HMS Stromboli was initially a Steam Vessel second class (later reclassed as a First Class Sloop) designed by Sir William Symonds, Surveyor of the Navy, and built at Portsmouth. She was commissioned and participated in the bombardment of Acre in 1840, during the Russian War she was used as a troop transport in the Baltic in 1854, she was in the Black Sea and the Sea of Azov in 1855. Her last overseas posting was on the South East Coast of America. She was sold for breaking in August 1866.[1]

History
RN EnsignUnited Kingdom
NameHMS Stromboli
Ordered12 March 1838
BuilderRoyal Dockyard, Portsmouth
Cost£41,240
Laid downSeptember 1838
Launched27 August 1839
Completed6 September 1840
Commissioned18 July 1840
Honours and
awards
  • Acre 1840
  • Baltic 1854
  • Crimea/Black Sea 1855
  • Sea of Azov 1855
FateSold for breaking August 1866
General characteristics
Type
  • Steam Vessels (SV2)
  • First Class Sloop
Displacement1,283 tons
Tons burthen965+7994 bm
Length
  • 180 ft 1.575 in (54.9 m) gundeck
  • 157 ft 2.75 in (47.9 m) keel for tonnage
Beam
  • 34 ft 4 in (10.5 m) maximum
  • 34 ft 0 in (10.4 m) for tonnage
Draught
  • 13 ft 0 in (4.0 m) (forward)
  • 13 ft 5 in (4.1 m) (aft)
Depth of hold21 ft 0 in (6.4 m)
Installed power280 nominal horsepower
Propulsion
  • 2-cylinder side lever steam engine
  • Paddles
Sail plan3-masted barque rigged
Complement149 (later 160)
Armament
  • As built:
  • 2 × 10-inch (84 cwt) shell guns
  • 2 × 68-pdrs (64 cwt) carronades
  • 2 × 42-pdr (22 cwt) carronades
  • From 1856:
  • 1 × 68-pdr (84 cwt) MLSB guns
  • 4 × 32-pdr (42 cwt) MLSB guns
  • 1860s
  • 1 × 110-pounder pivot gun
  • 4 × 32-pdr (42 cwt) MLSB guns

Stromboli was the only vessel of this name in the Royal Navy.[2]

Construction edit

She was ordered on 12 March 1838 with her laid in September at Portsmouth Dockyard.[3] She was launched on 27 August 1839. She was completed for sea on 6 September 1840 at an initial cost of £41,420, including £19,248 for hull construction, £13,280 for her machinery and £8,712 for her fitting out.[4][Note 1]

Commissioned service edit

First commission edit

She was commissioned on 18 July 1840 under the command of Woodford John Williams, RN for service in the Mediterranean. She was with the British squadron off the coast of Syria in November 1840. She participated in the bombardment of Acre on 3 November. Commander William Louis, RN took command on 11 June 1841. She returned to Home Waters paying off at Woolwich in June 1843.[5]

Second commission edit

She commissioned under Commander Edward Plunkett on 13 October 1843 for service on the Irish Station and Particular Service. Commander Thomas Fisher, RN[6] took command on 13 June 1845 followed by Commander Lord Amelius Wentworth Beauclerk, RN on 11 November 1847.[7] She was paid off at Portsmouth into the Steam Reserve, on 17 September 1850.[8]

Third commission edit

She was commissioned on 18 August 1853 under commander Robert Hall, RN[9] for service in the Mediterranean.[10] As tensions increased with Russia her sailing for the Mediterranean was delayed. She joined Sir Robert Napier's Fleet for service in the Baltic after war with Russia was declared. During the Baltic campaign she was used as a troop Transport.[11] She returned to Home Waters when the Fleet left the Baltic in September prior to the Winter freeze up. By December she was in the Mediterranean, joining the British Fleet in the Black Sea.[12] Between 9 April and 7 September she participated in bombarding Sevastopol. After the occupation of Kertch, she participated in the naval excursion led by HMS Miranda into the Sea of Azov.[13] In August 1855 Commander Cowper Phipps Coles, RN took command.[14] Commander George Foster Burgess, RN took command on 27 February 1856.[15] By March 1857, she is in a paid off state at Portsmouth.[16]

Fourth commission edit

She was commissioned on 9 December 1861 under Commander William Buller Fullerton Elphinstone, RN for service in Home Waters at Portsmouth.[17] On 21 December (12 days later) she came under the command of Commander Aurthur Robert Henry, RN for service on the east coast of South America. When Commander Henry became invalided on 4 June 1863, Commander Alexander Philips, RN took command. She returned to Home Waters paying off on 8 June 1866.[18]

Disposition edit

She was sold in August 1866 to White of East Cowes, Isle of Wight. She was towed to Cowes on 24 August 1866 for breaking.[19]

Notes edit

  1. ^ A total cost accounting for inflation of approximately £3,950,400 in today's money.

Citations edit

  1. ^ Winfield
  2. ^ Colledge, Stromboli
  3. ^ Lyon Winfield, page 159
  4. ^ Winfield
  5. ^ Winfield
  6. ^ The New Navy List, January 1847, page 243
  7. ^ The Navy List, July 1848, page 148
  8. ^ Winfield
  9. ^ The Navy List, October 1853, page 166
  10. ^ Winfield
  11. ^ Winfield, Battles and Campaigns, 10. Baltic
  12. ^ The Navy List, January 1855, page 172
  13. ^ Winfield, Chronology of the Navy 1817 to 1863, 1855
  14. ^ Winfield
  15. ^ The Navy List, April 1856, page 172
  16. ^ The Navy List, page 171
  17. ^ Winfield
  18. ^ Winfield
  19. ^ 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