# Albacore-class gunboat (1855)

The Albacore-class gunboat, also known as "Crimean gunboat", was a class of 98 gunboats built for the Royal Navy in 1855 and 1856 for use in the 1853-1856 Crimean War. The design of the class, by W. H. Walker, was approved on 18 April 1855. The first vessels were ordered the same day, and 48 were on order by July; a second batch, which included Surly, were ordered in early October.

## Design

The Albacore class was almost identical to the preceding Dapper class, also designed by W.H. Walker. The ships were wooden-hulled, with both steam power and sails, and of shallow draught for coastal bombardment in the shallow waters of the Baltic and Black Seas during the Crimean War.
The Albacore-class vessels measured 106 feet (32 m) in length at the gundeck and 93 feet 2+1⁄2 inches (28.410 m) at the keel. They were 22 feet (6.7 m) in beam, 8 feet (2.4 m) deep in the hold and had a draught of 6 feet 6 inches (1.98 m). Their displacement was 284 tons and they measured 23268⁄94 tons Builder's Old Measurement. The Albacore-class carried a crew of 36-40 men.
One of the vessels of the class, HMS Surly, cost £9,867, of which the hull accounted for £5,656 and machinery £3,298.

### Propulsion

Half of the ships had two-cylinder horizontal single-expansion trunk steam engines, built by John Penn and Sons, with two boilers. The other half had two-cylinder horizontal single-expansion direct-acting steam engines, built by Maudslay, Sons and Field, with three boilers. Both versions provided 60 nominal horsepower through a single screw, sufficient for 7.5 knots (13.9 km/h; 8.6 mph).

### Armament

Ships of the class were armed with one 68-pounder (95 cwt) muzzle-loading smoothbore gun, one 32-pounder muzzle-loading smoothbore gun (originally two 68-pounders were planned but the forward gun was substituted by a 32-pounder) and two 24-pounder howitzers.

