HMS Bulldog (1845)

HMS Bulldog was a Bulldog-class sloop designed by Sir William Symonds, Surveyor of the Navy. Originally she was ordered as a Driver-class sloop, however, under Admiralty Order of 26 December 1843 she was directed to be built to a new specification.[1] After commissioning she sailed for the Cape of Good Hope. She then was in the Baltic Sea for the Russian War. She carried out ocean sounding for the Atlantic telegraph. She was lost while in action with the Haitians in 1865.

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

H.M. Steam Frigate Bulldog steaming into Kioge Bay with Her Britannic Majesty's Minister at Copenhagen on board - The Bearer of the Declaration of War with Russia by Britain in 1854, lithograph by Dutton
History
RN EnsignUnited Kingdom
NameHMS Bulldog
Ordered18 March 1841
BuilderRoyal Dockyard, Chatham
Cost£58,122
Laid down7 July 1844
Launched2 October 1845
Completed7 September 1846
Commissioned25 June 1846
Honours and
awards		Baltic 1854-1855
FateRan aground and blown up 23 October 1865
General characteristics
Type
Tons burthen1125+71⁄94 bm
Length
  • 190 ft 0 in (57.9 m) gundeck
  • 166 ft 2.125 in (50.7 m) keel for tonnage
Beam
  • 36 ft 0.75 in (11.0 m) maximum
  • 35 ft 8.25 in (10.9 m) for tonnage
Draught
  • 7 ft 11.5 in (2.4 m) forward
  • 8 ft 5 in (2.6 m) aft
Depth of hold21 ft 0 in (6.4 m)
Installed power500 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 8-inch 52 cwt shell guns on broadside trucks

Bulldog was the third vessel so named since it was used for a 16-gun sloop, launched by Ladd of Dover on 10 November 1782, made a bomb in 1798, converted to a powder hulk 1801 Breaking completed at Portsmouth in December 1829. The vessel had been in French hands from 27 February 1801 to 16 September 1801.[2]

Construction

She was ordered on 18 March 1841 from Chatham Dockyard though her keel was not laid until 7 July 1844.[3] She was launched on 2 October 1845. Following her launch she was towed to the East India Dock to have her boilers and machinery fitted.[4] She was then towed to Chatham and was completed for sea on 7 September 1846 at an initial cost of £58,122[5] including the hull at £23,342, machinery at £24,892 and fitting at £8,338.[Note 1]

Commissioned Service

First Commission

She was commissioned at Devonport under Commander George Evans Davis, RN on 25 June 1846 for service on the Cape of Good Hope Station.[6] By December she was back in Devonport.[7] Commander Astley Cooper Key, RN took command on 4 May 1847 and assigned to the Mediterranean.[8] She returned paying off on 16 April 1850.[9]

Second commission

She commissioned on 23 January 1854 under the command of Commander William King Hall, RN for service in the Baltic Sea during the Russian War.[10] She was the flagship of Sir Robert Napier during the bombardment of Bomarsund on 16 August 1854.

HMS Centaur, Bulldog, and Imperieuse, engaged with Six Russian Gun-Boats, off Cronstadt, Illustrated Times, 1855

In February 1855 her new commander was Commander Alexander Crombie Gordon, RN for her return to the Baltic.[11] By December 1856 she had been assigned to particular service.[12] She was paid off into steam reserve on 25 March 1857.[13]

Third Commission

On 2 June 1860 she was commissioned under Sir Francis Leopold McClintock for ocean sounding for the Atlantic Telegraph.[14] Commander Henry Frederick McKillop, RN took command on 3 December 1860. During 1861 she was fitted with Armstrong guns before proceeding to the North America and West Indies Station.[15][16]

Fourth Commission

In March 1864 she was commissioned for service on the North American and West Indies Station under the command of Captain Charles Wake, RN.[17]

Loss
Bulldog in Conflict with the Flotilla and Forts at Cape Haytien, on the Coast of Hayti, Illustrated London News, 1865

She was in action at Cape Haytien with Haitian ships and forts on 23 October 1865. She sank the Haitian ships Valorogue and a schooner before she was run around then deliberately blown up.[18]

Notes
  1. A total cost accounting for inflation of approximately £5,988,000 in today's money.

Citations
  1. Winfield
  2. Colledge, Bulldog
  3. Lyon Winfield, page 161
  4. Winfield
  5. Winfield
  6. Winfield
  7. The new Navy List, January 1847, page 217
  8. The Navy List, July 1848, page 120
  9. Winfield
  10. Winfield
  11. The Navy List, July 1855, page 141
  12. The Navy List, January 1857, page 142
  13. Winfield
  14. Winfield
  15. Winfield
  16. The Navy List, January 1862, page 160
  17. Winfield
  18. Winfield

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, 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
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