HMS Torch (1894)

HMS Torch c. 1900.
History
Royal Navy EnsignUnited Kingdom
NameHMS Torch
BuilderSheerness Dockyard
Laid down18 December 1893
Launched28 December 1894
CommissionedOctober 1895
FateTransferred to New Zealand government on 16 August 1917
Royal Navy EnsignNew Zealand
NameHMS Firebrand
FateSold in July 1920
Civil Ensign of the United KingdomUnited Kingdom
NameRama
FateWrecked on 17 November 1924 near the Chatham Islands.
General characteristics
Class and typeAlert-class sloop
TypeScrew steel sloop
Displacement960 tons
Length180 ft (55 m)
Beam32 ft (9.8 m)
Draught12 ft (3.7 m)
Installed power1,400 hp (1,044 kW)[1]
PropulsionThree-cylinder vertical triple expansion steam engine; single screw[2]
Sail plan
Complement107[1]
Armament
ArmourProtective deck of 1 in (2.5 cm) to 1.5 in (3.8 cm) steel over machinery and boilers.[2]

HMS Torch was an Alert-class sloop of the Royal Navy, built at Sheerness Dockyard and launched in 1894. She served in Australia and New Zealand and was transferred to New Zealand as a training ship in 1917, being renamed HMS Firebrand at the same time. She was sold in 1920 and converted to a refrigerated ship with the new name Rama. She ran aground in the Chatham Islands in 1924 and was abandoned.

  1. ^ a b Cite error: The named reference PB_Torch was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  2. ^ a b c Winfield (2004) p.278