HMS Goldfinch (1889)

For other ships with the same name, see HMS Goldfinch.

The gunboat HMS Goldfinch, a painting by William Bloomfield Douglas
History
Royal Navy EnsignUnited Kingdom
NameHMS Goldfinch
BuilderSheerness Dockyard
Cost£39,300[1]
Launched18 May 1889
Commissioned1890
FateSold 14 May 1907 for breaking
General characteristics [1]
Class and typeRedbreast-class gunboat
Displacement805 tons
Length165 ft 0 in (50.3 m) pp
Beam31 ft 0 in (9.4 m)
Draught11 ft 0 in (3.35 m) min, 13 ft 9 in (4.19 m) max
Installed power1,200 ihp (890 kW)
Propulsion
  • Triple expansion steam engine
  • 2 × boilers
  • Single screw
Sail planBarquentine-rigged
Speed13 kn (24 km/h)
Range2,500 nmi (4,600 km) at 10 kn (19 km/h)[1]
Complement76
Armament

HMS Goldfinch was a Redbreast-class gunboat of the Royal Navy, built at Sheerness Dockyard and launched on 18 May 1889.[2]

Service

Officers aboard Goldfinch at Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada, early 1900s

She commenced service on the Australia Station in March 1890.[2] She left the Australia Station in August 1899 and returned to England. She was converted into a survey vessel in January 1902,[2] and commissioned by Commander Frederick Charles Learmonth on 4 February 1902.[3][4] She left Sheerness for the Mediterranean later that month on surveying duties.[5] In October 1902 she left Malta for the West Coast of Africa,[6] visiting Sierra Leone and Calabar in December.[7]

Fate

Goldfinch returned to Sheerness for refitting for continued service in 1906, but was found to be in poor condition and the sloop Mutine was refitted as a survey ship to replace her.[8] Goldfinch was sold on 14 May 1907 for breaking up.[2]

Citations

  1. ^ a b c Winfield (2004), pp.299-300
  2. ^ a b c d Bastock, p.114.
  3. ^ "Naval & Military Intelligence". The Times. No. 36676. London. 28 January 1902. p. 3.
  4. ^ "Naval & Military intelligence". The Times. No. 36683. London. 5 February 1902. p. 10.
  5. ^ "Naval & Military intelligence". The Times. No. 36697. London. 21 February 1902. p. 9.
  6. ^ "Naval & Military intelligence". The Times. No. 36906. London. 23 October 1902. p. 5.
  7. ^ "Naval & Military intelligence". The Times. No. 36946. London. 9 December 1902. p. 10.
  8. ^ "Naval Matters—Past and Prospective: Sheerness Dockyard". The Marine Engineer and Naval Architect. Vol. 29. 1 November 1909. p. 115.

References

  • Bastock, John (1988), Ships on the Australia Station, Child & Associates Publishing Pty Ltd; Frenchs Forest, Australia. ISBN 0-86777-348-0
  • 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.


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