Condor-class gunvessel

"Well Done Condor". Bombardment of Alexandria, 1882 by Charles Dixon
Class overview
Name	Condor-class gunvessels
Builders	Devonport Dockyard Laird Brothers, Birkenhead
Operators	Royal Navy
Built	1876–1877
In commission	1877–1923
Completed	4
General characteristics
Displacement	774 tons
Length	157 ft (48 m)
Beam	29 ft 6 in (8.99 m)
Draught	12 ft (3.7 m)[1]
Installed power	Designed 750 ihp (560 kW)
Propulsion	Three Boilers 2-cylinder horizontal compound-expansion steam engine Single screw (Laird vessels had feathering blades)[1]
Sail plan	Barque-rigged
Speed	11.5 kn (21.3 km/h) under power
Complement	100[1]
Armament	One 7-in (4½-ton) muzzle-loading rifle Two 64-pounder (64cwt) muzzle-loading rifles Except Flamingo: One 7-in (4½-ton) muzzle-loading rifle One 64-pounder (64cwt) muzzle-loading rifles Two 20-pounder Breech-Loaders Flamingo and Griffon rearmed in 1884: 7-in MLR replaced with two 5-in Vavasseur breech loaders

The Condor-class gunvessel was a class of four Royal Navy composite gunvessels of 3 guns, built between 1876 and 1877.[2] They were all hulked or sold before 1893, giving them an active life of less than 15 years.

Construction

Design

Designed by Nathaniel Barnaby,[1] the Royal Navy Director of Naval Construction, the hull was of composite construction; that is, iron keel, frames, stem and stern posts with wooden planking.

Propulsion

They were fitted with three boilers, a 2-cylinder horizontal compound expansion steam engine and a single screw. Griffon and Falcon were engined by Laird Brothers and had a feathering propeller. Flamingo and Condor were engined by John Elder & Co, and all ships had a designed 750 indicated horsepower (560 kW), developing about 11.5 knots (21.3 km/h) under power.[1]

Sail plan

The class was rigged with three masts, with square rig on the fore- and main-masts, making them barque-rigged vessels.[1]

Armament

The ships of the class were fitted with a 7-in (4½-ton) muzzle-loading rifle and two 64-pounder (64cwt) muzzle-loading rifles, except for Flamingo, which had two 20-pounder breech-loaders in place of one of the 64-pounder muzzle-loading rifles. In 1884 Flamingo and Griffon were rearmed with two 5-in Vavasseur breech loaders replacing the 7-in muzzle-loading rifle.[1]

HMS Griffon

Ships

Name	Ship Builder	Launched	Fate
Flamingo	Devonport Dockyard	13 December 1876	Hulk 1893. Sold to Plymouth Port Sanitary Authority on 25 May 1923. Sold on 4 May 1931 for breaking
Griffon	Laird Brothers, Birkenhead	16 December 1876	Sold to the Board of Trade as a hulk on 28 September 1891 and renamed Richmond
Condor	Devonport Dockyard	28 December 1876	Sold to George Cohen in August 1889
Falcon	Laird Brothers, Birkenhead	4 January 1877	Hulk in 1890. Sold to E W Payne & Company on 25 June 1920

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.

1. Winfield, R.; Lyon, D. (2004). The Sail and Steam Navy List: All the Ships of the Royal Navy 1815–1889. London: Chatham Publishing. ISBN 978-1-86176-032-6. OCLC 52620555.
2. "Condor class gunvessels at battleships-cruisers website". Retrieved 9 February 2010.

External links