NAVYPEDIA

Photo

Albatross 1873

Ships

Name	No	Yard No	Builder	Laid down	Launched	Comp	Fate
Fantome			Pembroke DYd	1872	26.3.1873	12.1873	sold 2.1889
Albatross			Chatham DYd	1872	27.4.1873	2.1874	BU 2.1889
Sappho			Money Wigram & Sons, Blackwall	1872	20.10.1873	2.1874	sold 12.1887
Egeria			Pembroke DYd	30.12.1872	1.11.1873	11.1874	survey ship 10.1886
Flying Fish (ex-Daring)			Chatham DYd	1872	27.11.1873	6.1874	survey ship 1878
Daring			Money Wigram & Sons, Blackwall	1872	4.2.1874	9.1874	sold 8.1889

Technical data

Displacement normal, t	949
Displacement full, t
Length, m	48.8 pp
Breadth, m	9.55
Draught, m	3.81 hold depth
No of shafts	1
Machinery	Fantome, Albatross, Sappho, Egeria, Flying Fish: sails + 3 cylindrical boilers, 1 2-cyl HC Daring: sails + 3 cylindrical boilers, 1 2-cyl HC trunk
Power, h. p.	FAntome: 975 Albatross: 838 Sappho: 884 Egeria: 1011 Flyng Fish: 836 Daring: 915
Max speed, kts	Fantome: 11.1 Albatross: 10.5 Sappho, Daring: 10.6 Egeria: 11.3 Flying Fish: 11
Fuel, t	coal 100
Endurance, nm(kts)	1000(10)
Armament	2 x 1 - 178/16 MLR Mk III, 2 x 1 - 160/16 64pdr 71cwt MLR
Complement	125

Standard scale images

Graphics

Project history

Designed by Nathaniel Barnaby. With his appointment as Surveyor, there was a return to the smaller size of sloop, a policy which was brought about by the declining status of this rate of ship. Reed's ram-bow was not repeated. Although an interesting and somewhat theoretical concept of hull design, its disadvantage was that it made a ship too lively. The Fantome class consisted of the first composite-built sloops, the first to be fitted with compound engines, and all guns were pivoted. Simple expansion engines were no longer fitted since compounding had a marked effect on fuel economy. With a bunkerage capacity of around 250t, their radius of action was 1000nm at 10kts.     These sloops were the largest warships in the navy to retain the system of all guns pivoted, in contrast to the larger sloops where both traversing and broadside mountings were fitted. The guns were slide-mounted, pivoted at the after or inboard end, with runners forward, engaging in racers let into the deck, and fired through embrasures. They were fitted with a Griffiths 3.4m diameter screw.     With the exceptions of Egeria and Flying Fish, no vessels in this class were rearmed. The two named ships were converted into survey vessels. All these vessels had rounded sterns but were not particularly handsome with their tall thin funnels and vertical stems.

Modernizations

None.

Naval service

No significant events.