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 HMSLightning - illustration fromScientific American. | |
| History | |
|---|---|
 United Kingdom | |
| Builder | John I. Thornycroft & Company |
| Launched | 1876 |
| Renamed | Torpedo Boat No. 1 |
| Fate | Scrapped, 1896 |
| General characteristics | |
| Class and type | Torpedo boat |
| Displacement | 32.5 long tons (33.0 t) |
| Length | 87 ft 6 in (26.67 m) |
| Beam | 10 ft 9 in (3.28 m) |
| Draught | 5 ft 2 in (1.57 m) |
| Propulsion | Two-cylinder compound steam engine, 460 hp (340 kW) |
| Speed | 18.5 kn (34.3 km/h) |
| Armament |
|
HMSLightning was atorpedo boat, built byJohn Thornycroft atChurch Wharf inChiswick for theRoyal Navy, which entered service in 1876 and was the first seagoing vessel to be armed with self-propelledWhitehead torpedoes. She was later renamedTorpedo Boat No. 1.[citation needed]
As originally built,Lightning had twodrop collars to launch torpedoes; these were replaced in 1879 by a single torpedo tube in the bow. She also carried two reload torpedoes amidships.[citation needed]
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The boat appeared at the Naval Review at Spithead of August 1878. The Queen recorded in her Journal that she was impressed bythe 2 torpedo boats, Vesuvius & Lightning, which rushed about at the rate of 20 Knots an hour.[1]TheLightning spent her life as a tender to the torpedo schoolHMSVernon at Portsmouth and was used for some experiments. She was broken up in 1896.[citation needed]