HMS Swallow (1885)

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

HMS Swallow was a Nymphe-class composite screw sloop and the twenty-seventh ship of the Royal Navy to bear the name. Developed and constructed for the Royal Navy on a design by William Henry White, Director of Naval Construction, she was launched at Sheerness Dockyard on 27 October 1885.^[5]

History
United Kingdom
Name	HMS Swallow
Builder	Sheerness Dockyard
Cost	£44,797 (hull), £15,000 (machinery)[1]
Laid down	1 November 1885[1]
Launched	27 October 1885[1]
Commissioned	7 October 1886[1]
Fate	Sold 1904[2]
General characteristics [3]
Displacement	1,140 long tons (1,160 t)
Length	195 ft (59.4 m)
Beam	28 ft (8.5 m)
Draught	12 ft 6 in (3.8 m)
Propulsion	Horizontal triple-expansion steam engines 2 shafts 1,570 ihp (1,170 kW)
Sail plan	Schooner-rigged
Speed	13.5 kn (25.0 km/h; 15.5 mph)
Endurance	3,000 nmi (5,600 km; 3,500 mi) at 10 kn (19 km/h; 12 mph)
Complement	138
Armament	8 × BL 5-inch (127.0 mm) guns[1][4] 4 × 1 inch Nordenfeldt machine guns 4 × .45 inch Gardner machine guns

Service history

HMS Beagle, Swallow, Basilisk and Flora, unknown artist

On 17 November 1886,^[6] Swallow ran aground off Yarmouth, Isle of Wight. She was refloated and taken in to Plymouth, Devon, where she arrived on 20 November.^[7] She was engaged in East Africa in the expedition against Fumo Amari, who was the Sultan of Wituland (in modern-day Kenya). The expedition resulted in the capture of Pumwani and Jongeni, between 7 and 13 August 1893.^[8] The Ashantee Medal was awarded to those who were employed on her together with the clasp "Witu 1893".^[9]

Swallow was commissioned by commander Edward Fitzmaurice Inglefield in 1899 to serve on the South America Station. She was in Montevideo in late February 1900, and visited the Falkland Islands the following month.^[10]

Fate

Swallow was sold to McCausland & Sons in 1904.^[1]