterranean. Merlin and Medina were later converted into service as survey ships and Medusa was converted into a tugboat. Merlin and Medina also saw service off the West African coast during the 1850s.

Description[]

The ships had a length at the gun deck of 175 feet (53.3 m) and 153 feet 6 inches (46.8 m) at the keel. They had a beam of 33 feet 2 inches (10.1 m), and a depth of hold of 16 feet 5 inches (5.0 m). The ships' tonnage was 889+14⁄94 tons burthen.[1] The Medusa class was fitted with a pair of steam engines, rated at 312 nominal horsepower, that drove their paddlewheels. The ships were armed with a pair of 6-pounder carronades.[2]

Notes[]

  1. ^ Winfield, p. 1432
  2. ^ Winfield & Lyon, p. 167

References[]

  • Colledge, J. J.; Warlow, Ben (2006) [1969]. Ships of the Royal Navy: The Complete Record of all Fighting Ships of the Royal Navy (Rev. ed.). London: Chatham Publishing. ISBN 978-1-86176-281-8.
  • Lyon, David & Winfield, Rif (2004). The Sail & Steam Navy List: All the Ships of the Royal Navy 1815–1889. London: Chatham Publishing. ISBN 1-86176-032-9.
  • Phillips, Lawrie; Lieutenant Commander (2014). Pembroke Dockyard and the Old Navy: A Bicentennial History. Stroud, Gloucestershire, UK: The History Press. ISBN 978-0-7509-5214-9.
  • Winfield, Rif (2008). British Warships in the Age of Sail, 1793-1817: Design, Construction, Careers and Fates (epub). Barnsley, UK: Seaforth. ISBN 978-1-84415-700-6.
Retrieved from ""