HMS Ruby (1876)

Ruby
History
United Kingdom
NameHMS Ruby
BuilderEarle's Shipbuilding, Hull
Laid down8 July 1874
Launched9 August 1876
Completed14 June 1877
Out of serviceConverted to a coal hulk in December 1904
FateSold to be broken up in February 1921
General characteristics
Class and typeEmerald-class corvette
Displacement2,120 long tons (2,150 t)
Length220 ft (67 m) pp
Beam40 ft (12 m)
Draught18 ft (5.5 m)
Installed power2,000 ihp (1,500 kW)
Propulsion
Sail planFull-rigged ship (barque from the 1880s)
Complement232
Armament12 × 64-pounder 71-cwt RML guns

HMS Ruby was an Emerald-class composite screw corvette that served in the Victorian Royal Navy. The Emerald class was a development of the wooden Amethyst class but combined an iron frame and teak cladding. Launched in 1876, Ruby was commissioned to the East Indies Station, serving between Burma, Ceylon, Madras and other important parts of the British Empire. Transferred to operating in the Mediterranean Sea, the vessel supported humanitarian efforts during the 1878 Macedonian rebellion and then the British forces during the Anglo-Egyptian War of 1882. The corvette served in the South East Coast of America Station from 1885, retiring in 1904. After a period as a coal hulk with the name C.10, Ruby was sold in 1921 to be broken up.