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FIGHTING SHIPS OF THE WORLD
UNITED KINGDOM
CRUISERS
OSPREY composite screw sloops (5, 1876 - 1878)


Ships


Name

No

Yard No

Builder

Laid down

Launched

Comp

Fate

Wild Swan

 

341

Napier, Govan

14.9.1874

28.1.1876

23.8.1876

base ship 5.1904

Penguin

 

342

Napier, Govan

14.7.1874

25.3.1876

23.8.1877

survey ship 1.1890

Osprey

 

 

Sheerness DYd

1875

5.8.1876

19.4.1877

sold to BU 4.1890

Pelican

 

 

Devonport DYd

8.3.1875

26.4.1877

29.11.1877

sold 1.1901

Cormorant

 

 

Chatham DYd

1875

12.9.1877

2.7.1878

hulk 11.1889



Technical data


Displacement normal, t

1130

Displacement full, t 
Length, m

58.8 pp

Breadth, m

11.0

Draught, m

4.80

No of shafts

1

Machinery

Wild Swan, Osprey: sails + 1 2-cyl HSE, return connecting rod, 3 cylindrical boilers

Osprey, Pelican, Cormorant: sails + 1 2-cyl HCE, 3 cylindrical boilers

Power, h. p.

Wild Swan: 797

Penguin: 666

Osprey: 946

Pelican: 1056

Cormorant: 951

Max speed, kts

Wild Swan: 10.3

Penguin: 9.9

Osprey: 11.4

Pelican: 12.2

Cormorant: 11.3

Fuel, t

coal 150

Endurance, nm(kts)

Wild Swan: 1120(10)

others: 1480(10)

Armament

2 x 1 - 178/16 90cwt MLR, 4 x 1 - 160/16 64pdr 64cwt MLR

Complement

140 - 150



Project history

Designed by Nathaniel Barnaby as a follow on from the Fantome class, who endeavoured to achieve handiness with increased speed. The speed was never realised, Wild Swan and Penguin in particular failing to reach the contract speed. After their first commissions, they were re-engined at Devonport DYd with engines built there. The system of mounting the guns was similar to that in the Amazon class. Three boilers worked at 4.2kgf/cm2. All were barque-rigged. The two groups (Osprey and Doterel classes) were distinguished by the shape of the bows: Group 1 had knee-bows, and Group 2 had vertical stems.

Modernizations

1877, Wild Swan, Penguin: were re-engined with Devonport 2-cyl HCE

mid-1880s, all: + (4 - 6) x 1 - 11.4/87

mid-1880s, Wild Swan, Pelican: were rearmed with 2 x 1 - 152/26 BL Mk II, 6 x 1 - 127/25 BL Mk I/II/III/IV, 4 x 1 - 11.4/94

Naval service

No significant events.

Many thanks to Wolfgang Stöhr for additional information on this page.