HMS Rover (1874)

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

HMS Rover
HMS Rover
Class overview
NameHMS Rover
Operators Royal Navy
Preceded byAmethyst class
Succeeded byEmerald class
Built1872–1874
In commission1874–89
Completed1
Scrapped1
History
United Kingdom
BuilderThames Ironworks and Shipbuilding Company, Leamouth, London
Cost£169,739
Laid down1872
Launched12 August 1874
Completed21 September 1875
FateSold for scrap, 1893
General characteristics (as built)
TypeIron screw corvette
Displacement3,462 long tons (3,518 t)
Length208 ft (63.4 m) pp
Beam43 ft 6 in (13.3 m)
Draught
  • 17 ft 6 in (5.33 m) (forward)
  • 22 ft 7 in (6.88 m) (aft)
Depth of hold23 ft (7.01 m)
Installed power4,964 ihp (3,702 kW)
Propulsion
Sail plan
Ship rig
Speed
  • 14.5 knots (26.9 km/h; 16.7 mph)
  • Under sail 11 knots (20 km/h; 13 mph)
Range1,840 nmi (3,410 km; 2,120 mi) at 10 knots (19 km/h; 12 mph)
Complement315
Armament

HMS Rover was an 18-gun iron screw corvette built for the Royal Navy in the 1870s, the sole ship of her class. The ship was initially assigned to the North America and West Indies Station until she returned home in 1879. She was transferred to the Training Squadron when it formed in 1885. Rover was not really suitable for such a role and she was placed in reserve four years later and then sold for scrap in 1893.

Design and construction

Rover was designed in 1872 by

Chief Constructor of the Navy,[1] as an improved version of the Volage-class corvettes.[2] She displaced 3,462 long tons (3,518 t) tons, nearly 400 long tons (410 t) larger than the older ships. The ship was 280 feet (85.3 m) long between perpendiculars and had a beam of 43 feet 6 inches (13.3 m). Forward the ship had a draught of 17 feet 6 inches (5.3 m), but aft she drew 22 ft 7 in (6.9 m). Her iron hull was covered by a 3-inch (76 mm) layer of oak that was sheathed with zinc from the waterline down to prevent biofouling.[1] Watertight transverse bulkheads subdivided the hull.[2] Her crew consisted of 315 officers and ratings.[1]

The ship had one three-cylinder horizontal

boilers provided steam to the engine at a working pressure of 70 psi (483 kPa; 5 kgf/cm2). The engine produced a total of 4,964 indicated horsepower (3,702 kW) which gave Rover a maximum speed of 14.5 knots (26.9 km/h; 16.7 mph). The ship carried 420 long tons (430 t) of coal, enough to steam 1,840 nautical miles (3,410 km; 2,120 mi) at 10 knots (19 km/h; 12 mph).[1][Note 1]

Rover was

ship rigged and had a sail area of 17,863 square feet (1,660 m2). The ship was an indifferent sailor and her best speed under sail alone was only 11 knots (20 km/h; 13 mph). Ballard believes that one cause of her poor performance under sail was due to the drag of her uneven fore-and-aft trim. Her propeller could be hoisted up into the stern of the ship to reduce drag while under sail.[3]

The ship was initially armed with a mix of

torpedoes were added as well.[1]

Rover was laid down at the yards of the Thames Ironworks and Shipbuilding Company at Leamouth, London in 1872. She was launched on 12 August 1874 and completed on 21 September 1875[1][6] at a total cost of £169,739. Her hull cost £104,718 and her machinery £65,021.[1]

Career

The ship was initially assigned to the North America and West Indies Station, and was slightly damaged by grounding on one occasion. Rover returned home in 1879 to refit at

paid off in 1889 and sold for scrap in 1893.[7] Among the men who had served aboard her was the Antarctic explorer Robert Falcon Scott, who spent nine months aboard Rover starting in late 1886.[8]

Notes

  1. ^ Ballard credits the compound engine as being much more economical in fuel consumption than the older designs used in the Volage-class ships,[3] but the range figure quoted by Lyon and Winfield is almost identical as that of the older ships for the same amount of coal.[4]
  2. ^ "cwt" is the abbreviation for hundredweight, 64 cwt referring to the weight of the gun.

Footnotes

  1. ^ a b c d e f g Lyon & Winfield, p. 266
  2. ^ a b Ballard, p. 62.
  3. ^ a b Ballard, p. 66.
  4. ^ Lyon and Winfield, pp. 265–266.
  5. ^ Ballard, p. 64.
  6. ^ Colledge, p. 299
  7. ^ Ballard, pp. 61, 67.
  8. ^ Huxley, p. 11

Bibliography

  • Ballard, G. A. (1937). "British Corvettes of 1875: The Volage, Active and Rover". Mariner's Mirror. 23 (January). Cambridge, UK: Society for Nautical Research: 53–67.
    doi:10.1080/00253359.1937.10657219
    .
  • ISBN 978-1-86176-281-8
    .
  • Huxley, Elspeth Joscelin Grant (1990). Scott of the Antarctic. University of Nebraska Press.
    ISBN 0-8032-7248-0
    .
  • Winfield, R.; Lyon, D. (2004). The Sail and Steam Navy List: All the Ships of the Royal Navy 1815–1889. London: Chatham Publishing.
    OCLC 52620555
    .
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