HMS Fury was a Bulldog-class sloop designed by Sir William Symonds, Surveyor of the Navy. She was ordered on 19 February 1844.[1] After commissioning she sailed for the East Indies and participated in action against pirate junks near Vietnam. She then was in the Black Sea for the Crimean War followed by the Second Opium War with China. She was sold for breaking in July 1864.

History
RN EnsignUnited Kingdom
NameHMS Fury
Ordered19 February 1844
BuilderRoyal Dockyard, Sheerness
Cost£51,688
Laid downJune 1845
Launched31 December 1845
Completed6 July 1847
Commissioned20 July 1847
Honours and
awards
  • Kua Kam 1849
  • Crimea/Black Sea 1854-1855
  • China 1856-1860
FateSold for breaking July 1864
General characteristics
Type
Tons burthen1123+6794 bm
Length
  • 190 ft 0 in (57.9 m) gundeck
  • 166 ft 0.75 in (50.6 m) keel for tonnage
Beam
  • 36 ft 0 in (11.0 m) maximum
  • 35 ft 8 in (10.9 m) for tonnage
Draught
  • 8 ft 5 in (2.6 m) forward
  • 8 ft 5.5 in (2.6 m) aft
Depth of hold21 ft 0 in (6.4 m)
Installed power515 NHP
Propulsion
  • 2-cylinder VSE direct acting steam engine
  • Paddles
Armament
  • 2 x 42-pdr (84 cwt) MLSB guns on pivot mounts
  • 2 x 68-pdr (64 cwt) MLSB guns on broadside trucks
  • 2 x 42-pdr (22 cwt) carronades
  • 1862 Armament change
  • 1 x 68-pdr 95 cwt or 110=pdr 82 cwt on pivot mount
  • 4 x 32-pdr 42 cwt MLSB guns on broadside trucks

Fury was the eighth named vessel since it was used for a 14-gun sloop, launched by Lime & Mackenzie of Leith on 18 March 1779 and broken in April 1787.[2]

Construction edit

She was ordered on 19 February 1844 from Sheerness Dockyard and her keel was laid in June 1845.[3] She was launched on 31 December 1845. Following her launch she was towed to Liverpool to have her boilers and machinery fitted.[4] She was then towed back to Sheerness and was completed for sea on 6 July 1847 at an initial cost of £51,688[5] including the hull at £24,764, machinery at £22,142 and fitting at £4,782.[6][Note 1]

Commissioned Service edit

First Commission edit

She was commissioned on 20 July 1847 under Commander James Wilcox, RN for service on the East Indies and China Station.[7] In conjunction with Columbine, they destroyed twenty-three pirate junks at Tysami on 29 September 1849 and a pirate fleet at Haipong on 20 to 21 October 1849.[8] She returned to Home Waters for a refit at Woolwich Dockyard during 1851 costing £12,987.[9]

Second Commission edit

She was commissioned on 4 December 1851 under the command of Commander Edward Tatham, RN for service in the Mediterranean.[10] In 1854 she was sent to the Black Sea for the Crimean War. In August 1854 Commander Ennis Chambers, RN took command. She returned to Home Waters for a refit at Portsmouth costing £23,838 during 1855–1856.[11]

Third Commission edit

She was commissioned on 1 August 1856 under the command of Commander Charles Taylor Leckie, RN for service on the East Indies and China Station.[12] With Inflexible was involved with boats at Fatshan on 1 June 1857.[13] In July 1759 Commander William Andrew James Heath, RN took command.[14] She was in action at the Taku Forts on 26 June 1859. Commander John Crawford, RN took command on 2 January 1860.[15] She returned to Home Waters to pay off on 19 June 1861.[16]

Disposition edit

She was sold to Castle & Beech in July 1864 and broken at Charlton.[17]

Notes edit

  1. ^ A total cost accounting for inflation of approximately £5,025,300 in today's money.

Citations edit

  1. ^ Lyon Winfield, page 161
  2. ^ Colledge, Fury
  3. ^ Lyon Winfield, page 161
  4. ^ Winfield
  5. ^ Winfield
  6. ^ Winfield
  7. ^ The Navy List, July 1848, page 129
  8. ^ Winfield
  9. ^ Winfield
  10. ^ The Navy List, January 1852, page 229
  11. ^ Winfield
  12. ^ The Navy List, January 1857, page 153
  13. ^ Winfield
  14. ^ Winfield
  15. ^ The Navy List, January 1860, page 158
  16. ^ Winfield
  17. ^ Winfield

References edit

  • Lyon Winfield, The Sail & Steam Navy List, All the Ships of the Royal Navy 1815 to 1889, by David Lyon & Rif Winfield, published by Chatham Publishing, London © 2004, ISBN 1-86176-032-9
  • Winfield, British Warships in the Age of Sail (1817 – 1863), by Rif Winfield, published by Seaforth Publishing, England © 2014, eISBN 9781473837430, Chapter 11 Steam Paddle Vessels, Vessels acquired since November 1830, Stromboli Class
  • Colledge, Ships of the Royal Navy, by J.J. Colledge, revised and updated by Lt Cdr Ben Warlow and Steve Bush, published by Seaforth Publishing, Barnsley, Great Britain, © 2020, e ISBN 978-1-5267-9328-7 (EPUB)
  • The New Navy List, conducted by Joseph Allen, Esq., RN, London: Parker, Furnivall, and Parker, Military Library, Whitehall, MDCCCXLVII
  • The Navy List, published by His Majesty's Stationery Office, London