Condor-class gunvessel

The Condor-class gunvessel was a class of four Royal Navy composite gunvessels of 3 guns, built between 1876 and 1877.^[2] They were all hulked or sold before 1893, giving them an active life of less than 15 years.

"Well Done Condor". Bombardment of Alexandria, 1882 by Charles Dixon
Class overview
Name	Condor-class gunvessels
Builders	Devonport Dockyard Laird Brothers, Birkenhead
Operators	Royal Navy
Built	1876–1877
In commission	1877–1923
Completed	4
General characteristics
Displacement	774 tons
Length	157 ft (48 m)
Beam	29 ft 6 in (8.99 m)
Draught	12 ft (3.7 m)[1]
Installed power	Designed 750 ihp (560 kW)
Propulsion	Three Boilers 2-cylinder horizontal compound-expansion steam engine Single screw (Laird vessels had feathering blades)[1]
Sail plan	Barque-rigged
Speed	11.5 kn (21.3 km/h) under power
Complement	100[1]
Armament	One 7-in (4½-ton) muzzle-loading rifle Two 64-pounder (64cwt) muzzle-loading rifles Except Flamingo: One 7-in (4½-ton) muzzle-loading rifle One 64-pounder (64cwt) muzzle-loading rifles Two 20-pounder Breech-Loaders Flamingo and Griffon rearmed in 1884: 7-in MLR replaced with two 5-in Vavasseur breech loaders

Construction

Design

Designed by Nathaniel Barnaby,^[1] the Royal Navy Director of Naval Construction, the hull was of composite construction; that is, iron keel, frames, stem and stern posts with wooden planking.

Propulsion

They were fitted with three boilers, a 2-cylinder horizontal compound expansion steam engine and a single screw. Griffon and Falcon were engined by Laird Brothers and had a feathering propeller. Flamingo and Condor were engined by John Elder & Co, and all ships had a designed 750 indicated horsepower (560 kW), developing about 11.5 knots (21.3 km/h) under power.^[1]

Sail plan

The class was rigged with three masts, with square rig on the fore- and main-masts, making them barque-rigged vessels.^[1]

Armament

The ships of the class were fitted with a 7-in (4½-ton) muzzle-loading rifle and two 64-pounder (64cwt) muzzle-loading rifles, except for Flamingo, which had two 20-pounder breech-loaders in place of one of the 64-pounder muzzle-loading rifles. In 1884 Flamingo and Griffon were rearmed with two 5-in Vavasseur breech loaders replacing the 7-in muzzle-loading rifle.^[1]

HMS Griffon

Ships

Name	Ship Builder	Launched	Fate
Flamingo	Devonport Dockyard	13 December 1876	Hulk 1893. Sold to Plymouth Port Sanitary Authority on 25 May 1923. Sold on 4 May 1931 for breaking
Griffon	Laird Brothers, Birkenhead	16 December 1876	Sold to the Board of Trade as a hulk on 28 September 1891 and renamed Richmond
Condor	Devonport Dockyard	28 December 1876	Sold to George Cohen in August 1889
Falcon	Laird Brothers, Birkenhead	4 January 1877	Hulk in 1890. Sold to E W Payne & Company on 25 June 1920