HMS Acheron (1838)

HMS Acheron was the last Hermes-class wooden paddle sloop ordered for the Royal Navy. She was launched at Sheerness in 1838. She spent two commissions in the Mediterranean before being reclassed as a survey ship in 1847.[1] Between 1848 and 1851 she made a coastal survey of New Zealand, the first such survey since Captain Cook. She was paid off at Sydney and was tender to HMS Calliope.[2] She was sold at Sydney in 1855.

For other ships with the same name, see HMS Acheron.

Acheron in New Zealand
History
United Kingdom
NameHMS Acheron
Ordered15 September 1837
BuilderSheerness dockyard
Cost£25,509
Laid downOctober 1837
Launched23 August 1838
Commissioned8 January 1839
Fate
  • Survey ship, 1847
  • Sold at Sydney, 23 April 1855
General characteristics
TypePaddle sloop
Displacement1,006 tons
Tons burthen715 43/94 bm
Length
  • 150 ft 0 in (45.7 m) gundeck
  • 128 ft 0 in (39.0 m) keel for tonnage
Beam
  • 32 ft 9 in (10.0 m) maximum
  • 32 ft 5 in (9.9 m) for tonnage
Draught
  • 11 ft 6 in (3.5 m) (forward)
  • 12 ft 0 in (3.7 m) (aft)
Depth of hold17 ft 0 in (5.2 m)
Installed power160 nominal horsepower
Propulsion
  • 2-cylinder side lever steam engine
  • Paddles
Sail plan3-masted barque
Complement135
Armament
  • As built:
  • 2 × 9-pounder (13 1⁄2 cwt) brass guns
  • From 1842:
  • 1 × 8-inch (52 cwt) pivot gun
  • 2 × 32-pounder (17 cwt) carronades

Acheron was the second named vessel since it was used for an 8-gun Bomb, purchased in October 1803 then captured by the French in the Mediterranean and burnt on 3 February 1805.[3]

Construction

She was initially ordered from Chatham Dockyard on 15 September 1837, but three days later this was changed to Sheerness Dockyard because the relevant tooling was already present there. The Vessel was named on 27 September and laid down in October. She was launched on 23 August 1838. She was completed for sea at Sheerness om 8 January 1839[1] at a first cost of 25,509 (including 16,819 for and rigging and 8,690 for machinery).[2][Note 1]

Commissioned service

First commission

She was commissioned on 27 November 1838 under the command of Lieutenant Andrew Kennedy, RN for the Mediterranean. She returned to Home Waters, paying off in December 1841.[2]

Second commission

Her second commission commenced on 3 December 1842 under the command of Lieutenant Benjamin Alpin, RN for the Mediterranean. On 10 September 1846 Lieutenant Andrew Robert Dunlap took command. She returned to Home Waters and paid off at Woolwich on 13 October 1847.[2]

Commissioned as survey ship

Acheron was commissioned the next day on 14 October 1847, under the command of Captain John Lort Stokes, RN, for service on the East Indies Station as a survey ship.[4] She was dispatched to New Zealand in January 1849,[5] arriving in November the same year.[6] In March 1851, due to a budget cut to the Hydrographer of the Navy, Acheron was ordered to be laid up in Sydney, New South Wales and her crew returned to England.[6][7] However, in November 1851, she was sent to rescue the passengers and crew of the British merchant ship Syrian, which had run aground on the Elizabeth Reef whilst on a voyage from Wellington, New Zealand to Sydney.[8] In July 1853, she rescued the passengers and crew of the British barque Tory, which had been wrecked north of Port Stephens, New South Wales.[9]

Disposition

Acheron was sold at Sydney on 23 April 1855 for £2,067 16s.[1]

Notes
  1. A total cost accounting for inflation of approximately £2,443,500 in 2010.

Citations
  1. Lyon Winfield, page 158
  2. Winfield
  3. Colledge, Acheron
  4. The Navy List, July 1848, page 115
  5. The Navy List, April 1849, page 126
  6. Ritchie, Steve (1 January 2008). "By the Old Hydrographer". Hydro International.
  7. Natusch, Sheila. "John Lort Stokes". Dictionary of New Zealand Biography. Ministry for Culture and Heritage. Retrieved 22 January 2012.
  8. "Ship News". The Times. No. 21066. London. 18 March 1852. col F, p. 7.
  9. "Shipping". The Morning Chronicle. No. 27099. London. 31 October 1853.

References
  • 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, Hermes 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 Navy List, published by His Majesty's Stationery Office, London
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