HMS Gorgon (1837)

History
Royal Navy EnsignUnited Kingdom
NameHMS Gorgon
Ordered10 July 1834[1]
BuilderRoyal Dockyard, Pembroke Dock[2]
Laid downJuly 1836[1]
Launched31 August 1837
Commissioned30 August 1838[1]
Decommissioned11 February 1864
FateSold for breaking on 17 October 1864[1]
General characteristics
TypeSteam vessel (later, first-class sloop)
Displacement1,610 long tons (1,640 t)
Tons burthen1108 67/94 bm[1]
Length
  • 235 ft (71.6 m) (overall)
  • 152 ft 2 in (46.4 m) (keel)[1]
Beam37 ft 6 in (11.4 m)
Draught16 ft (4.9 m)[3]
Depth of hold23 ft (7.0 m)[1]
Installed power800 ihp (600 kW)[1]
Propulsion
  • 2-cylinder direct-acting steam engine
  • 4 flue boilers
  • 27 ft (8.2 m) Paddles
Sail planSchooner (later brig)[1]
Speed9.5 kn (17.6 km/h)[1]
Complement160
Armament
  • 6 guns:
  • As built:
  • 2 × pivot-mounted 10-inch (84 cwt) guns
  • 2 × 68-pdr (64 cwt) guns
  • 2 × 42-pdr (22 cwt) carronades
  • By 1856:
  • 1 × pivot-mounted 10-inch (84 cwt) gun
  • 1 × pivot-mounted 68-pdr (64 cwt) gun
  • 4 × 32-pdr (42 cwt) guns

HMS Gorgon was a wooden steam paddle sloop of 6 guns, launched in 1837. In 1840 she took part in the bombardment of Acre, and in 1843 was part of the Royal Navy squadron stationed in the River Plate during the Uruguayan Civil War. She was converted to a troopship and in 1858 assisted Agamemnon in the laying of the first transatlantic telegraph cable. She was sold for breaking in 1864.

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Winfield, p.159
  2. ^ The Times (London), Tuesday, 19 September 1837, p.1
  3. ^ The Times (London), Monday, 23 May 1859, p.11