HMS Valorous (1851)

HMS Valorous, a sketch by W L Wyllie
History
United Kingdom
Name:	HMS Valorous
Ordered:	25 April 1847
Builder:	Pembroke Dockyard/Miller & Ravenhill
Laid down:	March 1849
Launched:	30 April 1851
Completed:	7 July 1853
Fate:	Sold for breaking up 27 February 1891
General characteristics
Class & type:	Magicienne class second class paddle frigate
Tons burthen:	1,255 bm
Length:	210 ft (64 m)
Beam:	36 ft (11 m)
Draught:	24 ft 6 in (7.47 m)
Propulsion:	2-cylinder oscillating engines paddle wheels 400 nhp, 1,300 ihp speed: 9-10kts.
Complement:	175
Armament:	16 (later 14) guns: 10 (later 8) x 32pdr guns (Middle deck) 1 × 68 pounder gun (Upper deck) 1 × 10 in gun (Upper deck) 4 × 32pdr guns (Upper deck)
Notes:	Displaced 2,300 tons

HMS Valorous was a 16 gun steam powered paddle frigate of the Royal Navy built at Pembroke Dockyard and launched on 30 April 1851.

Design and construction

She was part of the two-ship class of Magicienne-class second class paddle frigates. She was built at a cost of £69,064, of which her machinery cost £24,329.^[1] She was originally ordered on 25 April 1847^[1] as a First Class sloop to John Edye's design, approved on 12 August 1847. On 5 August 1847 they were re-ordered as 210 ft (64 m) vessels. When finished, they constituted the last group of paddle warships built for the Royal Navy.

Career

In 1852 she was in the Mediterranean, then in 1854 she was assigned to the Baltic Sea and in 1855 she operated in the Black Sea during the Crimean War. In 1857 she was on the North America and West Indies Station, and from 1863 until she was paid off in September 1867 she operated off the Cape of Good Hope. Carrying extra stores, she accompanied the British Arctic Expedition ships Alert and Discovery as far as Godhavn in 1875.^[2] In 1878 she was commanded by Captain John A Fisher (later Admiral of the Fleet).^[3]

Disposal

She was sold on 27 February 1891 to E Marshall of Plymouth for breaking up.^[1]

Footnotes

1. Winfield, Rif & Lyon, David (2004). The Sail and Steam Navy List: All the Ships of the Royal Navy 1815–1889. London: Chatham Publishing. ISBN 978-1-86176-032-6. OCLC 52620555.
2. Exploring Polar Frontiers: A Historical Encyclopedia, by William James Mills, ABC-CLIO, 2003, ISBN 978-1-57607-422-0
3. Mackay pp138-139

References

• Colledge, J. J.; Warlow, Ben (2006) [1969]. Ships of the Royal Navy: The Complete Record of all Fighting Ships of the Royal Navy (Rev. ed.). London: Chatham Publishing. ISBN 978-1-86176-281-8. OCLC 67375475.
• Lyon, David and Winfield, Rif, The Sail and Steam Navy List, All the Ships of the Royal Navy 1815–1889, pub Chatham, 2004, ISBN 1-86176-032-9
• History of HMS Valorous
• Mackay, Ruddock F. Fisher of Kilverstone. London (1973): Oxford University Press.