HMS Euphrates (1866)

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

HMS Euphrates was an iron-hulled troopship of the Euphrates class. She was designed for the transport of British troops to India, and launched in the River Mersey on 24 November 1866 by Laird Brothers of Birkenhead. She was the fourth and last Royal Navy ship to bear the name.

History
United Kingdom
Name	HMS Euphrates
Ordered	1865
Builder	Laird Brothers of Birkenhead
Yard number	325
Launched	24 November 1866
Fate	Sold on 23 November 1894 Resold for breaking in August 1895
General characteristics
Class & type	Euphrates-class troopship
Displacement	6,211 tons
Tons burthen	4,173 tons BM
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	At build: 5,004 ihp (3,731 kW) After 1873: 1,739 ihp (1,297 kW)[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

Euphrates was one of five iron-hulled vessels of theEuphrates 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.

History

The troopships Orontes, Jumna, Malabar, and Euphrates at Bombay, waiting to bring home troops from the Afghan War in 1880

She was operated by the Royal Navy to transport up to 1,200 troops and family from Portsmouth to Bombay. The return trip via the Suez Canal normally took 70 days. Her two-cylinder single-expansion steam engines were replaced in 1873 with a more efficient but less powerful 2-cylinder compound-expansion engine, giving her a reduced top speed under steam of about 11 knots (20 km/h; 13 mph).^[1]

On 28 February 1870, she was damaged in a collision with the British merchant ship Bates Family at Bombay, British Raj.^[2] On 19 December 1883, she ran aground off Gibraltar. She was refloated the next day.^[3] On 6 February 1892, she collided with the German steamer Gutenfels in the Suez Canal. Gutenfels suffered several broken plates and some damage to her upperworks.^[4]

Fate

She was sold to I Cohen in Portsmouth on 23 November 1894 and resold to Henry Castle and Son for breaking in August 1895.^[1]