HMS Crocodile (1867)

HMS Crocodile was a Euphrates-class troopship launched into the Thames from the Blackwall Yard of Money Wigram and Sons on 7 January 1867. She was the fourth and last vessel of the Royal Navy to carry the name.

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

History
United Kingdom
NameHMS Crocodile
Ordered1865
BuilderMoney Wigram and Sons[1]
Launched7 January 1867
FateSold 11 May 1894
General characteristics
Class and typeEuphrates-class troopship
TypeTroopship
Displacement6,211 tons, 4,206 tons BM[1]
Length360 ft (109.7 m) (overall)
Beam49 ft 1.5 in (15.0 m)
Depth of hold22 ft 4 in (6.81 m)
Installed power
  • As built: 4,044 ihp (3,016 kW)
  • From 1869: unknown[1]
Propulsion
  • 2-cylinder horizontal single-expansion (later compound-expansion) trunk engine
  • Single screw
Sail planBarque
Speed15 kn (28 km/h)
ArmamentThree 4-pounder guns

Design

Crocodile was one of five iron-hulled vessels of the Euphrates class. All five were built to a design of 360 ft overall length by about 49 ft breadth, although Malabar was very slightly smaller than the rest of the class. They had a single screw, a speed of 14 knots, one funnel, a barque-rig sail plan, three 4-pounder guns, and a white painted hull. Her bow was a "ram bow" which projected forward below the waterline.

Identification

The "Euphrates" Class troopships could each be identified by a different coloured hull band. The Crocodile's hull band was yellow. The blue hull band of her sister Euphrates became the standard for all HM Troopships.[2]

Career
HM Troopship Crocodile, in the Spithead Channel, 1880

Crocodile was built for the transport of troops between the United Kingdom and the Indian sub-continent, and was operated by the Royal Navy. She carried up to 1,200 troops and family on a passage of approximately 70 days. On 27 November 1867, she collided with the Canadian merchant ship John Dwyer in the English Channel 40 nautical miles (74 km) off Start Point, Devon. John Dwyer sank with the loss of four of her crew. Crocodile rescued the survivors.[3] She was commissioned in April 1870 under Captain G H Parkin.

Crocodile was re-engined rather later in life than her sisters, with her single-expansion steam engine replaced with a more efficient compound-expansion type.[Note 1]

In December 1888, Crocodile towed the Dutch steamship Sourabaja in to Malta, the steamship having suffered an engine failure 9 nautical miles (17 km) off Cape Trafalgar, Spain.[4] Crocodile's last voyage began at Bombay in October 1893. On 3 November, as she was approaching Aden, the high-pressure steam cylinder exploded and the ship came to a halt. The next day she was towed to an anchorage near Aden.[5] Most of the soldiers and their families were brought home on other ships. Crocodile eventually arrived back at Portsmouth on 30 December 1893, having travelled using only the low-pressure steam cylinder, and was not further employed for trooping.[6]

Fate

Crocodile was sold for breaking on 11 May 1894.[1][7]

Commanding officers
FromUntilCaptain[8]
November 1866April 1870Captain George Willes Watson
8 April 187017 May 1873Captain George Henry Parkin
2 June 1875-Captain Philip Ruffle Sharpe
10 June 187816 September 1882Captain Frederic Proby Doughty
May 1890-Captain Orford Churchill

Notes
  1. Winfield does not show a re-engining of Crocodile. This is a misprint and the Errata should be consulted.

References
  1. Winfield, R.; Lyon, D. (2004). The Sail and Steam Navy List: All the Ships of the Royal Navy 1815–1889. London: Chatham Publishing. ISBN 978-1-86176-032-6. OCLC 52620555.
  2. The Royal Navy at Malta, Volume One: The Victorian Era - 1865-1906, page 51, by Richard Ellis & Lt. Cdr. Ben Warlaw RN - ISBN 0907771432
  3. "Ship News". The Times. No. 26295. London. 30 November 1868. col F, p. 9.
  4. "Latest Shipping Intelligence". The Times. No. 32566. London. 11 December 1888. col E, p. 10.
  5. Birmingham Daily Post 29 November 1893
  6. The Times, London, 1 January 1894
  7. Colledge. Ships of the Royal Navy. p. 83.
  8. "HMS Crocodile at William Loney RN website". Retrieved 23 June 2009.
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