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]


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