## Ships

| Name | Ship builder | Launched | Fate |
| Beaver | Money Wigram & Sons, Northam | 28 November 1855 | This vessel was built hastily of unseasoned wood with the result that she was unsound and saw no service at all. Broken up at Portsmouth in 1864. |
| Whiting | Money Wigram & Sons, Northam | 9 January 1856 | Broken up in December 1881 |
| Nightingale | C J Mare & Company, Leamouth | 22 December 1855 | Sold to W Lethbridge for breaking on 16 July 1867 |
| Violet | C J Mare & Company, Leamouth | 9 January 1856 | Sold to Marshall for breaking at Plymouth on 7 October 1864 |
| Seagull | W & H Pitcher, Northfleet | 4 June 1855 | Sold to Marshall for breaking at Plymouth on 7 October 1864 |
| Skipjack | W & H Pitcher, Northfleet | 4 August 1855 | Boilers removed in 1862, became a cooking depot in 1874. Breaking at Devonport completed on 4 February 1879 |
| Sandfly | W & H Pitcher, Northfleet | 1 September 1855 | Sold to W Lethbridge for breaking on 5 November 1867 |
| Sheldrake | W & H Pitcher, Northfleet | 1 September 1855 | Sold at Montevideo on 30 June 1865 |
| Plover | W & H Pitcher, Northfleet | 8 September 1855 | Sunk in action with the Taku forts in the Hai River on 26 June 1859 |
| Tickler | W & H Pitcher, Northfleet | 8 September 1855 | Breaking at Deptford completed on 21 November 1863 |
| Banterer | W & H Pitcher, Northfleet | 29 September 1855 | Grounded in action with the Taku forts in the Hai River on 25 June 1859, but refloated and sold at Hong Kong on 30 December 1872 |
| Bullfrog | W & H Pitcher, Northfleet | 6 October 1855 | Broken up at Sheerness on 8 June 1875 |
| Bustard | W & H Pitcher, Northfleet | 20 October 1855 | Fitted for foreign service in 1856. Sold to Cheeong Loong at Hong Kong on 18 November 1869 |
| Carnation | W & H Pitcher, Northfleet | 20 October 1855 | Broken up at Sheerness in 1863 |
| Charger | W & H Pitcher, Northfleet | 13 November 1855 | Became a buoy boat at Halifax in June 1866. Later renamed YC3 on 24 June 1866, then YC6 in 1869. Sold in July 1887 as merchant vessel SS Rescue. Broken up in 1921 |
| Cockchafer | W & H Pitcher, Northfleet | 24 November 1855 | Fitted for service in China in 1859. Sold to Telge Northing Company at Shanghai in 1872 |
| Dove | W & H Pitcher, Northfleet | 24 November 1855 | Sold to the P&O Company at Shanghai on 14 April 1873 |
| Forward | W & H Pitcher, Northfleet | 8 December 1855 | Fitted for service in British Columbia in 1859. Sold to Hill & Ready, Esquimault |
| Grasshopper | W & H Pitcher, Northfleet | 12 January 1856 | Sold at Newchang in May 1871 |
| Hasty | W & H Pitcher, Northfleet | 10 January 1856 | Sold to Castle for breaking at Charlton in November 1865 |
| Herring | W & H Pitcher, Northfleet | 10 January 1856 | Broken up at Sheerness in August 1865 |
| Insolent | W & H Pitcher, Northfleet | 26 January 1856 | Lent to the Board of Works for the Maintenance of Lighthouses in 1856 - later returned. Sold at Chefoo in China on 1 May 1869 |
| Mayflower | W & H Pitcher, Northfleet | 31 January 1856 | Became tender to HMS President in 1862. Broken up at Sheerness in the summer of 1867 |
| Staunch | W & H Pitcher, Northfleet | 31 January 1856 | Fitted for foreign service in September 1856. Between 30 July 1862 and 3 August 1862 she stuck on a rock at Canton but managed to get off. Sold at Hong Kong in December 1866 and broken up |
| Goldfinch | Money Wigram & Sons, Northam | 2 February 1856 | Broken up at Pembroke on 22 June 1869 |
| Goshawk | Money Wigram & Sons, Northam | 9 February 1856 | Broken up at Devonport on 18 March 1869 |
| Julia | Fletcher & Fearnall, Limehouse | 27 November 1855 | Broken up by Marshall at Plymouth in February 1866 |
| Louisa | Fletcher & Fearnall, Limehouse | December 1855 | Sold to W Lethbridge for breaking on 27 August 1867 |
| Bouncer | C J Mare & Company, Leamouth | 23 February 1856 | Sold at Hong Kong on 1 February 1871 |
| Hyena | C J Mare & Company, Leamouth | 3 April 1856 | Sold to W E Joliffe as a salvage vessel on 8 March 1870. Broken up in 1894 |
