Nix-class aviso
| |
| Class overview | |
|---|---|
| Builders | Robinson & Russell |
| Operators | |
| Preceded by | SMS Preussischer Adler |
| Succeeded by | SMS Grille |
| Built | 1850–1851 |
| In service | 1851–1865 |
| Completed | 2 |
| Retired | 2 |
| General characteristics | |
| Type | Paddle steamer aviso |
| Displacement | |
| Length | 53.85 m (176 ft 8 in) o/a |
| Beam |
|
| Draft | 2 m (6 ft 7 in) |
| Installed power | |
| Propulsion |
|
| Speed | 13 kn (24 km/h; 15 mph) |
| Range | 2,500 nmi (4,600 km; 2,900 mi) at 10 kn (19 km/h; 12 mph) |
| Complement |
|
| Armament | 4 × 25-pound mortars |
The Nix class was a pair of
laid up
in 1861 and Weser following in 1865. Recruit was sold for merchant service in 1870, while Weser was discarded in 1873.
Design
During the initial stage of the
packet steamers like Preussischer Adler to defend German merchant traffic. With the demobilization following a truce in August 1848, the navy relinquished the civilian vessels, but Adalbert continued to push for a strengthened fleet.[2]
Adalbert initially conceived of flat-bottomed steam
Friedrich Wilhelm IV approved the names Nix and Salamander, which had been suggested by Adalbert. The contract signed with Robinson & Russell also included British assistance with the construction of the larger paddle steamer Danzig in Prussia.[1][4]
Characteristics
The Nix class ships were 53.05 m (174 ft 1 in)
The ships were propelled by a pair of 2-cylinder single-expansion
metric horsepower (592 ihp) for a top speed of 13 knots (24 km/h; 15 mph). At a speed of 10 knots (19 km/h; 12 mph), they could steam for 2,500 nautical miles (4,600 km; 2,900 mi). To supplement the steam engines, the ships carried a sailing rig that consisted of two masts, each fitted with a square topsail and a lower lug sail, along with a forward staysail. The total sail area was about 350 m2 (3,800 sq ft).[3] As a measure of protection for the propulsion machinery, the coal bunkers were arranged abreast of the engine and boiler rooms, and it was thought that the iron hull would also increase the vessels' resistance to damage.[1]
Their crew consisted of approximately four officers and seventy enlisted men. The ships carried four small boats of unrecorded type. Steering was controlled by a pair of rudders, one at the stern and one in the bow; both could be fixed. Nix and Salamander were good sea boats, but they had a wide turning radius and could not be steered at all while under sail. They carried an armament of four 25-pound mortars. The design initially called for four short-barrelled 12-pounder guns in addition to the mortars, but these were never installed.[3]
Ships
| Ship | Builder[3] | Laid down[3] | Launched[3] | Completed[3] |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nix | Robinson & Russell | 1850 | 1850 | 29 July 1851 |
| Salamander | 1 July 1851 |
Service history
Salamander was completed first, beginning
Friedrich Wilhelm IV on cruises in the Baltic. They spent the bulk of their time under the Prussian flag in reserve, however. In June 1853, during one of her few periods of active service, Salamander had to be withdrawn from service due to an outbreak of cholera among her crew.[5][6]
By late 1854, the Prussian Navy was convinced that the ships were of no use to them, and they arranged a trade with the British
Kingdom of Hannover over the country's initial refusal to allow the vessels to enter Bremen and take on coal for the voyage to Britain. On arriving in Britain, they were transferred to Royal Navy control on 12 January 1855.[7][8]
Nix and Salamander were renamed Weser and Recruit, respectively, and both were sent to the
laid up in 1861. The ship was sold for merchant service in 1870 and by 1878 was a powder magazine at Cape Town.[7][9][10][11][12]
Notes
- ^ a b c d e Hildebrand, Röhr, & Steinmetz Vol. 6, p. 162.
- ^ Sondhaus, pp. 39–43.
- ^ a b c d e f g h Gröner, p. 82.
- ^ Sondhaus, p. 43.
- ^ Hildebrand, Röhr, & Steinmetz Vol. 6, pp. 162–163.
- ^ Hildebrand, Röhr, & Steinmetz Vol. 7, p. 98.
- ^ a b Hildebrand, Röhr, & Steinmetz Vol. 6, p. 163.
- ^ Hildebrand, Röhr, & Steinmetz Vol. 7, pp. 98–99.
- ^ Hildebrand, Röhr, & Steinmetz Vol. 7, p. 99.
- ^ Heathcote, p. 53.
- ^ "Naval and Military News". Shipping and Mercantile Gazette. No. 10, 110. British Newspaper Archive. 19 January 1870. p. 4. Retrieved 21 February 2021.
- ^ Lloyd's Register of British & Foreign Shipping. London: Lloyd's Register of Shipping. 1878. Retrieved 21 February 2021.
References
- ISBN 978-0-87021-790-6.
- Heathcote, Tony (2002). The British Admirals of the Fleet 1734 – 1995. Pen & Sword Ltd. ISBN 0-85052-835-6.
- Hildebrand, Hans H.; Röhr, Albert & Steinmetz, Hans-Otto (1993). Die Deutschen Kriegsschiffe: Biographien – ein Spiegel der Marinegeschichte von 1815 bis zur Gegenwart [The German Warships: Biographies − A Reflection of Naval History from 1815 to the Present] (in German). Vol. 6. Ratingen: Mundus Verlag. ISBN 978-3-7822-0237-4.
- Hildebrand, Hans H.; Röhr, Albert & Steinmetz, Hans-Otto (1993). Die Deutschen Kriegsschiffe: Biographien – ein Spiegel der Marinegeschichte von 1815 bis zur Gegenwart [The German Warships: Biographies − A Reflection of Naval History from 1815 to the Present] (in German). Vol. 7. Ratingen: Mundus Verlag. ISBN 978-3782202671.
- Sondhaus, Lawrence (1997). Preparing for Weltpolitik: German Sea Power Before the Tirpitz Era. Annapolis: Naval Institute Press. ISBN 978-1-55750-745-7.