Calypso - class corvette The " Calypso " class comprised two steam corvette s ( later classified as third - class cruiser s ) of the Royal Navy . Built for distant cruising in the heyday of the British Empire , they served with the fleet until the early twentieth century , when they became training ships . Remnants of both survive , after a fashion ; HMS " Calliope " in the name of the Naval Reserve unit the ship once served , and HMS " Calypso " both in the name of a civilian charity and the more corporeal form of the hull , now awash in a cove off Newfoundland . The class exemplifies the transitional nature of the late Victorian navy . In design , materials , armament , and propulsion the " Calypsos " show evidence of their wooden sailing antecedents , blended with characteristics of the all - metal mastless steam warships which followed . Their appearance and layout was similar to the " pure " sailing corvettes , with boiler rooms , machinery spaces , ventilators , and a flue added . Of iron and steel construction , they had coppering over timber below the waterline , as did older wooden vessels . Their armament was not in turrets or barbettes , but arranged in a central broadside battery , with the four largest guns on sponsons to give larger arcs of fire . And they had both powerful steam engines and an extensive rig of sail — very nearly the last of the sailing cruisers . Design . " Calypso " and " Calliope " made up the " Calypso " class , a successor to the successful " Comus " class , all designed by Nathaniel Barnaby . The vessels were screw corvette s or small cruisers , and were among the Royal Navy ’ s last sailing corvettes . They supplemented an extensive sail rig with powerful engines . In profile they resembled older wooden sailing frigates , from bowsprit to stern gallery . The ports in the gallery were false , and there were no quarter galleries . Other differences included a nearly straight stem angling forward to an underwater ram bow , a shorter battery , and sponsoned guns on the corners of the battery . Above the decks they had a full suite of masts and spars , standing and running rigging , and square and fore - and - aft sails . The shrouds were not attached to chainplate s on the outside of the hull , as in older vessels , but to the inside of the bulwarks . Interposed between the masts and rigging were the ventilators and stack of the steam plant . In plan the ships shows decks common to older sailing cruising vessels , including a poop deck at the rear , the overhang of which sheltered a wheel on the quarterdeck below . The guns were all on the highest continuous deck ; the battery was shorter than on wooden vessels with full - length gun decks , as the class carried fewer ( although more powerful ) guns than corvettes and frigates in the classic age of sail ; all guns were carried in the waist of the ship , between the poop and forecastle . The armament of the class consisted of naval rifle s – breechloaders with rifling in their bores to impart a spin and therefore stability to projectiles in flight . The " Calypsos " differed from the previous " Comus " class , as they had new 6 " rifles in place of the 7 " muzzleloaders and 64 - pounders that originally armed the predecessor class , and 5 " guns in a battery between the 6 " guns . There were four breechloaders in sponsons fore and aft on each side , twelve breechloaders in broadside between the 6 " guns , and six quck - firing Nordenfelts . The " Calypsos " were slightly longer than their predecessors , and displaced 390 tons more . Their engines were of 4 , 023 i . h . p . , over 50 % more powerful than those of their nine predecessors , which gave them one more knot of speed . These compound engines could drive the ships at 13¾ knots , or 14¾ knots with forced draught . The hulls of these vessels were of course adapted for the screw driven by their reciprocating steam engines . In common with older vessels , they were coppered to reduce fouling from marine growth , and the copper sheathing was affixed to timber as in wooden ships , but that timber was not structural , but simply encased the metal hull beneath . The vessels were among the first of the smaller cruisers to be given metal hulls . They carried a barque rig of sail on three masts , including a full set of studding sails on fore and mainmasts . This rig enabled them to serve in areas where coaling stations were rare , and to rely on their sails for propulsion . That flexibility made them was well - suited to distant cruising service and trade protection for the British Empire . The vessels had two complete decks , upper and lower , with poop and forecastle decks . The poop contained cabins for the Captain , First Lieutenant , and Navigating Officer , with the double wheel sheltered under its forward end . The forecastle was used for the heads and working space for the cables . Between these was the open quarterdeck in the waist of the ship , on which the battery was located . Under the lower deck were spaces for water , provisions , coal , and magazines for shell and powder . Amidships were the engine and boiler rooms . These were covered by an armoured deck , 1 . 5 inches ( 38 mm ) thick and approximately 103 ft ( 31 m ) long . This armour was about 3 ft ( 120 cm ) underneath the lower deck , and the space between could be used for additional coal bunkerage . The machinery spaces were flanked by coal bunkers , affording the machinery and magazines some protection from the sides . The lower deck , above the machinery spaces , was used for berthing of the ship ' s company ; officers aft , warrant and petty officers forward , and ratings amidships , as was traditional . The tops of the coal bunkers , which projected above deck level , could be used for seating on one side of the mess tables , which were arranged fore - and - aft . The living spaces were well - ventilated and an improvement over prior vessels . Service . Both vessels had relatively short careers with the fleet and in the 1890s were relegated to training and subsidiary duties . They were present at the 1897 Review of the Fleet , held to celebrate Queen Victoria ' s Diamond Jubilee . " Calliope " . " Calliope " had achieved fame as the only ship to escape from the 1889 Apia cyclone , and thereafter was known as the " Hurricane Jumper " . After fleet service , the vessel became a drill ship on the Tyne in 1907 . After the old cruiser was discarded in 1951 , the " stone frigate " ( shore establishment ) operating there was given the name of HMS " Calliope " . " Calypso " . " Calypso " had a less eventful and shorter naval career than " Calliope " , but spent more time at sea . As part of the sail training squadron , " Calypso " cruised in home waters , the North Sea , and the Arctic and Atlantic oceans . In 1902 , after that service ended , the ship was sent to the colony of Newfoundland , and served there as a stationary training vessel for the Newfoundland Royal Naval Reserve before and during World War I . In 1922 the vessel was declared surplus and sold out of the service , and thereafter used as a storage hulk in Lewisporte . The Calypso Foundation , a local charity engaged in training the developmentally disabled , was named after the old training ship . The ship ' s hull was towed away to a coastal bay and burned out . It is still there , awash in the waters of the Atlantic Ocean .