| Savage | C J Mare & Company, Leamouth | 5 May 1856 | Became mooring lighter YC3 in 1864. Broken up at Malta in September 1888 |
| Wolf | C J Mare & Company, Leamouth | 5 July 1856 | Completed breaking on 8 July 1864 |
| Griper | R & H Green, Blackwall Yard | 11 December 1855 | Became tender to a Coast Guard ship in 1861 and was fitted for Armstrong guns in 1862. Broken up at Devonport on 18 March 1869 |
| Fervent | R & H Green, Blackwall Yard | 23 January 1856 | Broken up at Devonport in February 1879 |
| Forester | R & H Green, Blackwall Yard | 23 January 1856 | Became yard craft YC7 at Hong Kong in 1868 and was lost in a typhoon at Hong Kong on 2 September 1871 |
| Spanker | R & H Green, Blackwall Yard | 22 March 1856 | Broken up at Chatham in August 1874 |
| Traveller | R & H Green, Blackwall Yard | 13 March 1856 | Fitted for Armstrong guns in 1861. Completed breaking at Portsmouth on 28 December 1863 |
| Thrasher | R & H Green, Blackwall Yard | 22 March 1856 | Sold by order dated 9 May 1883 |
| Opossum | Money Wigram & Sons, Northam | 26 February 1856 | Became a hospital hulk in 1876, then a mooring vessel in 1891. Renamed Siren in 1895 and sold at Hong Kong in 1896 |
| Partridge | Money Wigram & Sons, Northam | 29 March 1856 | Fitted for reserve, commissioned in 1859 as tender to HMS Royal Albert. Sold to Messrs. Habgood for breaking on 8 September 1864 |
| Charon | W & H Pitcher, Northfleet | 9 February 1856 | Broken up by Marshall at Plymouth in October 1865 |
| Haughty | W & H Pitcher, Northfleet | 9 February 1856 | Sold at Hong Kong on 23 May 1867 |
| Leveret | W & H Pitcher, Northfleet | 8 March 1856 | Broken up at Portsmouth in October 1867 |
| Mackerel | W & H Pitcher, Northfleet | 8 March 1856 | Breaking completed at Portsmouth on 18 July 1862 |
| Procris | W & H Pitcher, Northfleet | 13 March 1856 | Cooking depot ship at Devonport on 30 June 1869. Sold to T Hockling on 31 May 1893 and broken up at Stonehouse |
| Shamrock | W & H Pitcher, Northfleet | 13 March 1856 | Sold to Marshall for breaking at Plymouth in April 1867 |
| Spey | W & H Pitcher, Northfleet | 29 March 1856 | Broken up at Deptford in December 1863 |
| Tilbury | W & H Pitcher, Northfleet | 29 March 1856 | Broken up by Marshall at Plymouth on 2 August 1865 |
| Peacock | W & H Pitcher, Northfleet | 12 April 1856 | Broken up at Portsmouth on 25 March 1869 |
| Pheasant | W & H Pitcher, Northfleet | 1 May 1856 | Broken up completed at Sheerness on 31 August 1877 |
| Primrose | W & H Pitcher, Northfleet | 3 May 1856 | Broken up completed on 25 May 1864 |
| Pickle | W & H Pitcher, Northfleet | 3 May 1856 | Broken up completed on 12 April 1864 |
| Prompt | W & H Pitcher, Northfleet | 21 May 1856 | Broken up completed on 6 May 1864 |
| Porpoise | W & H Pitcher, Northfleet | 7 June 1856 | Broken up completed on 22 February 1864 |
| Firm | Fletcher & Fearnall, Limehouse | 22 March 1856 | Sold at Shanghai in 1872 |
| Flamer | Fletcher & Fearnall, Limehouse | 10 April 1856 | Coastal defence in 1868. Hospital ship 1871. Blown ashore during a typhoon at Hong Kong on 22 September 1871 and the wreck then sold |
| Fly | Fletcher & Fearnall, Limehouse | 5 April 1856 | Broken up in 1862 |
| Sepoy | T & Wm Smith, North Shields | 13 February 1856 | Fitted for Armstrong guns in 1861 and broken up in April 1868 |
| Erne | T & Wm Smith, North Shields | 18 February 1856 | Broken up at Chatham in 1874 |
| Spider | T & Wm Smith, North Shields | 23 February 1856 | Fitted for Armstrong guns in 1861. Sold to Castle for breaking at Charlton on 12 May 1870 |
| Lively | T & Wm Smith, North Shields | 23 February 1856 | Wrecked on the Dutch coast on 23 December 1863, later salved and became the German mail steamer Heligolanderin |
| Surly | T & Wm Smith, North Shields | 18 March 1856 | Became a tender to the Coast Guard in 1861. Sold to Thomas J Begbie in 1869 |
| Swan | T & Wm Smith, North Shields | 12 April 1856 | Became a coal hulk in 1869. Sold in 1906 |
