Gleaner-class gunboat

The Gleaner (or Pelter)-class gunboat was a class of six gunboats built for the Royal Navy in 1854 for use in the Crimean War.^[1]

Class overview
Name	Gleaner class
Operators	Royal Navy
Succeeded by	Dapper class
Built	1854
In commission	1854 – 1864
Completed	6
General characteristics [1]
Type	'Crimean' gunboat
Tons burthen	215 53⁄94 tons bm
Length	100 ft (30 m) (gundeck) 86 ft 4 in (26.31 m) (keel)
Beam	22 ft 0 in (6.71 m)
Draught	7 ft 10 in (2.39 m)
Installed power	60 nominal horsepower 270 ihp (200 kW))
Propulsion	2-cylinder horizontal single expansion steam engine Single screw
Speed	7.5 kn (13.9 km/h)
Crew	36
Armament	1 × 68-pounder smoothbore muzzle-loading gun 1 × 32-pounder SBML gun 2 × 24-pounder howitzers

Design

The Gleaner class was designed by W.H. Walker (who also designed the subsequent Dapper and Albacore classes). The ships were wooden-hulled, with steam power as well as sails, but of shallow draught for coastal bombardment in the shallow waters of the Baltic and Black Sea during the Crimean War.^[1]

Propulsion

Two-cylinder horizontal single-expansion steam engines built by John Penn and Sons, with two boilers, provided 60 nominal horsepower through a single screw, sufficient for 7.5 knots (13.9 km/h; 8.6 mph).^[1]

Armament

Ships of the class were armed with one 68-pounder smooth bore muzzle loading cannon (SBML), one 32-pounder SBML (originally two 68-pounder SBMLs were planned but the forward gun was substituted by a 32-pounder) and two 24-pounder howitzers.^[1]

Ships

Name	Ship builder[1]	Launched[1]	Fate[1]
Pelter	W & H Pitcher, Northfleet	28 August 1854	Sold for breaking January 1864, breaking up completed by Tolpult on 1 February 1864
Pincher	W & H Pitcher, Northfleet	5 September 1854	Breaking completed on 17 February 1864
Badger	W & H Pitcher, Northfleet	23 September 1854	Broken up at Portsmouth in June 1864
Snapper	W & H Pitcher, Northfleet	4 October 1854	Became a coal hulk in 1865, sold in 1906
Gleaner	Deptford Dockyard	7 October 1854	Sold at Montevideo in April 1868
Ruby	Deptford Dockyard	7 October 1854	Broken up October 1868