NAVYPEDIA

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.