Briton class corvette
| Class overview | |
|---|---|
| Name: | Briton class |
| Operators: |
 Royal Navy
|
| Preceded by: | Juno class |
| Succeeded by: | Volage class |
| Built: | 1868–1872 |
| In service: | 1871–1887 |
| Completed: | 3 |
| Scrapped: | 3 |
| General characteristics (as built) | |
| Type: | Wooden screw corvette |
| Displacement: | 1,730–1,860 long tons (1,760–1,890 t) |
| Tons burthen: | 1,322 bm |
| Length: | 220 ft (67.1 m) (p/p) |
| Beam: | 36 ft (11.0 m) |
| Draught: | 16 ft 6 in (5.0 m) |
| Depth of hold: | 21 ft 6 in (6.6 m) |
| Installed power: | 2,149–2,275 ihp (1,603–1,696 kW) |
| Propulsion: |
|
| Sail plan: | Ship rig |
| Speed: | 13 knots (24 km/h; 15 mph) |
| Range: | 2,000 nmi (3,700 km; 2,300 mi) at 10 knots (19 km/h; 12 mph) |
| Complement: | 220 |
| Armament: |
|
The Briton class was a group of three wooden screw corvettes built for the Royal Navy in the late 1860s. All three ships of the class only served overseas during their brief service lives. Between them, they were assigned to the China, East Indies, African, North American, and the Pacific Stations. All three were regarded as obsolete 15 years after they were completed, and they were sold in 1886–87.
The Briton-class corvettes were designed by Sir Edward Reed, the Director of Naval Construction, as lengthened versions of the Eclipse-class sloops. Like the smaller ships, they had a ram-style bow to reduce weight forward by elimination of the knee above the stem. Similarly, he shortened the counter at the stern to save weight.
The ships were 220 feet (67.1 m) long between perpendiculars and had a beam of 36 feet (11.0 m). Forward, the ships had a draught of 12 feet 9 inches (3.9 m), but aft they drew 16 ft 3 in (5.0 m). They displaced from 1,730 to 1,860 long tons (1,760 to 1,890 t) and had a burthen of 1,322 tons. The hull was built entirely from wood except for iron crossbeams. Their crew consisted of 220 officers and enlisted men.
Two different types of engines and boilers were used with this class. HMS Druid, the first ship completed, had a two-cylinder horizontal steam engine driving a single 15-foot (4.6 m) propeller. Four rectangular boilers provided steam to the engine at a working pressure of 30 psi (207 kPa; 2 kgf/cm2). The engine produced a total of 2,272 indicated horsepower (1,694 kW) which gave her a maximum speed of about 13.066 knots (24.198 km/h; 15.036 mph) during sea trials. In contrast, the two later ships had a two-cylinder horizontal compound expansion steam engine, driving a single 15-foot or 14-foot-9-inch (4.50 m) propeller. Six cylindrical boilers provided steam to the engines at a working pressure of 60–64 psi (414–441 kPa; 4–4 kgf/cm2). The engines produced between 2,149 and 2,275 indicated horsepower (1,603 and 1,696 kW) which gave the two ships a maximum speed over 13 knots (24 km/h; 15 mph).Briton and Thetis carried 255 long tons (259 t) of coal, while Druid carried an additional 30 long tons (30 t). Although no information is available on their range, Admiral G. A. Ballard estimated that Druid had only about two-thirds the range of her sisters, despite the additional coal that she carried, due to the greater efficiency of the compound expansion engines.
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Wikipedia