.jpg) HMSCormorant, name ship of the class | |
| History | |
|---|---|
 United Kingdom | |
| Name | HMSEclipse |
| Ordered | 14 June 1859 |
| Builder | |
| Laid down | 8 August 1859 |
| Launched | 18 September 1860 |
| Decommissioned | 1867 |
| Fate | Broken up atSheerness in July 1867 |
| General characteristics[1][2] | |
| Class & type | Cormorant-class first-classgunvessel |
| Displacement | 877 tons |
| Tons burthen | 69466/94bm |
| Length |
|
| Beam | 28 ft 4 in (8.6 m) |
| Draught | 11–12 ft (3.4–3.7 m) |
| Depth of hold | 14 ft 0 in (4.3 m) |
| Installed power | |
| Propulsion |
|
| Sail plan | Barque[3] |
| Speed | 11knots (20 km/h) (under steam) |
| Complement | 90 |
| Armament | |
HMSEclipse was a four-gunCormorant-class first-classgunvessel launched in 1860 from the shipyard ofJ. Scott Russell & Co.,Millwall. She served on theAustralia Station, took part in theSecond Taranaki War, including contributing men to a naval brigade which attacked the Maori stronghold atGate Pā. The entire class were never satisfactory as gunvessels, partly due to their excessive draught, andEclipse was broken up atSheerness in 1867, only seven years after her launch.
The first 6 ships, includingEclipse, had a two-cylinder horizontal single-expansion steam engine provided byRobert Napier and Sons and rated at 200nominal horsepower, driving a single screw.[2]
The main armament, which was principally intended for shore bombardment,[3] was originally designed with two68-pounder and two 32-pounder muzzle-loading smoothbore guns.[2][1] They were finished, however, with a single7-inch/110-pounder Armstrong breech-loading gun and a68-pounder muzzle-loading smoothbore gun. A pair of broadside20-pounder Armstrong breech-loading guns were also fitted.[2] The 68-pounders were later replaced by a pair of 64-pounder muzzle-loading rifled guns.[2][1]
In common with all other Royal Navy wooden screw gunvessels, theCormorants were rigged asbarques, that is with three masts, with the fore and main masts square rigged, and the mizzen fore-and-aft rigged.[3]
The first six ships were ordered on 14 June 1859 from commercial yards, withEclipse built byJ Scott Russell at Millwall. The first completed ships had a draught of 11–12 feet (3.4–3.7 m), exceeding the intended eight feet (2.4 m) by a considerable margin. Since gunvessels were intended to work in shallow water while bombarding the shore, work on the later two batches was suspended, with three of the seven suspended ships later completed as survey vessels and the rest cancelled.[2]Eclipse was launched on 18 September 1860.[4][5]
On 16 October 1862, she collided with the merchant shipLouise in theEnglish Channel offBeachy Head, Sussex.Louise was abandoned; her crew were rescued by HMSEclipse.Louise survived the encounter, and was taken in toRamsgate,Kent the next day.[6]She was sent toAustralia Station in 1863 under the command of CommanderRichard Charles Mayne. During theSecond Taranaki War she participated in an attack which was made by the garrison ofNew Plymouth on theMāori position at the mouth of the Katikara River on 4 June 1864, by shelling the Māori positions from about 1.5 kilometres (0.81 nmi) offshore. Afterwards she was sent back to Australian waters. She towed the New Zealand colonial government river paddle-steamerPioneer across theTasman Sea on her delivery voyage from Sydney on 22 September and arriving atOnehunga,New Zealand on 3 October 1863. During the voyage the two ships collided andEclipse's bow was stoved-in.[7]
In October 1863, Commander Mayne led anaval brigade of 200 seamen which captured Merrimi and later fortified the town. On 20 November a naval brigade of 400 men, under Commander Mayne participated in thebattle of Rangiriri during theinvasion of Waikato, where five seamen were killed and 10 wounded, including Commander Mayne who was invalided home. Coming under the command of CommanderEdmund Fremantle, she took part in the capture ofWaikato in January 1864, and contributed to a naval brigade which defeated the Maoris at Rangiawahia. Again on 29 April 1864 she contributed to a naval brigade which attacked the Maori stronghold atGate Pā.[7] On 1 September 1864,Eclipse ran aground atTauranga, New Zealand. She ran aground again on 20 October atWellington. A Court of Enquiry blamed one of her officers on each occasion.[8]
On 13 July 1865, she was driven ashore on the coast of Australia. Repairs cost £3,337. ACourt Martial censured several of her officers.[8] In September 1865 theEclipse was engaged in transporting militia fromWhanganui toŌpōtiki as part of theEast Cape War and in response to theVölkner Incident.
She left the Australia Station in mid-1866 and returned to Britain where she was paid off and broken up at Sheerness in 1867.[4]