Cheerful-class gunboat

The Cheerful-class gunboat was a class of twenty gunboats built for the Royal Navy in 1855 for use in the Crimean War.[1]

A typical 'Crimea gunboat'
Class overview
NameCheerful class
Operators Royal Navy
Preceded byAlbacore class
Succeeded byClown class
Built1855
In commission1855 – 1869
Completed20
General characteristics [1]
Type'Crimean' gunboat
Tons burthen211 64⁄94 tons bm
Length
  • 100 ft (30 m) (gundeck)
  • 85 ft 5.5 in (26.048 m) (keel)
Beam21 ft 10 in (6.65 m)
Draught6 ft 6 in (1.98 m)
Depth of hold6 ft 7 in (2.01 m)
Installed power
Propulsion
  • 1-cylinder horizontal direct-acting single-expansion steam engine
  • Single screw
Speed6.5 kn (12.0 km/h)
Crew30
Armament2 × 32-pounder SBML gun

Design

The Cheerful class was designed by W.H. Walker (who also designed the preceding Dapper and Albacore classes). The ships were of particularly shallow draft [Note 1] for coastal bombardment in the shallow waters of the Baltic and Black Sea during the Crimean War.[1]

Propulsion

One-cylinder horizontal direct-acting single-expansion steam engines built by John Penn and Sons, with two boilers, provided 20 nominal horsepower through a single screw, sufficient for 6.5 knots (12.0 km/h; 7.5 mph).[1]

Armament

Ships of the class were armed with two 32-pounder smooth bore muzzle loading cannons.[1]

Ships
NameShip builder[1]Launched[1]Fate[1]
CheerfulDeptford Dockyard6 October 1855Breaking completed at Haslar on 16 January 1869
ChubSheerness Dockyard15 October 1855Breaking completed at Haslar on 29 January 1869
DaisyThomas Westbrook, Blackwall20 March 1856Breaking completed at Haslar on 7 January 1869
DwarfThomas Westbrook, Blackwall8 April 1856Broken up at Haslar in 1863
BlossomJohn Laird, Sons & Company, Birkenhead21 April 1856Breaking completed at Haslar on 21 October 1864
GadflyJohn Laird, Sons & Company, Birkenhead21 April 1856Broken up in November 1864
GnatJohn Laird, Sons & Company, Birkenhead10 May 1856Broken up on 10 August 1864
GarlandJohn Laird, Sons & Company, Birkenhead7 May 1856Broken up in June 1864
FidgetWilliam Joyce, Greenwich7 April 1856Broken up at Haslar in 1863
FlirtWilliam Joyce, Greenwich7 June 1856Breaking completed at Haslar on 30 April 1864
OnyxYoung, Magnay & Company, Limehouse3 April 1856Dockyard craft (steam lump) 1869, sold in Jamaica on 8 July 1873
PertYoung, Magnay & Company, Limehouse3 April 1856Breaking completed on 12 March 1864
MidgeYoung, Magnay & Company, Limehouse8 May 1856Broken up in October 1864
TinyYoung, Magnay & Company, Limehouse8 May 1856Completed breaking at Plymouth on 28 January 1864
AnglerDevonport Dockyard8 March 1856Breaking completed at Haslar on 21 January 1869
AntDevonport Dockyard22 March 1856Breaking completed at Haslar on 23 February 1869
NettlePembroke Dockyard9 February 1856Broken up at Bermuda in October 1867
PetPembroke Dockyard9 February 1856Hulked 1865, renamed C17 from c.1900, sold to Castle for breaking on 12 April 1904
DecoyPembroke Dockyard21 February 1856Breaking completed at Haslar on 8 February 1869
RamblerPembroke Dockyard21 February 1856Breaking completed at Haslar on 7 January 1869

Notes
  1. Winfield states a design draft of 4 ft (1.2 m) and an operational draft of 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m).[1]

References
  1. Winfield, p.229
  • 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.
  • Winfield, R.; Lyon, D. (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.
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