Alarm Class Torpedo Gunboat (1892)

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The eleven torpedo gunboats of the Alarm Class were slightly enlarged versions of the preceeding Sharpshooter Class. All but three saw service in the First World War, either as minesweepers or on other duties.

Overview of eleven vessels
Citations for this data available on individual ship pages
Name Builder Laid Down Launched Completed Fate
Alarm Sheerness Dockyard 25 June, 1891 13 September, 1892 March 1894 Sold 9 April, 1907
Antelope Devonport Dockyard 21 October, 1889 12 July, 1893 18 July, 1894 Sold 27 May, 1919
Circe Sheerness Dockyard 21 January, 1890 14 June, 1892 11 February, 1893 Sold 30 July, 1920
Hebe Sheerness Dockyard 21 January, 1890 15 June, 1892 9 October, 1894 Sold 22 October, 1919
Jaseur Naval Construction & Armament Co. 14 September, 1891 24 September, 1892 13 February, 1893 Sold 11 July, 1905
Jason Naval Construction & Armament Co. 7 September, 1891 14 May, 1892 11 July, 1893 Mined 7 April, 1917
Leda Sheerness Dockyard 25 July, 1891 13 September, 1892 22 March, 1894 Broken up 1922
Niger Naval Construction & Armament Co. 17 September, 1891 17 December, 1892 25 April, 1893 Torpedoed 11 November, 1914
Onyx Laird 8 October, 1891 7 September, 1892 January 1894 Sold August 1924
Renard Laird 26 October, 1891 6 December, 1892 January 1894 Sold 4 April, 1905
Speedy John I. Thornycroft & Company 4 January, 1892 18 May, 1893 20 February, 1894 Mined 3 September, 1914

Construction

This class was often considered an enlarged variation on the preceding Sharpshooter class. In general, it inherited the reputation of the preceding class, which was known for its problematic propulsion systems. When Antelope was being worked up in 1891, The Times referred to the entire class as "notoriously unsuccessful."[1]

Toward the end the Annual Manoeuvres of 1892, Sharpshooter's fires were extinguished and she shipped fully seventy tons of water. A similar fate had nearly befallen Skipjack, and it was reported that "it is the univeral opinion amongst naval officers who have had experience of the Sharpshooter class that the vessels are unfit for active service owing to the weakness of their engines and boilers."[2]

Speedy was built by John I. Thornycroft & Company to an in-house design.[3]

Machinery

All except Speedy used locomotive boilers, which proved "unreliable and troublesome". Speedy was built with a much more reliable Thornycroft-pattern water-tube boiler, and as a result had three funnels instead of two.[4]

Armament

As built:

Conversions

Onyx became a submarine depot ship in 1907. Speedy, Circe, Jason, Leda, Niger, and Hebe were converted to minesweeprs in 1908-9, with Hebe becoming a submarine depot ship the next year.[5]

See Also

Footnotes

  1. "Naval & Military Intelligence." The Times (London, England), Friday, Aug 14, 1891; pg. 8; Issue 33403.
  2. "Naval & Military Intelligence." The Times (London, England), Friday, Aug 19, 1892; pg. 9; Issue 33721.
  3. Lyon; Winfield. The Steam & Sail List. p. 307.
  4. Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships 1860–1905. p. 89.
  5. Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships 1860–1905. p. 89.

Bibliography

  • Chesneau, Robert; Kolesnik, Eugene (editors) (1979). Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships 1860–1905. London: Conway Maritime Press. (on Amazon.com and Amazon.co.uk).
  • Lyon, David; Winfield, Rif (2004). The Sail & Steam Navy List: All the Ships of the Royal Navy, 1815-1889. Annapolis: Naval Institute Press. ISBN 1861760329. (on Amazon.com and Amazon.co.uk).


Alarm Class Torpedo Gunboat
Alarm Antelope Circe Hebe Jaseur
  Jason Leda Niger  
  Onyx Renard Speedy  
<– Redbreast Class Small Fry (UK) Dryad Class –>
<– Sharpshooter Class Torpedo Gunboats (UK) Dryad Class –>