HMS Imperieuse (1852)

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

Imperieuse
History
United Kingdom
NameHMS Imperieuse
BuilderDeptford Dockyard
Launched15 September 1852
Honours and
awards
  • Baltic 1854–1855
  • China 1860
FateSold, March 1867
General characteristics
TypeSteam frigate
Tons burthen2,358 tons bm
Length148 ft 6 in (45.26 m)
Beam39 ft 6 in (12.04 m)
Armament
  • 10 × 8 in (200 mm) guns
  • 1 × 68-pounder gun
  • 40 × 32-pounder guns

HMS Imperieuse (1852) was a wooden screw steam frigate launched in 1852.[1]

Imperieuse at the Spithead Fleet Review on 15 July 1853

From 1854 the ship served in the Baltic Sea during the Crimean War.[2]

On 1 April 1855, Imperieuse ran aground off the Reefness Lighthouse (Røsnæs lighthouse), in Kalundborg, Denmark.[3][4][5] She was refloated the next day with assistance from HMS Euryalus.[6] In August 1855 Captain Watson was in charge when she was present at Cronstadt, the Russian Baltic naval base; along with James Watt, Centaur and Bulldog The fleet was involved in a minor long-range Crimean War engagement near the Tolbukhin lighthouse [ru] with the port's batteries and gun-boats on 16 August 1855.[7]

In January 1860 she arrived at Hong Kong on the East Indies and China Station, where she remained for the next two years, operating off the coast of China during the Second Anglo-Chinese War of 1856–1860.[8]

In August 1861, she ran aground on a rock 140 nautical miles (260 km) from Jeddo, Japan. She was refloated three days later with assistance from HMS Ringdove.[9] The ship was sold in March 1867.[1]

HMS James Watt off Kronstadt, with Centaur, Bulldog and Imperieuse in action near the Tolbukhin lighthouse, August 1855
  1. ^ a b King, Ian M. (2011). "HMS Imperieuse (1852)". britainsnavy.co.uk. Retrieved 9 December 2011.
  2. ^ King, Ian M. (2011). "Baltic 1854-55". britainsnavy.co.uk. Retrieved 9 December 2011.
  3. ^ Kuhlman, Hans; Serritslev, Lars (23 June 2013). "Røsnæs". Gyldendal. Retrieved 30 June 2024.
  4. ^ "The Lighthouse of Røsnæs".
  5. ^ "Geocaching – the Official Global GPS Cache Hunt Site".
  6. ^ "The Baltic". Caledonian Mercury. No. 20493. Edinburgh. 16 April 1855.
  7. ^ "Cronstadt". Royal Museums Greenwich. Retrieved 13 April 2018.
  8. ^ Benyon, P. (2011). "HMS Imperieuse". Naval Database. Retrieved 9 December 2011.
  9. ^ "Naval and Military". Daily News. No. 4831. London. 4 November 1861.