HMS Raven (1882)

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

HMS Raven was a Banterer-class gunboat of the Royal Navy, built by Samuda Brothers of Poplar, London, and launched on 18 May 1882. She served on the Australia Station and was converted to a diving tender in 1904. After being lent as a training ship in 1913 she was sold for breaking in 1925.

HMS Raven as a diving tender c.1910
History
United Kingdom
Name	HMS Raven
Ordered	1880
Builder	Samuda Brothers, Poplar
Cost	Hull: £14,800 Machinery: £6,250
Launched	18 May 1882
Commissioned	April 1883
Fate	Sold March 1925
General characteristics
Class and type	Banterer-class gunboat
Displacement	465 tons
Length	125 ft (38.1 m) pp
Beam	23 ft 6 in (7.2 m)
Draught	10 ft (3.0 m)
Installed power	380 ihp (280 kW)
Propulsion	2-cylinder horizontal compound-expansion steam engine Single screw
Sail plan	Barquentine
Speed	9+1⁄2 knots (17.6 km/h; 10.9 mph)
Range	40 tons coal
Complement	60
Armament	2 × 6-inch/64-pdr (56 cwt) muzzle-loading rifles 2 × 4-inch/20 pdr BL guns 2 × machine guns

Design

The Banterer class was designed by Nathaniel Barnaby, the Admiralty Director of Naval Construction. They were of composite construction, meaning that the frame, keel and sternpost were of iron, while the hull was planked with timber. This had the advantage of allowing the vessels to be coppered, thus keeping marine growth under control, a problem that caused iron-hulled ships to be frequently docked. They were 125 feet (38 m) in length and displaced 465 tons. In appearance they were distinguishable from the preceding Foresters (also a Barnaby design) by their vertical stems.

Propulsion

A two-cylinder horizontal compound-expansion steam engine by J & G Rennie provided 380 indicated horsepower (280 kW) through a single screw, sufficient to drive Raven at 9.5 knots (17.6 km/h; 10.9 mph). The initial cost of the machinery was £6,250.

Armament

Ships of the class were armed with two 6-inch 64-pounder muzzle-loading rifles (a conversion of the smoothbore 32-pounder 58 cwt gun) and two 4-inch 20-pounder breech loading guns. A pair of machine guns were also fitted.

Construction

Raven was ordered from Samuda Brothers in 1880 and launched from their Poplar yard on 18 May 1882. The cost of building the hull was £14,800, while fitting out was conducted by the naval dockyard at Sheerness. She was rigged with three masts, and photographs of sister ships show a square rig on the foremast only, making them barquentine-rigged vessels.

Service history

Raven commissioned at Sheerness for the first time on 25 April 1883 and commenced service on the Australia Station. She left the Australia Station in October 1890. On 26 June 1897 she was present at the Naval Review at Spithead in celebration of the Diamond Jubilee. She served at the Channel Islands under Commander E. J. Rein, and was paid off at Chatham 26 November 1901, when her crew was transferred to HMS Albacore which then replaced her at the Channel Islands. She was converted to a diving tender in 1904 and was lent as a training ship in March 1913.

Fate

A Banterer-class gunboat photographed as built

Raven was sold for breaking on 13 March 1925.

References

• Bastock, John (1988), Ships on the Australia Station, Child & Associates Publishing Pty Ltd; Frenchs Forest, Australia. ISBN 0-86777-348-0
• 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.