HMS Birkenhead (1845)

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

A contemporary picture of the ship
History
Royal Navy EnsignUnited Kingdom
NameHMS Birkenhead
NamesakeVulcan, Birkenhead
BuilderJohn Laird shipyard, Birkenhead
Launched30 December 1845
ChristenedHMS Vulcan
RenamedHMS Birkenhead, 1845
ReclassifiedTroopship, 1851[1]
FateWrecked 26 February 1852 at Danger Point near Gansbaai, Cape Colony
General characteristics
Class and typeFrigate, later troopship
Displacement1918 tons as designed (2000 tons loaded[1])
Tons burthen1400 bm[2]
Length210 ft (64 m)[1]
Beam37 ft 6 in (11 m)[1]
Draught15 ft 9 in (5 m)[1]
PropulsionSail, plus 2× Forrester & Co 564 hp (421 kW) steam engines[1] driving two 6 m (20 ft) diameter paddle wheels
Sail planBrig, later barquentine
Speed10 knots (19 km/h)[1] as a troopship
Complement125
Armament2 × 96-pounder pivot guns; 4× 68-pounder broadside guns[clarification needed]
NotesIron hull; renamed HMS Birkenhead before commissioning

HMS Birkenhead, also referred to as HM Troopship Birkenhead or Steam Frigate Birkenhead,[3] was one of the first iron-hulled ships built for the Royal Navy.[4] She was designed as a steam frigate, but was converted to a troopship before being commissioned.[1]

While transporting troops and a few civilians to Algoa Bay, the Birkenhead was wrecked on 26 February 1852 at Danger Point near Gansbaai, 87 miles (140 km) from Cape Town in the Cape Colony. There were insufficient serviceable lifeboats for all the passengers, and the soldiers famously stood in ranks on board, allowing the women and children to board the boats safely and escape the sinking.

Only 193 of the estimated 643 people on board survived, and the soldiers' chivalry gave rise to the unofficial "women and children first" protocol when abandoning ship, while the "Birkenhead drill" of Rudyard Kipling's poem came to describe courage in the face of hopeless circumstances.

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h Cite error: The named reference iron was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  2. ^ 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. p. 39. ISBN 978-1-86176-281-8.
  3. ^ Cite error: The named reference Lucas was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  4. ^ Webster, Roger (2003). The Illustrated at the Fireside: True Southern African Stories. New Africa Books. p. 34. ISBN 978-0-86486-558-8.