Albacore-class gunboat (1855)

HMS Raven, one of the Albacore class, in Kingstown Harbour, Dublin
Class overview
Name	Albacore class (1855)
Operators	Royal Navy
Preceded by	Dapper class
Succeeded by	Cheerful class
Built	1855–56
In commission	1855 – 1881
Completed	98
General characteristics [1]
Type	'Crimean' gunboat
Tons burthen	232 68⁄94 tons bm
Length	106 ft (32 m) (gundeck) 93 ft 2.5 in (28.410 m) (keel)
Beam	22 ft 0 in (6.71 m)
Draught	6 ft 6 in (1.98 m)
Installed power	60 nominal horsepower 270 ihp (200 kW))
Propulsion	2-cylinder horizontal single expansion steam engine Single screw
Speed	7.5 kn (13.9 km/h)
Crew	36–40
Armament	1 × 68-pounder (95cwt) MLSB gun 1 × 32-pounder MLSB gun 2 × 24-pounder howitzers

The Albacore-class gunboat, also known as "Crimean gunboat", was a class of 98 gunboats built for the Royal Navy in 1855 and 1856 for use in the 1853-1856 Crimean War.^[1] The design of the class, by W. H. Walker, was approved on 18 April 1855. The first vessels were ordered the same day, and 48 were on order by July; a second batch, which included Surly, were ordered in early October.^[2]

The Albacore class was almost identical to the preceding Dapper class, also designed by W.H. Walker. The ships were wooden-hulled, with both steam power and sails, and of shallow draught for coastal bombardment in the shallow waters of the Baltic and Black Seas during the Crimean War.^[1]

The Albacore-class vessels measured 106 feet (32 m) in length at the gundeck and 93 feet 2+1⁄2 inches (28.410 m) at the keel. They were 22 feet (6.7 m) in beam, 8 feet (2.4 m) deep in the hold and had a draught of 6 feet 6 inches (1.98 m). Their displacement was 284 tons and they measured 23268⁄94 tons Builder's Old Measurement.^[2] The Albacore-class carried a crew of 36-40 men.^[2]

One of the vessels of the class, HMS Surly, cost £9,867, of which the hull accounted for £5,656 and machinery £3,298.^[3]

Half of the ships had two-cylinder horizontal single-expansion trunk steam engines, built by John Penn and Sons, with two boilers. The other half had two-cylinder horizontal single-expansion direct-acting steam engines, built by Maudslay, Sons and Field, with three boilers. Both versions provided 60 nominal horsepower through a single screw, sufficient for 7.5 knots (13.9 km/h; 8.6 mph).^[1]

Ships of the class were armed with one 68-pounder (95 cwt) muzzle-loading smoothbore gun, one 32-pounder muzzle-loading smoothbore gun (originally two 68-pounders were planned but the forward gun was substituted by a 32-pounder) and two 24-pounder howitzers.^[1]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Albacore class gunboat (1855).

• Colledge, J. J.; Warlow, Ben (2006) [1969]. Ships of the Royal Navy: The Complete Record of all Fighting Ships of the Royal Navy (Rev. ed.). London: Chatham Publishing. ISBN 978-1-86176-281-8.
• 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.