HMS Rattlesnake (1861)

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

HMS Rattlesnake was a 21-gun Jason-class corvette launched in 1861 at Chatham Dockyard and broken up in 1882. During her third commission from 1871–1873 she was the flagship of Commodore John Edmund Commerell, Commander-in-Chief Cape of Good Hope and West Coast of Africa Station, who was wounded at the start of the Third Anglo-Ashanti War.^[1] Rattlesnake was propelled by a Ravenhill & Salkeld engine delivering 1,628 indicated horsepower (1,214 kW). When operating under sailpower, her funnel could be retracted to clear the rigging and her propeller lifted into a special housing aft to streamline her hullform.^[2]

History
United Kingdom
Name	HMS Rattlesnake
Launched	9 July 1861
Out of service	1874
Fate	Broken up in 1882
General characteristics
Class & type	Jason-class corvette
Displacement	2431 tons
Length	225 feet
Propulsion	Screw
Sail plan	rigging
Speed	11.66 knots
Armament	21

Rattesnake (far right) sends off the British Flying Squadron from False Bay, Cape of Good Hope on 18 October 1869