| Delight | Wigram & Sons, Blackwall Yard | 15 March 1856 | Sold at Halifax as merchantman M A Starr in November 1867 |
| Grappler | Wigram & Sons, Blackwall Yard | 29 March 1856 | Fitted for service in British Columbia in 1859. Sold as a merchant vessel at Esquimault on 6 January 1868. Burnt on 3 May 1883. Broken up in 1884 |
| Growler | Wigram & Sons, Blackwall Yard | 8 May 1856 | Broken up at Malta in August 1864 |
| Parthian | Wigram & Sons, Blackwall Yard | 8 May 1856 | Breaking completed on 14 September 1864 |
| Quail | Wigram & Sons, Blackwall Yard | 2 June 1856 | Broken up at Malta in September 1861 |
| Ripple | Wigram & Sons, Blackwall Yard | 2 June 1856 | Broken up by Marshall at Plymouth April 1866 |
| Cochin | R & H Green, Blackwall Yard | 8 April 1856 | Broken up at Sheerness in March 1863 |
| Cherokee | R & H Green, Blackwall Yard | 30 April 1856 | Broken up at Portsmouth on 25 March 1869 |
| Camel | R & H Green, Blackwall Yard | 3 May 1856 | Broken up on 30 June 1864 |
| Caroline | R & H Green, Blackwall Yard | 9 May 1856 | Broken up at Portsmouth on 19 February 1862 |
| Confounder | R & H Green, Blackwall Yard | 21 May 1856 | Broken up on 4 October 1864 |
| Crocus | R & H Green, Blackwall Yard | 4 June 1856 | Broken up on 27 July 1864 |
| Beacon | John Laird, Sons & Company, Dingle | 11 February 1856 | Broken up on 27 August 1864 |
| Brave | John Laird, Sons & Company, Dingle | 11 February 1856 | Laid up after completion at Haslar. Broken up at Portsmouth on 25 March 1869 |
| Bullfinch | John Laird, Sons & Company, Dingle | 25 February 1856 | Broken up in August 1864 |
| Redbreast | John Laird, Sons & Company, Dingle | 11 March 1856 | Breaking completed on 24 September 1864 |
| Rose | John Laird, Sons & Company, Dingle | 21 April 1856 | Fitted for Armstrong guns in 1862. Broken up at Devonport in August 1868 |
| Blazer | John Laird, Sons & Company, Dingle | 23 February 1856 | Became dredger YC29 in June 1868, later YC4 at Gibraltar. Sold at Gibraltar on 4 May 1877 |
| Rainbow | John Laird, Sons & Company, Dingle | 8 March 1856 | Survey ship in 1857. RNVR training ship in 1873. Sold to Castle for breaking at Charlton in November 1888 |
| Brazen | John Laird, Sons & Company, Dingle | 23 February 1856 | Broken up in August 1864 |
| Raven | John Laird, Sons & Company, Dingle | 8 March 1856 | Sold to Castle for breaking at Charlton on 13 April 1875 |
| Rocket | John Laird, Sons & Company, Dingle | 21 April 1856 | Broken up in October 1864 |
| Hardy | Charles Hill & Sons, Bristol | 1 March 1856 | Sold at Hong Kong on 9 February 1869 |
| Havock | Charles Hill & Sons, Bristol | 20 March 1856 | Sold at Yokohama on 31 March 1870 |
| Highlander | Charles Hill & Sons, Bristol | 29 April 1856 | Became dredger YC 51 in 1868. Sold in May 1884. |
| Albacore | J & R White, West Cowes | 3 April 1856 | Tank vessel in 1874. Hulked in 1882. Broken up at Bermuda in June 1885 |
| Amelia | J & R White, West Cowes | 19 May 1856 | Broken up at Pembroke on 29 September 1865 |
| Foam | Wigram & Sons, Northam | 8 May 1856 | Hauled up for storage in 1857. Sold for breaking in June 1867 |
| Wave | Wigram & Sons, Northam | 25 June 1856 | Never completed as a gunboat. Coal hulk in 1869. Hulk, renamed Clinker on 30 December 1882. Sold in 1890 |
| Magnet | Briggs & Company, Sunderland | 29 January 1856 | Broken up at Chatham in 1874 |
| Manly | Briggs & Company, Sunderland | 29 January 1856 | Broken up at Deptford in January 1864 |
| Mastiff | Briggs & Company, Sunderland | 22 February 1856 | Broken up at Deptford in October 1863 |
| Mistletoe | Briggs & Company, Sunderland | 22 February 1856 | Breaking completed at Sheerness on 28 September 1864 |
| Earnest | William Patterson & Son, Bristol | 29 March 1856 | Placed in storage after completion. Sold to Castle for breaking at Charlton on 17 January 1885 |
| Escort | William Patterson & Son, Bristol | 26 May 1856 | Broken up at Pembroke in October 1865 |