HMS Assistance (1850)

HMS Assistance in the Ice, by Thomas Sewell Robins, 1853
History
United Kingdom
NameAcorn
NamesakeAcorn
OwnerT. Kincaid (1840–1850)
BuilderJ. Thomas, Howrah, Calcutta[1]
Launched1834[1] or 1835
RenamedBaboo
FateSold to the Royal Navy in 1850
United Kingdom
NameHMS Assistance
AcquiredMarch 1850
FateAbandoned in the ice on 25 August 1854
General characteristics
TypeTeak-built barque
Tons burthen423[2] or 420[3] (bm)
Length
  • Overall: 117 ft 4 in (35.8 m)
  • Keel: 115 ft 7 in (35.2 m)
Beam28 ft 5 in (8.7 m)
Depth of hold13 ft 7 in (4.14 m)
PropulsionSails
Sail planBarque rigged
Complement58
ArmamentTwo guns
NotesTeak-built[2]

HMS Assistance was an Arctic discovery barque of the Royal Navy, and the sixth vessel to carry the name. She began in 1834 as the India-built merchant vessel Acorn. Her name was changed to Baboo. Under that name she transported contract labourers between Mauritius and India, and immigrants to South Australia. The Royal Navy purchased her in 1850 and named her HMS Assistance. Assistance participated in two Arctic expeditions before her crew abandoned her in the ice in 1854.

  1. ^ a b Phipps (1840), p. 114.
  2. ^ a b Cite error: The named reference LR1839 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  3. ^ Colledge & Warlow (2006), p. 26.