HMS Rattler (1843)

HMS Rattler (1843)

HMS Rattler was a 12-gun wooden sloop of the Royal Navy and the first British warship to adopt a screw propellor powered by a steam engine. She was arguably the first such warship in the world - the sloop USS Princeton was launched after the "Rattler", but was placed in commission much sooner.

History

She was launched on 12 April 1843 at Sheerness Dockyard and spent two years on trials. She was commissioned at Woolwich on 12 December 1844 and was first commanded by Commander Henry Smith.

Alecto trials

"Rattler" was well-known for her role in the demonstration of the superiority of the screw propellor over the paddle wheel. The most famous trial took place in March 1845 with the paddle-steamer HMS "Alecto". The "Rattler" conclusively beat the "Alecto" in a series of races with the other ship and then won a tug-of-war contest in which the "Rattler" towed the "Alecto" backwards at a speed of convert|2|kn|km/h. It is this which is memorialised to this day in Portsmouth Historic Dockyard [cite web | last = | first = | authorlink = | coauthors = | title = Memorials and Monuments in Portsmouth - HMS Rattler | work = Memorials and Monuments in Portsmouth | publisher = | date = | url = http://www.memorials.inportsmouth.co.uk/dockyard/rattler.htm | format = | doi = | accessdate = 2008-03-02] . However, a wide range of other comparative trials took place in 1844 to 1846, comparing Rattler with other steamers and experimenting with the most effective type of screw.

On May 17 1845 the "Rattler" and the steamer "Monkey" towed HMS "Erebus" and HMS "Terror" to Orkney, "Rattler" returning to Woolwich on June 10.

In June 1845 "Rattler" served with the 1845 Experimental Squadron.

In 1846 "Rattler" served with the Squadron of Evolution, departing the Squadron in November for Gibralter from where she towed HMS "Superb". She also visited Lisbon and South America, returning to be paid off in September 1847.

She later served in Africa and the East Indies, taking part in the Second Burma War. She was finally broken up in late 1856.

Notes

References

*Colledge

External links

* [http://www.pdavis.nl/ShowShip.php?id=137 Detailed career including "Times" excerpts]
* [http://patentpending.blogs.com/patent_pending_blog/2005/05/httpwwwstvincen.html Description of the contest with the Alecto]


Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Поможем написать курсовую

Look at other dictionaries:

  • HMS Rattler (1843) — HMS Rattler …   Википедия

  • HMS Rattler — Восемь кораблей Королевского флота Великобритании назывались HMS Rattler: HMS Rattler (1783)  16 пушечный шлюп. Спущен на воду в 1783 году. Продан в 1792 году. HMS Rattler (1795)  16 пушечный шлюп. Спущен на воду в 1795 году. Продан в… …   Википедия

  • HMS Rattler (1845) — Rattler Schiffsdaten Schiffstyp: Dampffregatte Bauwerft: Sheerness Dockyard Eigner …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • HMS Rattler — Eight ships of the Royal Navy have borne the name HMS Rattler :*HMS Rattler was a 16 gun sloop launched in 1783 and sold in 1792. *HMS Rattler was a 16 gun sloop launched in 1795 and sold in 1815. *HMS Rattler was a 12 gun gunvessel purchased… …   Wikipedia

  • HMS Ardent — Eight ships of the Royal Navy have been named HMS Ardent , whilst another two were planned:*HMS|Ardent|1764|6 was a 64 gun third rate launched in 1764. She was captured by the French in 1779 but was recaptured in 1782 and renamed HMS Tiger . She… …   Wikipedia

  • HMS Ardent — Mehrere Schiffe der britischen Royal Navy trugen den Namen HMS Ardent nach dem englischen Wort für „leidenschaftlich“ Die erste Ardent war ein Linienschiff dritter Klasse mit 64 Kanonen. Sie lief 1764 in Hull vom Stapel, wurde 1779 von den… …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • HMS Ardent — Восемь кораблей Королевского флота назывались HMS Ardent (пылкий), еще два планировались: HMS Ardent  64 пушечный линейный корабль 3 ранга спущен на воду в 1764; захвачен французами в 1779; отбит в 1782; переименован в HMS Tiger; продан в… …   Википедия

  • Архимед (пароход) — У этого термина существуют и другие значения, см. Архимед (значения). «Архимед» (англ. SS Archimedes)  первый винтовой пароход. Построен в 1838 году английским изобретателем Френсисом Смитом (англ. Francis Pettit Smith) по… …   Википедия

  • Kanrin Maru — Le Kanrin Maru , premier navire de guerre à hélices et à à vapeur du Japon, 1855. Le Kanrin Maru (咸臨丸) est la première corvette à hélice et à vapeur du Japon (le navire de guerre japonais Kankō Maru à hélices et à vapeur était un Bateau à roues à …   Wikipédia en Français

  • John Franklin — Infobox Prime Minister name =John Franklin birth date =birth date|1786|4|16|df=y birth place =Spilsby, Lincolnshire, England death date =death date and age|1847|6|11|1786|4|16|df=y death place =near King William Island, Canada spouse =Eleanor… …   Wikipedia

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
… Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”