Alert-class sloop
.jpg?lang=en) HMS Torch
| |
| Class overview | |
|---|---|
| Name | Alert class sloops |
| Builders | Sheerness Royal Dockyard |
| Operators |  Royal Navy |
| Built | 1894 |
| In commission | 1894–1926 |
| Completed | 2 |
| Lost | 0 |
| General characteristics | |
| Type | Screw Steel Sloop |
| Displacement | 960 tons |
| Length | 180 ft (55 m) |
| Beam | 32 ft (9.8 m) |
| Draught | 12 ft (3.7 m) |
| Installed power | 1400 horsepower[1] |
| Propulsion | Three-cylinder vertical triple expansion steam engine; single screw[2] |
| Sail plan | Barque Rigged |
| Complement | 107[1] |
| Armament | list error: mixed text and list (help)
|
| Armour | Protective deck of 1 in (2.5 cm) to 1.5 in (3.8 cm) steel over machinery and boilers.[2] |
The Alert class was a two-ship class of 6-gun[3] screw steel sloops [3] built for the Royal Navy in 1894.
Design
Alert and Torch were constructed of steel to a William White design,[2] and powered by both barque-rigged sails and a single screw[2] steam engine developing 1,400 horsepower. They were armed with four 4-inch and four 3-pounder guns, and three machine guns.[1]
Operational Lives
Screw sloops of Alert's type had been obsolete for many years, but they remained ideal for patroling Britain's far flung maritime empire. Torch joined the Australian Station in February 1897;[4] she recommissioned at Sydney on 29 November 1913, and in August 1914 became part of the New Zealand Division of the Eastern Fleet. On 16 August 1917 she was transferred to the New Zealand Government as the Training Ship Firebrand.[5] She was sold, renamed Rama and fitted out as a refrigerated ship for the Chatham Islands fishing trade. While approaching the Chatham Islands on 17 November 1924 she struck an uncharted rock, and was beached and abandoned.[4] Alert served on the North America and West Indies Station, including a period in late 1902 and early 1903 when, under Commodore Montgomerie in HMS Charybdis, she enforced a blockade of the Venezuelan coast. During this period she captured the Venezuelan Zumbador. She was laid up for a time at Bermuda, but after 1910 served on the East Indies Station in the Persian Gulf, employed in the suppression of gun-running. She was sold to the civil authority at Basra in 1926 for use as a pilot vessel. She was broken up in 1949. [3][1]
Ships
| Name | Ship Builder | Launched | Fate |
|---|---|---|---|
| HMS Alert | Sheerness Royal Dockyard | 28 December 1894 | Lent to the civil authority at Basra in 1906, and sold to them in 1926 for use as a pilot vessel. She was broken up in 1949[3][6] |
| HMS Torch | Sheerness Royal Dockyard | 28 December 1894 | Transferred to New Zealand Division of the Royal Navy on 16 August 1917 as Training Ship Firebrand[5] Renamed Rama. Ran aground on 17 November 1924 and abandonned[4][3] |
References
- ^ a b c d "HMS Alert at Naval Database website". Retrieved 2008-09-01.
- ^ a b c d e Winfield, Rif (2003). The Sail and Steam Navy List, 1815-1889. Chatham Publishing. ISBN 978-1861760326.
{{cite book}}: Unknown parameter|coauthors=ignored (|author=suggested) (help) - ^ a b c d e "Naval cruisers at battleships-cruisers.co.uk". Retrieved 2008-08-30.
- ^ a b c "Australian war memorial website". Retrieved 2008-09-04.
- ^ a b "HMS Torch at Naval Database website". Retrieved 2008-09-01.
- ^ "Frank Waterfield's HMS Alert pages". Retrieved 2008-09-01.