Albacore-class gunboat (1883)

See also: Albacore-class gunboat (1855)

The Albacore-class gunboat was a class of three gunboats built for the Royal Navy in 1883. The name had already been used for a class of 98 gunboats built during the Great Armament of the Crimean War.

HMS Watchful
Class overview
Name	Albacore class
Builders	Laird Brothers, Birkenhead
Operators	Royal Navy
Preceded by	Banterer class
Succeeded by	Bramble class
Built	1883
In commission	1884–1907
Completed	3
Retired	3
General characteristics [1]
Type	Composite screw gunboat
Displacement	560 tons standard
Length	135 ft 0 in (41.1 m) pp
Beam	26 ft 6 in (8.1 m)
Draught	10 ft 3 in (3.1 m)
Depth of hold	11 ft 6 in (3.5 m)
Installed power	650 ihp (480 kW)
Propulsion	2-cylinder compound-expansion steam engine Single screw
Speed	10.7 kn (19.8 km/h)
Crew	60
Armament	2 × 5-inch/50-pdr (38cwt) breech-loading guns[Note 1] 2 × 4-inch/20-pdr breech-loading guns 2 × machine guns

Design

The Albacore class was designed by Nathaniel Barnaby, the Admiralty Director of Naval Construction. The ships were of composite construction, meaning that the iron keel, frames, stem and stern posts were of iron, while the hull was planked with timber. This had the advantage of allowing the vessels to be coppered, thus keeping marine growth under control, a problem that caused iron-hulled ships to be frequently docked. They were 135 feet (41 m) in length and displaced 560 tons.^[1] They were a slightly larger version of the Forester and Banterer classes that preceded them. They pioneered the use of modern breech-loading guns as the main armament, but were the last gunboats to mount their weapons on traversing mountings.^[1]

Propulsion

Two-cylinder compound-expansion steam engines built by the builder, Laird Brothers of Birkenhead, provided 650 indicated horsepower through a single screw, sufficient for 10.7 knots (19.8 km/h; 12.3 mph).^[1]

Armament

Ships of the class were armed with two 5-inch/50-pdr (38cwt) breech-loading guns and two 4-inch/20-pdr breech-loading guns. A pair of machine guns was also fitted.^[1]

Ships

Name	Ship builder	Launched	Fate
Albacore	Laird Brothers, Birkenhead	13 January 1883	Sold on 18 May 1906.[2]
Mistletoe	Laird Brothers, Birkenhead	7 February 1883	Boom defence in 1903. Sold to Shipbreaking Company, London on 14 May 1907.[2]
Watchful	Laird Brothers, Birkenhead	13 February 1883	Boom defence in 1903. Sold to Shipbreaking Company, London on 14 May 1907.[2]

Notes

1. Watchful received the 40cwt Mk III version of the same gun.^[1]