HMS Crocodile (1867)

For other ships with the same name, see HMS Crocodile.

HMS Crocodile was a Euphrates-class troopship launched into the Thames from the Blackwall Yard of Money Wigram and Sons on 7 January 1867. She was the fourth and last vessel of the Royal Navy to carry the name.

History
United Kingdom
Name	HMS Crocodile
Ordered	1865
Builder	Money Wigram and Sons[1]
Launched	7 January 1867
Fate	Sold 11 May 1894
General characteristics
Class & type	Euphrates-class troopship
Displacement	6,211 tons
Tons burthen	4,206 tons BM[1]
Length	360 ft (109.7 m) (overall)
Beam	49 ft 1.5 in (15.0 m)
Depth of hold	22 ft 4 in (6.81 m)
Installed power	As built: 4,044 ihp (3,016 kW) From 1869: unknown[1]
Propulsion	2-cylinder horizontal single-expansion (later compound-expansion) trunk engine Single screw
Sail plan	Barque
Speed	15 kn (28 km/h)
Armament	Three 4-pounder guns

Design

Crocodile was one of five iron-hulled vessels of the Euphrates class. All five were built to a design of 360 feet (110 m) overall length by about 49 feet (15 m) breadth, although Malabar was very slightly smaller than the rest of the class. They had a single screw, a speed of 14 knots (26 km/h; 16 mph), one funnel, a barque-rig sail plan, three 4-pounder guns, and a white painted hull. Her bow was a "ram bow" which projected forward below the waterline.

Identification

The Euphrates-class troopships could each be identified by a different coloured hull band. Crocodile's hull band was yellow. The blue hull band of her sister Euphrates became the standard for all HM Troopships.^[2]

Career

HM troopship Crocodile, in the Spithead Channel, 1880

Crocodile was built for the transport of troops between the United Kingdom and the Indian sub-continent, and was operated by the Royal Navy. She carried up to 1,200 troops and family on a passage of approximately 70 days.^{[citation needed]} Between November 1866 and April 1870 she was commanded by Captain George Willes Watson.^[3] On 27 November 1867, she collided with the Canadian merchant ship John Dwyer in the English Channel 40 nautical miles (74 km; 46 mi) off Start Point, Devon. John Dwyer sank with the loss of four of her crew. Crocodile rescued the survivors.^[4]

Crocodile was re-engined rather later in life than her sisters, with her single-expansion steam engine replaced with a more efficient compound-expansion type.^{[Note 1]}

In December 1888, Crocodile towed the Dutch steamship Sourabaja to Malta, the steamship having suffered an engine failure 9 nautical miles (17 km; 10 mi) off Cape Trafalgar, Spain.^[5] Crocodile's last voyage began at Bombay in October 1893. On 3 November, as she was approaching Aden, the high-pressure steam cylinder exploded and the ship came to a halt. The next day she was towed to an anchorage near Aden.^[6] Most of the soldiers and their families were brought home on other ships. Crocodile eventually arrived back at Portsmouth on 30 December 1893, having travelled using only the low-pressure steam cylinder, and was not further employed for trooping.^[7]

Fate

Crocodile was sold for breaking on 11 May 1894.^[1][8]

Notes

1. Winfield does not show a re-enginning of Crocodile. This is a misprint and the Errata should be consulted.