Vigilant-class gunvessel

Surprise
Class overview
NameVigilant-class gunvessels
Builders
Operators
  •  Royal Navy
  • Qing dynasty Chinese Imperial Customs
  • Ottoman Empire Egyptian Government
Cost£27,437 (Foxhound) - £33,906 (Renard)[1]
Built1855-1856
In commission1856–1872
Completed14
Lost2
General characteristics [1]
TypeSecond-class wooden gunvessel
Displacement860 tonnes
Tons burthen669 79/94 bm
Length
  • 180 ft 0 in (54.9 m) (gundeck)
  • 160 ft 7.5 in (49.0 m) (keel)
Beam28 ft 4 in (8.6 m)
Draught8 ft 0 in (2.4 m) (designed)[2]
Depth of hold14 ft 0 in (4.3 m)
Installed power
  • 200 nhp
  • 593 to 778 ihp (442 to 580 kW)
Propulsion
  • 2-cylinder horizontal single-expansion steam engine
  • Single screw
Sail planBarque-rigged
Speed11 kn (20.4 km/h)[2]
Complement80
Armament

The Vigilant-class gunvessel of the Royal Navy was an enlarged version of the Arrow-class gunvessel of 1854. Both classes were designed for shallow-water operations in the Baltic and Black Seas during the Crimean War. Fourteen of the class were completed, but were ready too late to take part in that conflict. Cormorant was sunk in action at the Taku Forts, Osprey was wrecked on the coast of Africa in 1867 and the rest were all sold during the 1860s, with Sparrowhawk lasting until 1872.

  1. ^ a b Winfield (2004) pp.219-220
  2. ^ a b Preston (2007) p.150