HMS Surprise (1856)

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

HMS Surprise was a Vigilant-class gunvessel of the Royal Navy. She was launched at Blackwall Yard, London in 1856 and broken up in Plymouth in 1866.

History
United Kingdom
Name	HMS Surprise
Ordered	26 July 1855
Builder	Money Wigram and Son of Blackwall Yard
Cost	£33,356
Laid down	30 August 1855
Launched	6 March 1856
Commissioned	12 April 1856
Fate	Broken up in 1866
General characteristics
Class and type	Vigilant-class second-class despatch/gunvessel
Displacement	860 tons
Tons burthen	669 79/94 bm
Length	180 ft (54.9 m) (gundeck) 160 ft 7.5 in (49.0 m) (keel)
Beam	28 ft 4 in (8.6 m)
Draught	8 ft (2.4 m) (designed)
Depth of hold	14 ft (4.27 m)
Installed power	200 nominal horsepower 778 ihp (580 kW)
Propulsion	2-cylinder horizontal single-expansion steam engine Single screw
Sail plan	Barque-rigged
Speed	11 kn (20 km/h) under steam
Complement	80
Armament	As designed: 2 × 68-pounder Lancaster guns on pivots 2 × 12-pdr howitzers As completed: 1 × 7-inch/110-pdr breech loader 1 x68-pdr muzzle-loading rifle 2 × 20-pdr breech loaders

Design

Her class were designed as second-class despatch and gunvessels. They were intended to operate close inshore during the Crimean War and were essentially enlarged versions of the Arrow-class gunvessel, which has been designed by the Surveyor’s Department in 1854.

Propulsion

A two-cylinder horizontal single expansion steam engine by Miller, Ravenhill and Salkeld provided 778 indicated horsepower (580 kW) through a single screw, and gave a top speed of about 11 knots.

Sail plan

All Vigilant-class gunvessels were barque-rigged.

Armament

Although designed with a pair of 68-pounder Lancaster muzzle-loading rifles, the Vigilant class were finished with one 7-inch (180 mm)/110-pound (50 kg) Armstrong breech-loading gun, one 68-pound (31 kg) Lancaster muzzle-loading rifled gun and two 20-pounder breech loaders.

Construction

Surprise was ordered on 26 July 1855 at the same time as nine others of her class. Her keel was laid at the Blackwall yard of Money Wigram & Son on 30 August and she was launched on 6 March 1856.

History

From 18 March 1856 she was commanded by Commander Charles Egerton Harcourt-Vernon, and he commissioned her at Blackwall on 12 April the same year. From 1857 under Commander Cresswell the ship served in the East Indies including the Second Anglo-Chinese War, and from 1861 she formed part of the Mediterranean Fleet. Between August 1864 and 24 April 1866 she was commanded by George Tryon, later to become infamous as the Admiral who caused the loss in 1893 of his flagship HMS Victoria during fleet manoeuvres.

Disposal

Surprise was sold to Marshall of Plymouth and broken up in November 1866.

Commanding officers

From	Captain
18 March 1856	Commander Charles Egerton Harcourt-Vernon
11 March 1857	Commander Samuel Gurney Cresswell
2 August 1861	Commander William Henry Whyte
August 1864	Commander George Tryon

Sources

• 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.
• Preston, Antony; Major, John (2007). Send a Gunboat: The Victorian Navy and Supremacy at Sea, 1854–1904 (2nd ed.). London: Conway. ISBN 978-0-85177-923-2.