HMS Eclipse (1860)
| Career |  |
|---|---|
| Name: | HMS Eclipse |
| Ordered: | 14 June 1859 |
| Builder: |
J. Scott Russell & Co., Millwall Engines by Robert Napier & Sons |
| Laid down: | 8 August 1859 |
| Launched: | 18 September 1860 |
| Decommissioned: | 1867 |
| Fate: | Broken up at Sheerness in July 1867 |
| General characteristics | |
| Type: | Cormorant-class first class gunvessel |
| Displacement: | 877 tons |
| Tons burthen: | 694 66/94 bm |
| Length: |
185 ft (56 m) (overall) 165 ft 7.25 in (50.5 m) (keel) |
| Beam: | 28 ft 4 in (8.64 m) |
| Draught: | 11 ft (3.4 m) - 12 ft (3.7 m) |
| Depth of hold: | 14 ft (4.3 m) |
| Propulsion: |
Sails 2-cyl horizontal single expansion Single screw 200 nhp 838 ihp |
| Speed: | 11 knots (20 km/h) (under steam) |
| Complement: | 90 |
| Armament: |
|
HMS Eclipse was a 4-gun Cormorant-class first class gunvessel launched on 18 September 1860 from the shipyard of J. Scott Russell & Co., Millwall.[1][2]
She was sent to Australia Station in 1863 under the command of Commander Richard Charles Mayne. During the Second Taranaki War she participated in an attack which was made by the garrison of New Plymouth on the Māori position at the mouth of the Katikara River on 4 June 1864, by shelling the Māori positions from about 1.5km offshore. Afterwards she was sent back to Australian waters. She towed the Pioneer across the Tasman Sea from leaving Sydney on 22 September and arriving at Onehunga, New Zealand on 3 October 1863. During the voyage the two ships collided and Eclipse's bow was stoved-in.[3]
In October 1863, Commander Mayne led a Naval Brigade of 200 seamen which captured Merrimi and later fortified the town. On 20 November a Naval Brigade of 400 men, under Commander Mayne participated in the battle of Rangiriri during the invasion of Waikato, where five seamen were killed and 10 wounded, including Commander Mayne who was invalided home. Coming under the command of Commander Edmund Fremantle, she took part in the capture of Waikato in January 1864, and contributed to a Naval Brigade which defeated the Maoris at Rangiawahia. Again on 29 April 1864 she contributed to a Naval Brigade which attacked the Maori stronghold at Gate Pā.[3]
She left the Australia Station in mid 1866 and returned to Britain where she was paid off and broken up at Sheerness in 1867.[1]
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Bastock, p.39.
- ↑ "HMS Eclipse". http://www.pdavis.nl/ShowShip.php?id=1383. Retrieved 2010-03-28.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 "Cormorant Class Wooden Gunvessels". http://www.battleships-cruisers.co.uk/r_n_gunboats.htm. Retrieved 2010-03-28.
